Background

Niles, John Jacob was born on April 28, 1892 in Louisville. Son of John Thomas and Lula Sarah (Reisch) Niles.

Education

Student of University Lyon, 1919, Cincinnati Conservatory Music, 1920-1922, Doctor of Music (honorary), 1949. Doctor of Fine Arts (honorary), Transylvania U., 1968. Doctor of Letters (honorary), Episcopal Theological Seminary in Kentucky, 1970, U. Kentucky, 1973.

Doctor of Humanities (honorary), University Louisville, 1971.

Career

Concerts American folk music, major cities, United States, England Holland, France, Germany, Scandinavian countries, 1927-1978.

Works

• Other Work

  • Author: Singing Soldiers, 1927. Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, 1929. One Man’s War, 1929

  • The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, 1961.
    
    Folk Ballads for Young Actors, 1962. Folk Carols for Young Actors, 1962. (poetry collection) Brickdust and Buttermilk, 1977.

Membership

Served to First lieutenant A.C., United States Army, 1917-1919. Member American Folklore Society, American Dialect Society, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Connections

Married Rena Lipetz, March 21, 1936. Children: Thomas Michael Tolliver, John Edward.

father:

John Thomas Niles

mother:

Lula Sarah (Reisch) Niles

spouse:

Rena Lipetz

children:

Thomas Michael Tolliver Niles

John Edward Niles