Delaney, Kevin.

Kevin (Chris) Delaney was born in 1946 in Washington, D.C. He was first exposed to folk music while studying at Duke University, where he earned his B.A. in 1968. Between 1970 and 1974, he traveled across Ireland, Scotland, and the midwestern and southeastern regions of the United States, recording country, blues, gospel, bluegrass, and old-time musicians and performers who might otherwise never have been heard. Delaney earned his Master of Library Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976 and continued recording musicians and visiting community groups, colleges, and schools to educate people about the rich history and importance of folk music and its traditions in Ireland and the United States, hoping to carry on older traditions of music to a new generation. These efforts culminated in the recording of a commercial album, American Son, in 1982, but he continued recording and teaching well into the 1990s.

From the guide to the Kevin Delaney Collection, 1970-1994, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection.)