William Russell Staines (February 6, 1947 – December 5, 2021) was an American folk musician and singer-songwriter from New Hampshire who wrote and performed songs with a wide array of subjects. Called "the Woody Guthrie of my generation" by singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith, he also wrote and recorded children's songs.
Life and career
Staines was born on February 6, 1947, and raised in Lexington, Massachusetts. He began his professional career in the early 1960s in the Cambridge area.
Staines's songs include "Bridges", "Crossing the Water", "Sweet Wyoming Home", "The Roseville Fair", "A Place in the Choir", "Child of Mine", and "River". They have been recorded by many other artists, including Peter, Paul and Mary, Makem and Clancy, Nanci Griffith,
Discography
All references from the Acoustic Music Bill Staines Discography except when noted.
- A Bag of Rainbows (1966)
- Somebody Blue (1967)
- Bill Staines (1971)
- Third Time Around (1973)
- Miles (1975)
- Old Wood and Winter Wine (1977) with Guy Van Duser
- Just Play One Tune More (1977)
- Whistle of the Jay (1979)
- Bill Staines Live at the Coffeehouse Extemporé (1980)
- Rodeo Rose (1981)
- Sandstone Cathedrals (1983)
- Bridges (1984)
- Wild, Wild Heart (1985)
- Redbird's Wing (1988)
- The First Million Miles (1989)
- Tracks & Trails (1991)
- The Happy Wanderer (1993)
- Going to the West (1993)
- The Alaska Suite (1993)
- Looking for the Wind (1995)
- One More River (1998)
- The First Million Miles, Vol. 2 (1998)
- October's Hill (2000)
- Journey Home (2004)
- The Second Million Miles (2005)
- Old Dogs (2007)
- Beneath Some Lucky Star (2012)