Greenhill, Mitch

Born in 1944 and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Mitch Greenhill was a regular at Club 47, first performing there in 1961. Growing up, he was exposed to the music of a wide range of folk legends who his father, Manny Greenhill, produced, including Rev. Gary Davis, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Pete Seeger, Sonny Terry, and many others. These experiences formed the basis for his book Raised by Musical Mavericks. As a musician, Greenhill recorded two albums for Prestige, which were reissued on a Fantasy twofer titled Shepherd of the City Blues; and three later collaborations with Mayne Smith, with whom he spent a number of years in the band The Frontier. Their work as a duo included tours of Britain and Italy, as well as festivals and concerts in North America. He also worked as a session musician for Rosalie Sorrels, Jack Elliott, and a number of film and television projects. In 1976, Greenhill joined the family business, Folklore Production (now FLi), which he now runs as president, along with his son Matt. The company has represented the likes of Doc Watson, Taj Mahal, The Klezmatics, and Lúnasa, among many others. It publishes compositions by Joan Baez, John Fahey, Rev. Gary Davis, Jesse Fuller and others; these include songs recorded by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead.

The collection includes five scrapbooks featuring news clippings, photographs, and flyers documenting key figures in folk music history, such as Doc Watson and Rev. Gary Davis, as well as letters to Greenhill’s father, Manny Greenhill, who founded Folklore Productions in 1957.