Gordon Bok grew up in Camden, Maine, where he started singing and playing guitar at an early age, inspired by both his musical family and his coastal environment.
He worked on or near the water much of his earlier years, in shipyards and on sailing vessels, serving in every capacity from dishwasher to captain. As the origjnal first mate on Pete Seeger’s sloop “Clearwater”, he toured the New England coast with the Hudson River Sloop Singers.
Bok’s music is largely selftaught. He has learned many songs and stories from people he has worked with and continues to do so. He performs with 6- and 12-string guitars as well as a baritone viol da gamba – which he designed himself. He also sings a cappella, plying the resonant bass-baritone voice that has become a Bok trademark.
His repertoire consists of a rich trove of ballads of Maine and the Maritimes, songs and dances of the Americas and abroad, stories of boats and sailors, tales of sealfolk and cantefables of his own composition, contemporary songs and instrumentals.
“I’m drawn to songs that show me how others have lived their lives and sorted through their problems – that’s the great wisdom in traditional music, and in the songs that will become the tradition in other generations. They’ve shown me how to live, and if others learn something from my passing them on, that’s another pleasure,” Bok said.
With over thirty albums recorded, solo and with other musicians, Bok performs at folk clubs, concert halls and festivals throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Scandinavia, New Zealand and Australia. He has appeared in concert with the Paul Winter Consort, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and “A Prairie Home Companion” among others.
GORDON BOK will perform on July 19 at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, at the corner of Pleasant and Middle Streets. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased at the Gulf of Maine Bookstore, the UUCB Church office, or at the door. Call 729-8515 for tickets or parking information.
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