GLAZER, TOM: Singer, instrumentalist (guitar, tuba, bass) , author, songwriter, m.c. Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 3, 1914.
Like many modern folk artists, Tom Glazer's creative efforts go far beyond ballad singing. His compositions have become staple items in both folk and popular domains....Glazer was first introduced to folk music at home, where his mother often sang traditional ballads to him. While attending grade and high school in Philadelphia. he studied widely in all areas of music, including the classics. He learned a range of instruments during the years, including guitar, string bass, and tuba. In 1929, he made his first professional appearance....
After three years of college [City College, New York, NY], Glazer left and for the next few years played tuba and bass in military and jazz bands. He also continued his choral work. By the start of the 1940s, he had begun to concentrate more and more on collecting and singing folk music. At first it was a sideline, but in 1943 he became a full-time ballad singer. He gained a reputation as a folk artist in the next few years and also devoted much of his time to developing special material for children. His recording activities in this area won him the Annual Record Music Award for children's records in 1947.
He did not abandon adult audiences during these years. In 1945, he began his own program on ABC radio, "Tom Glazer's Ballad Box," that remained a highly popular show for the two years of its existence. His radio activities expanded, as well, to acting and/or singing on such programs as "We The People,'' "Listening Post,'' "True Story,'' and "Theatre Guild on the Air''....
His creative contributions during the 1950s and '60s included acting, singing, and writing for both movies and TV. His movie work included the job of balladeer-narrator for an RKO film, ''Sweet Land of Libertyy'' and composer of the score for the Andy Griffith vehicle "A Face in the Crowd''....
Glazer's voice was featured on many records in the years after World War II..... His records for children were produced for Young People's Records, Inc. Through the 1960s, total sales ran to more than a million.
Glazer's songwriting activities included so diverse numbers as the comic parody "On Top of Spaghetti'' and the strident "Skokiaan.'' His other compositions include "A Dollar Ain't a Dollar Anymore,'' "More,'' "Till We Two Are One,'' ''Ballad for the Babe,'' "Worried Man," "Old Soldiers Never Die,'' "Mama Guitar," ''Melody of Love,'' "Care,'' and "Don't Weep, Don't Mourn, Don't Worry.''
Irwin Stambler & Grelun Landon, Encyclopedia of Folk, Country and Western Music, New York, NY, 1969, pp. 107-108.
