One of the legendary characters that came out of New York City during the folk revival was Lionel Kilberg. With his own handmade version of a washtub base (Lionel called his a “brownie bass”, named after a dog he once owned), Lionel would be found in Washington Square Park or any of the various haunts of Greenwich Village during the folk revival. He might be best remembered for recording an album with a then-unknown Kate Wolf, or perhaps as the holder of the permit that allowed folksingers to gather in Washington Square Park for the Sunday afternoon sessions. To many people, he is remembered as a prolific songwriter with a kind heart.

After a lengthy illness, Lionel has passed away. He was part of the vibrant folk music scene in New York City for decades. He wrote thousands of songs and recorded many of them. His series “Sociologically Singing” is fondly remembered by those interested in topcial songs of the late 60’s and early 70’s.

The tradition of singing in Washington Square Park began around 1945. A village local named George Margolin started strumming his guitar and singing folk songs near a fountain in the park. He began to draw a crowd and soon a regular session had begun. As word spread and more people began to show up, the City of New York required that a permit be obtained and the holder must be present. The obligation for holding the permit soon fell to a salesman for a Manhattan air freight company. The salesman, Lionel Kilberg, would become a fixture in the park.

He started a group called the Shanty Boys with local bluegrass musician Roger Sprung and Mike Cohen. The Shanty Boys would record one album for Elektra Records. They were fairly popular in the area, and performed frequently at summer camps – introducing folk music to new generations.

Lionel continued to write songs, and in the early 70’s he began a recording project called “Sociologically Singing”. These LP’s (yes, this was vinyl days!) were mainly topical songs that Lionel wrote, recorded, self-produced, and sold. Around the time these recordings were being made, Lionel was introduced to a then-unknown California singer-songwriter by a mutual friend named Gil Turner. The singer was Kate Wolf and after they met in 1973, Lionel asked her if she would put music to some lyrics that he wrote. She agreed to help Lionel on the project, and with her musical partner Don Coffin they recorded the songs with Lionel. Lionel released the LP as Volume 6 in his series with the title “We Walked By The Water“.

“We Walked By The Water” is arguably the finest recording that Lionel made, thanks to help from Kate Wolf. The LP would also be the first album that Kate Wolf made as it preceeded her solo LP debut by three years. After her death, “We Walked by the Water” would be issued on CD by Gadfly Records as “Breezes” – and Lionel’s name would not appear on the front cover. The family of Kate Wolf took exception to the re-issue by Gadfly and have tried to downplay the recording.

I remember Lionel fondly from a number of concerts that WFDU put together in the early 80’s. Shirley Keller, a former host on WFDU, invited Lionel to sing at our benefit concerts. With his now-famous “brownie” bass (there was a fire hydrant on the handle in memory of his dog!), Lionel treated our audiences to a number of his songs. Lionel was also a guest on Shirley’s program “The Folk People”.

Lionel Kilberg will not be remembered as a “commercial” success of the folk revival, and he should not be recalled only as merely a footnote in the Kate Wolf story. Lionel represented a generation that made music for the love of music and he played a part in creating a scene that is still evolving.

Click here to listen to some of Lionels songs. Lionel will be remembered by many people from the Village music scene who shared his passion and joy for music.