Josh White

Pioneering American Blues and Folk Musician

Josh White (born February 11, 1914 in Greenville, South Carolina, died September 5, 1969 in Manhasset, N.Y.) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. Some of his recordings in the mid-1930s were released as by Pinewood Tom. Josh White was one of the most popular and influential folksingers in America in the mid-20th century. His most famous song, “One Meat Ball,” is about a poor man who has little money to buy dinner and who gets little sympathy from the waiter serving him. The folk music genre has often had a strong social and political foundation, and White’s career is a clear example of that; he sang for President Franklin Roosevelt at the White House in the 1940s, he suffered from the effects of McCarthyism in the 1950s, and he was a featured performer at the 1963 March on Washington. Father of Josh White, Jr. and Beverly White.