Artists:Fred Holstein

Fred Holstein was a folk music singer in Chicago, IL. Holstein was a prominent figure in the Chicago folk music scene in the 1970s. He owned a sequence of clubs in the Old Town and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he was not a songwriter, but his talent for singing with his resonant baritone and arranging was well recognized.

An anchor of the Chicago folk scene and a contemporary of Steve Goodman, John Prine, Bonnie Koloc. Holstein owned or co-owned several folk music clubs in the Old Town, Lincoln Park, and New Town/Lakeview neighborhoods, including Somebody Else's Troubles and Holstein's. Fred was known for his knowledge of several hundred songs and 'instant recall', as well as being able to accompany himself on guitar, banjo, and twelve string. Fred was an admirer of ballad singers like Woody Guthrie and Utah Phillips. He would remind aspiring musicians to "Understand the song. It is a lot more important than you are."

Fred was born in 1942, and grew up in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood. After seeing a Pete Seeger concert he decided he wanted to study folk music. Fred took lessons at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music starting in 1960. He had a long relationship with the school afterward, even working in the Folklore center music store. Of the Old Town School Fred said:

"I headed east on North Avenue, looking for 333 West North, only to pass it by several times. In my mind's eye, I was looking for a school, an institution, with a big lot, columns and pillars, monkey bars, etc. I didn't realize it was possible to have a school on the second floor of an old meeting hall. When I found it, there was Frank Hamilton leading the second half, singing 'Welcome Table,' using what I was to find out later was a bass run on the guitar; Dawn Greening being gracious and wonderful serving homemade cookies; the Clancy Brothers dropping by to do a few songs; and I knew Fleming Brown, the great banjo player wasn't far away - I was in heaven!"

Fred began playing around Chicago in the 1960s, first at places like the Old Town Pub and a bar in Morton Grove called Scot's Cellar. At Scot's, Fred first met and began mentoring younger fellow musician Steve Goodman. He briefly tried making a living as a performer in San Francisco and Greenwich Village in New York, but soon returned to Chicago.

Fred's fame did not extend much beyond Chicago, as he did not tour or record much, but within Chicago he was well known. He was a resident musician at the now defunct Chicago clubs "Somebody Else's Troubles" and "The Earl of Old Town". Fred first played at the Earl in 1976. Fred had an easy-going stage presence, routinely tailoring set lists to friends birthdays or requests, but would not tolerate a disruptive audience and tell them to "shut up". Fred loved to constantly share new songs with his audience as soon as he could, he would attempt a new song as soon as he could stumble through it.

Holstein's, located on North Lincoln Avenue, marked the twilight of the Chicago folk music scene. Fred and, his brother, Ed would regularly open shows at the club, and sometimes headline them. The club closed in 1987. In his later years, Fred performed two or three times a year at the Abbey Pub, an Irish bar on the Northwest Side of Chicago, often with Ed as the opener. In his final years, Fred suffered from various illnesses, and was unable to perform at the annual New Year's Eve concert at WFMT on December 31, 2003. He died of complications from surgery on January 12, 2004.

Proceeds from sales of his album Remembering Fred benefit the Fred Holstein Scholarship Fund at the Old Town School of Folk Music.