Bonnie Koloc
Encyclopedia
Bonnie Koloc is an American folk music
singer-songwriter
, actress, and artist
who was considered one of the three main Illinois-based folk singers in the 1970s, along with Steve Goodman
and John Prine
forming the "trinity of the Chicago folk scene.". Koloc was the least successful of the three, but her material did sell modestly.
Koloc was born to a working class family: "I guess you could say we were poor; we lived in a cement block house outside the city limits of Waterloo, IA, and my dad worked in the John Deere factory. Money was very tight. I wore a lot of hand-me-downs, and I thought that people who had indoor johns
must be rich. I had a really unstable childhood, because my parents were divorced when I was 12, and there was a lot of chaos. I spent a lot of time during my high school years trying to get myself together from my childhood."
The first of her family to attend college, she enrolled in the University of Northern Iowa
, first majoring in drama
, then art
, paying her way by singing, but earning poor grades. She abandoned her studies to go to Chicago
, where she became a fixture of the influential Earl of Old Town.
She had a minor hit with "Roll Me On the Water" from the 1974 album You're Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning, but never achieved the national recognition many predicted for her.
In the 1980s, after the death of her long-time companion, she pursued a career as an actress, and performed in plays such as Joseph Papp's
Broadway production of The Human Comedy
, but by the late '80s, she focused on her art studies. She has resumed her musical career, and continues to tour bars and clubs.
American folk music
American folk music is a musical term that encompasses numerous genres, many of which are known as traditional music or roots music. Roots music is a broad category of music including bluegrass, country music, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and Native American...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, actress, and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who was considered one of the three main Illinois-based folk singers in the 1970s, along with Steve Goodman
Steve Goodman
Steve Goodman was an American folk music singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. The writer of "City of New Orleans", made popular by Arlo Guthrie, Goodman won two Grammy Awards.-Personal life:...
and John Prine
John Prine
John Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
forming the "trinity of the Chicago folk scene.". Koloc was the least successful of the three, but her material did sell modestly.
Koloc was born to a working class family: "I guess you could say we were poor; we lived in a cement block house outside the city limits of Waterloo, IA, and my dad worked in the John Deere factory. Money was very tight. I wore a lot of hand-me-downs, and I thought that people who had indoor johns
Washroom
A public toilet is a room or small building containing one or more toilets and possibly also urinals which is available for use by the general public, or in a broader meaning of "public", by customers of other...
must be rich. I had a really unstable childhood, because my parents were divorced when I was 12, and there was a lot of chaos. I spent a lot of time during my high school years trying to get myself together from my childhood."
The first of her family to attend college, she enrolled in the University of Northern Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...
, first majoring in drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, then art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, paying her way by singing, but earning poor grades. She abandoned her studies to go to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where she became a fixture of the influential Earl of Old Town.
She had a minor hit with "Roll Me On the Water" from the 1974 album You're Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning, but never achieved the national recognition many predicted for her.
In the 1980s, after the death of her long-time companion, she pursued a career as an actress, and performed in plays such as Joseph Papp's
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
Broadway production of The Human Comedy
The Human Comedy (musical)
The Human Comedy is a musical with a book and lyrics by William Dumaresq and music by Galt MacDermot.William Saroyan's tale originated as a screenplay he had been hired to write and direct for MGM...
, but by the late '80s, she focused on her art studies. She has resumed her musical career, and continues to tour bars and clubs.
Discography
- After All This Time, Ovation Records, 1971
- Hold On to Me, Ovation Records, 1972
- Bonnie Koloc, Ovation Records, 1973
- You're Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning, Ovation Records, 1974
- At Her Best, Ovation Records, 1976
- Close-Up, Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, 1976 - Wild and Recluse, Epic Records, 1978
- With You On My Side, Flying Fish, 1987
- Visual Voice, Naim AudioNaim AudioNaim Audio is a British manufacturer of high fidelity audio products for domestic use, based in Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom.-History:...
, 2000 - Timeless, self-released, 2004 [Disc 1, recordings from 1973-1979; Disc 2, recordings from 1979-1990]
- A Bestiary - Beasts of the Farm, self-released art book and CD, 2004
- Here to Sing, self-released, 2006
- Beginnings, self-released, 2010 [1969 recordings from the Earl Of Old Town and the University of Illinois]