Folk singer Michael Hurley was born on December 20, 1941, in Jersey City, New Jersey. While not a commercial success, his style of ‘outsider folk’ was embraced by critics and fellow singer-songwriters and musicians. Growing up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, he began playing in the late 1950s and by the early 1960s, he was ready to record his debut album. However, he contracted mononucleosis and had to wait several years before signing a deal with Folkways Records and releasing his debut album, First Songs, in 1964. After a lengthy break, he was signed by his childhood friend Jesse Colin Young (The Youngbloods) to the Raccoon label (via Warner Bros.) and issued the albums Armchair Boogie (1971) and Hi Fi Snock Uptown (1972). After leaving the Raccoon label, he signed with Rounder Records and issued Have Moicy! (1975), Long Journey (1976), and Snockgrass (1980). Beloved by his folk and rock contemporaries, Michael Hurley was still unable to achieve commercial success and released a series of albums on different labels including Blue Navigator (1984), Watertower (1988), Growlin’ Bo-Bo (1991), Wolfways (1994), Sweetkorn (2002), Ancestral Swamp (2007), Bad Mr. Mike (2016), and The Time of the Foxgloves (2021). Throughout his musical career, Michael Hurley worked with a variety of artists including Peter Stampfel & the Unholy Modal Rounders, Mickey Bones, and others. His music was used in several films and he published several magazines and released books of his lyrics. Michael Hurley died in Portland, Oregon, on April 1, 2025, at the age of 83.
