Fred Hellerman obituary

Fred Hellerman, who has died aged 89, was the last surviving original member of the American folk group the Weavers. Alongside Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert and Lee Hays, Hellerman gave the American folk song movement – and in turn the British revival – an enormous boost when their arrangement of Goodnight Irene, written by Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly), went to the top of the US Billboard charts in 1950.

However, the Weavers soon suffered from the communist witchhunt of the McCarthy era, which led to cancelled television and concert work. Like his fellow band members, Hellerman was a committed leftwing sympathiser, and was called by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1955, to answer questions about Communist party membership. He cited the US constitution’s fifth amendment, declining to give evidence on the grounds of potential self-incrimination.

The Weavers disbanded in 1953, only to return on Christmas Eve 1955 with a sell-out concert at Carnegie Hall, New York: on the album of the concert, Hellerman sang Sixteen Tons. In addition to sharing the vocals with the other group members on classic recordings such as Kisses Sweeter than Wine, the Israeli Tzena, Tzena, Tzena and If I Had a Hammer, Hellerman provided accomplished guitar accompaniment. He was also the Weavers’ principal songwriter; his anti-war Come Away Melinda, was later covered by Judy Collins, Bobbie Gentry, Uriah Heep and UFO, and he also arranged many traditional folk songs for the group.

Hellerman was born in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of three children of Clara (nee Robinson) and Harry, Jewish immigrants from Latvia. Fred attended Lafayette high school, and then served in the US Coast Guard towards the end of the second world war, before studying for an English degree at Brooklyn College. Having taught himself to play the guitar, he performed with the dance and song group American Folksay, and recorded with the actor Will Geer, before joining up with Gilbert (whom he first met at summer camp in 1944), Hays and Seeger in 1948. It was Hellerman who suggested the group’s name.

After the Weavers disbanded – apart from reunions – in 1964, Hellerman was able to concentrate on his songwriting, arranging and producing. As a songwriter, he often used the pseudonyms Fred Brooks and Paul Campbell, and he also collaborated with others. Many of his songs were recorded first by Harry Belafonte, including I’m Just a Country Boy (co-written with Marshall Baker), which was later covered by Sam Cooke and the country singer Don Williams, and Long About Now (written with Fran Minkoff), also recorded by Tony Bennett. His songs were also recorded by the Kingston Trio and the Brothers Four, while his song Business Goes On As Usual, first recorded by the Chad Mitchell Trio, was later covered by Roberta Flack.

Hellerman also ensured his reputation with the next generation of folk singers when he provided guitar accompaniment on the debut albums of both Joan Baez and Judy Collins. He also produced Arlo Guthrie’s popular album Alice’s Restaurant (1967), and was musical producer for the follow-up film, released in 1969. He also provided the musical scores for the film Lovin’ Molly (1974), directed by Sidney Lumet, and the television remake of The Rainmaker (1982).

In 1979, Hellerman produced the Pete Seeger album Circles and Seasons, and Seeger then arranged a Weavers reunion, with two concerts in 1980, chronicled in the film The Weavers: Wasn’t that a Time! (1982), with Hellerman producing the resulting concert album. He didn’t record his first solo album, Caught in the Act, until 2005, and he made his final performance at a Pete Seeger memorial concert in 2014.

Hellerman is survived by his wife, Susan (nee Lardner), sons Caleb and Simeon, and three grandchildren.