# Jo Mapes > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jo_Mapes > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jo_Mapes.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Mapes > Source revision: 1345372041 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) '''Jo Mapes''' (July 20, 1931[http://www.care2.com/c2c/people/profile.html?pid=828515240 Jo Mapes at Care2.com]. Retrieved 4 April 2014 - February 2, 2018) was an [American](/source/Americans) [folk singer](/source/folk_singer), songwriter, critic and writer. She was prominent in the [folk music revival](/source/American_folk_music_revival) of the 1950s and 1960s and later became an advertising copywriter and nightclub critic for the Sun-Times in [Chicago](/source/Chicago). ==Life== She was born '''Joanne Claire Coombs''' in Chicago,{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/people/jo-mapes/biography/|title=Biography|website=TV.com|access-date=4 April 2014|archive-date=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407080806/http://www.tv.com/people/jo-mapes/biography/|url-status=dead}} and moved to [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles) with her mother when in her teens.[https://books.google.com/books?id=BVqlULnfhy0C&dq=jo+mapes+folk+singer&pg=PA118 Ronald D. Cohen, ''Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940-1970'', Univ of Massachusetts Press, 2002, pp.77, 107] At Thomas Starr King Junior High School she was friendly with [Odetta Felious](/source/Odetta), and developed a love of folk songs. In the early 1950s she began singing and playing guitar in folk clubs,{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} and in 1955 she appeared on the TV [talent show](/source/talent_show) ''[Chance of a Lifetime](/source/Chance_of_a_Lifetime_(1950s_TV_series))''.[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jo-mapes-mn0001299201/biography Biography by Bruce Eder at Allmusic.com]. Retrieved 4 April 2014 She moved to [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) in 1957, and later to [New York City](/source/New_York_City), and performed in clubs and concert venues around the country. Mapes was described by [Shel Silverstein](/source/Shel_Silverstein) as "the best female folk singer and guitar player around, with unique singing style and stage presence." She was featured in the [pilot episode](/source/pilot_episode) of the [ABC TV](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company) series ''[Hootenanny](/source/Hootenanny_(U.S._TV_series))'' in 1962, and later appeared in several episodes of the show. She recorded [album](/source/album)s for [Kapp Records](/source/Kapp_Records), including ''The Hootenanny Star'' (1962), as well as appearing on several ''Hootenanny'' compilations. She also wrote songs including "Come On In", recorded by [The Association](/source/The_Association), [The Monkees](/source/The_Monkees), and others; and "Come and Open Your Eyes", recorded by [Spanky and Our Gang](/source/Spanky_and_Our_Gang). In 1964 she released ''And You Were On My Mind'' on the short-lived [FM label](/source/FM_Records_(Jazz%2FFolk)) set up by Pete Kameron and Monte Kay, but the company went [bankrupt](/source/bankrupt) before the album could be distributed.[http://www.bsnpubs.com/veejay/fm.html Mike Callahan, David Edwards, and Patrice Eyries, "FM Album Discography", ''Both Sides Now Publications'']. Retrieved 4 April 2014 In 1964 she married [banjo](/source/banjo)ist [Fleming Brown](/source/Fleming_Brown).[https://books.google.com/books?id=1Nn3QEQ_RqgC&dq=%22fleming+brown%22+mapes&pg=PA110 Izzy Young, ''The Conscience of the Folk Revival: The Writings of Israel "Izzy" Young'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2012, p.110] She retired from performing after a farewell concert at [Carnegie Hall](/source/Carnegie_Hall), and settled in Chicago to raise a family. She taught at the [Old Town School of Folk Music](/source/Old_Town_School_of_Folk_Music),[http://www.reverbnation.com/artist_652137/bio Profile at ReverbNation.com]. Retrieved 4 April 2014 and then worked as an award-winning copywriter, producer and [jingle](/source/jingle) writer in the advertising industry, her clients including [Kodak](/source/Kodak), [United Airlines](/source/United_Airlines) and [Kellogg's](/source/Kellogg's); she provided the song for a [Raisin Bran](/source/Raisin_Bran) commercial.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaXowL7SWW8 Kellogg's Raisin Bran commercial]. Retrieved 4 April 2014 From 1968 to 1978 she worked as entertainment critic, columnist, and feature writer at the [Chicago Sun-Times](/source/Chicago_Sun-Times), and in 1986 she helped set up Artists In Evidence, a club associated with the Artists In Residence apartment building.[https://web.archive.org/web/20131222014917/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-06-13/entertainment/8602120330_1_performers-new-club-comics Rick Kogan, "Artistry Of Jo Mapes Is Evident Once More", ''Chicago Tribune'', June 13, 1986]. Retrieved 4 April 2014 More recently she has occasionally performed at clubs in Chicago.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94622&messages=4 Jo Mapes thread at Mudcat.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407123213/http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94622&messages=4 |date=2014-04-07 }} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Mapes, Jo}} Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:American folk singers Category:Folk musicians from Chicago --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jo Mapes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Mapes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Mapes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.