Fred Holstein

Holstein was born on December 9, 1942, and grew up in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood. According to his obituary, his parents ran a drug store at 79th Street and Michigan Avenue.[1] After seeing a Pete Seeger concert, he decided he wanted to study folk music.

He started his future career by buying a guitar and teaching himself to play by singing along with records and studying songbooks.[1][2] Fred took lessons at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music starting in 1960. He had a long relationship with the school afterward, even working in the Folklore center music store.[2] Of the Old Town School Fred said:

Holstein began playing around Chicago in the 1960s, first at places like the Old Town Pub and a bar in Morton Grove called Scot's Cellar. At Scot's, Holstein first met and began mentoring younger fellow musician Steve Goodman. He briefly tried making a living as a performer in San Francisco and Greenwich Village in New York City, but soon returned to Chicago.[2]

Holstein's fame did not extend much beyond Chicago, as he did not tour or record much, but within Chicago he was well known. He was a resident musician at the now defunct Chicago clubs, "Somebody Else's Troubles" and "The Earl of Old Town". Holstein first played at the Earl in 1966.[2] Fred had an easy-going stage presence, routinely tailoring set lists to friends birthdays or requests, but would not tolerate a disruptive audience and tell them to "shut up".[3] Fred loved to constantly share new songs with his audience as soon as he could, he would attempt a new song as soon as he could stumble through it.

An anchor of the Chicago folk scene and a contemporary of Steve Goodman, John Prine, Bonnie Koloc. Holstein co-owned two folk music clubs in the Old Town, and Lincoln Park, neighborhoods, including Somebody Else's Troubles and Holstein's.[3] Holstein was known for his knowledge of several hundred songs and "instant recall," as well as being able to accompany himself on guitar, banjo, and twelve string.[3] Holstein was an admirer of ballad singers like Woody Guthrie and Utah Phillips. He would remind aspiring musicians to "Understand the song. It is a lot more important than you are."[4]

Holstein and his brother Ed would regularly open shows his club, and sometimes headline them. The club closed in 1987. In his later years, Holstein performed two or three times a year at the Abbey Pub, an Irish bar on the Northwest Side of Chicago, often with Ed as the opener. In his final years, Holstein suffered from various illnesses and was unable to perform at the annual New Year's Eve concert at WFMT on December 31, 2003.

He died at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago of complications from emergency abdominal surgery on January 12, 2004. He was survived by his mother and two younger brothers, Ed and Alan.[1]

• Fred Holstein.com - Fred's website, his recordings are here for purchase as well.
• Fred Holstein Last Chorus, Sing Out Magazine, 3/22/2006