John Jacob Niles
- Category : Entertain-Music-Composer-Arranger
- Type : ME
- Profile : 1/4 - Investigating / Opportunist
- Definition : Single
- Incarnation Cross : RAX The Four Ways 1
Biography
American composer, singer, and collector of traditional ballads. Called the "Dean of American Balladeers", Niles was an important influence on the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, with Joan Baez, Burl Ives, and Peter, Paul and Mary, among others, recording his songs.
In 1936, he married Rena Lipetz. They settled on the Boot Hill farm in Clark County, Kentucky, where they spent the rest of their lives. Niles died in Lexington, Kentucky on March 1, 1980 at age 87.