Kate Wolf (born Kathryn Louise Allen, January 27, 1942 – December 10, 1986) was an American folk singer and songwriter. Though her career was relatively short, she had a significant impact on the folk music scene, and many musicians continue to cover her songs. Her best-known compositions include "Here in California," "Love Still Remains," "Across the Great Divide," "Unfinished Life," and "Give Yourself to Love."
Born in San Francisco, California, she started her music career in the band Wildwood Flower before recording ten records as a solo artist. Her songs have since been recorded by artists such as Nanci Griffith and Emmylou Harris (whose recording of "Love Still Remains" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1999). An important mentor, friend and touring companion was Utah Phillips.
She died in 1986, at age 44, after a long battle with leukemia.She is buried at a small church cemetery in Goodyears Bar, California.
Back Roads (1976) (billed as Kate Wolf and the Wildwood Flower)
* Lines on the Paper (1977) * Safe at Anchor (1979) * Close to You (1980) * Give Yourself to Love (1982) * Poet's Heart (1985) * Gold in California – A Retrospective of Recordings (1986) * The Wind Blows Wild (1988) * An Evening in Austin (1988) * Looking Back at You (1994) * Carry It On (1996) * Weaver of Visions – The Kate Wolf Anthology (2000)
NOTE: Wolf (along with fellow musician Don Coffin to whom she was married at the time) also appears on the 1973 album We Walked by the Water by folksinger Lionel Kilberg. This album was re-released in 1995 under the title Breezes and credited to Wolf alone on the front cover. Her family were not thrilled about this and have explicitly gone on record as stating that Wolf did not consider this album representative of her work.
Both We Walked by the Water and Wolf's own album Lines on the Paper are dedicated to the late Gil Turner, who Wolf and Don first met via Lionel Kilberg. Wolf subsequently recorded her own version of Gil's much-covered folk anthem "Carry It On."
A number of these albums where done in collaboration with Bill Griffin.
Music Festival
Kate Wolf's music is celebrated each year toward the end of June at the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival, held at Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville, California. Several thousand guests attend this outdoor festival, which is regularly headlined by popular folk musicians such as Nina Gerber and Greg Brown. The festival traditionally closes with Wolf's song, "Give Yourself to Love."
