reproduced here by courtesy of:
the Dearborn Press & Guide

Preserving Michigan's history one song at a time
By Steve Veldheer, Press & Guide Newspapers

He spends his days immersed in Michigan history — singing songs about 18th century Indian maidens, 19th century lumberjacks and 20th century autoworkers.

He strolls through the streets of Greenfield Village playing his fiddle, or maybe his concertina. And when he gets out his dulcimer, he’s inundated with questions from passers-by.

He dresses in the style of a 19th-century traveler; his long hair and beard hang below his straw hat.

His name is Neil Woodward, and he is Michigan’s official state troubadour.

The Michigan House of Representatives recently granted Woodward, 51, the official title of troubadour in an effort to preserve our state’s folk history.

"I’m working to carry on this tradition of folk music the best way I know how," Woodward said. "Folk is a piece of history, but it’s more than that, it’s living — it’s an ongoing thing. The old stuff wasn’t recorded, it was passed on from person to person. And that’s what I’m working to continue."

Woodward first developed an interest in music as a young boy growing up in Dearborn.

"When I was real young, we would get together around the piano and sing old songs — "Polly Wolly Doodle," "Home on the Range" — these songs are at the heart of our culture," he said. And this is what sparked Woodward’s interest in folk music.

By the time Woodward got to Edsel Ford High School, he was already well on his way to becoming a folk musician.

"When I got to Edsel, I had already moved beyond any (marching) band-type instruments, and was starting to play the ‘fringe’ instruments.

And although his instrumental skills weren’t utilized by the Edsel Ford band, Woodward does credit the high school with developing his musical knowledge.

"Edsel has a great musical (humanities) program, and I picked up a lot from that," he said.

Woodward, a self-taught musician, comes from an eclectic, musical family. He credits his mandolin-playing father, Joe, with sparking his interest in all-things musical. And he credits his two older sisters with making him an unofficial member of the Edsel Ford musical program.

"Even though I didn’t play in the band, my sisters were quite active in the music program, so, by the time I got there, I was accepted as a member ‘unofficially.’ "

After high school, in the true tradition of all classic folk artists, Woodward worked a number of manual labor jobs.

But he kept on pursuing his dream of playing music professionally some day.

"That was always a goal of mine," he said.

Eventually, he was able to put the daily grind of manual labor behind him, and focus on his music.

"The labor just wasn’t for me."

In the ensuing years, he has recorded seven CDs, many of which contain original pieces penned by Woodward. He performs several times a year at The Henry Ford, Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad near Flint, as well as several campgrounds around northern Michigan.

In 1994, the Arts Council of Michigan presented Woodward with the Creative Artists Grant, which helped to fund his album, "In the Year of the Dog."

But now that he’s Michigan’s official troubadour, while quite the honor, he said he feels the weight of responsibility. He’s no longer just a musician interested in Michigan’s folk history — he’s a musician responsible for it.

"This is a 24-hour a day job," he said. "A troubadour is on duty all the time.

"There’s an added pressure to make sure these songs don’t die with this generation."

Some of the songs he performs date back almost 900 years.

"For these songs to have been passed down from person to person for so long, we can’t let them be forgotten."

Woodward has spent much time in historical museums collecting information, and has even gone to the Library of Congress to research folk tunes.

"There are some people at the Library of Congress that are truly amazing in what they know," he said. "Some of this stuff may have never been researched until I went there, but they already knew all about it."

Since becoming State Troubadour, though, Woodward’s noticed a little change in how he finds new music.

"I just got a couple of emails from people passing along some songs, and I had never heard of them before. That’s definitely one of the benefits of having this (official) title. People come to me now with songs in the hopes of passing them along to new generations."