Public domain · credits
Timeline
26 events▣ Album 23◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1
1940s
1960s
· Debut release
Debut release: First Songs
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography798 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1362397020
Biography
Michael Hurley (December 20, 1941 – April 1, 2025) was an American folk singer-songwriter who was a part of the Greenwich Village folk music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to playing a wide variety of instruments, Hurley was also a cartoonist and a painter.
Hurley's music has been described as "outsider folk".
Career
Before starting his recording career Hurley contracted mononucleosis and needed to wait several years until he could sign to a record label. Hurley's debut album, First Songs
First SongsSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Blue MountainA2You Get Down By The Pool Hall Clickety Clack (Sister Song)A3I Like My WineA4No, No, No, I Won't Come (Go) Down No MoreA5The Tea SongB1Just A BumB2Raven Rock (They Took Away The Diesel)B3Fat MamaB4The Animal Song (If I Could Ramble Like A Hound)B5Captain KiddB6Intersoular BluesB7The Werewolf Song, was recorded for Folkways Records in 1963, on the same reel-to-reel machine that taped Lead Belly's Last Sessions. He was discovered by blues and jazz historian Frederick Ramsey III, and subsequently championed by boyhood friend Jesse Colin Young, who released his second and third albums on The Youngbloods' Warner Bros. imprint, Raccoon.
Hurley spent much of the early 1970s as an itinerant performer in Vermont, working odd jobs on the side. In the late 1970s, Hurley made three albums for Rounder, all of which have since been reissued on CD. His 1976 LP Have Moicy!, a collaboration with Peter Stampfel and the Unholy Modal Rounders (a spin-off of the Holy Modal Rounders) and Jeffrey Frederick & The Clamtones, received much critical praise. Music critic Robert Christgau ranked it as his favorite album of the year.
In 1996, Koch Records released Wolfways with Hurley backed by Mickey Bones on drums. Tours with Son Volt and high praise from younger performers like Lucinda Williams, Vic Chesnutt, Woods, Calexico, Cat Power, Julian Lynch, and Robin Holcomb followed.
In the 2000 film Hamlet, the main character listens to Hurley's song "Wild Geeses" while making a video that stands in for the original's "Murder of Gonzago" play-within-a-play "to catch the conscience" of King Claudius.
In 2001, Locust Music reissued Hurley's debut under the new title Blueberry Wine, with new artwork contributed by Hurley.
Gnomonsong released a new Michael Hurley album titled Ancestral Swamp
Ancestral SwampSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Knockando4:282Dying Crapshooter's Blues5:083Lonesome Graveyard5:194New River Blues4:435El Dorado3:5361st Precinct Blues5:237Light Green Fellow4:238Gambling Charley4:159Streets of Laredo4:0510When I Get Back Home6:0511She Got a Mathematic4:52 on September 18, 2007. Backing was provided by longtime Hurley associate David Reisch of the Holy Modal Rounders and new friends Tara Jane O'Neil and Lewi Longmire.
In 2010, Secret Seven Records (San Francisco) and Mississippi Records (Portland) teamed up to reissue 100 copies of Hurley's rarest album, Blue Navigator
Blue NavigatorSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Blue Navigator3:462Whoever Heard of You?3:523Dices, Dices3:124Werewolf4:415Wolf Dispatch3:176'54 Chevy3:577Code of the Mountains6:098Ghost Woman Blues5:049Someone to Say Bye Bye To2:4910Open Up3:2711National Weed Growers Assoc.4:3512Slippery Rag2:3013Coloured Birds4:0414Wildegeeses3:38, on 8-track tape. (Hurley was a long-time collector of music on 8-track tapes.)
In 2011, Hurley's first book of lyrics was released by the Quebec book publisher L'Oie de Cravan. It contains the original English lyrics to 19 of his songs calligraphed by the author, a foreword by critic Byron Coley and a French version by Marie Frankland, winner of the 2007 John-Glassco prize for translation.
Hurley performed at the annual Nelsonville Music Festival in 2008 and 2010–2019, and again in 2022.
His song, "Hog of the Forsaken", was used in the closing credits for the pilot episode of the series and the closing of Deadwood: The Movie.
Hurley appears in the Oregon-set family drama film Leave No Trace (2018), where he performs "O My Stars" at a bonfire alongside fellow Oregon-based musician Marisa Anderson.
He lived in Brownsmead in rural northwest Oregon and performed frequently in and around Portland.
In 2021 Hurley released a new album titled The Time of the Foxgloves
The Time of the FoxglovesSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Are You Here for the Festival3:562Alabama2:583Se fue en la noche4:084Blondes and Redheads4:195Love Is the Closest Thing5:046Boulevard4:037Knocko the Monk2:548Jacob’s Ladder4:359Little Blue River3:5010Beer, Ale and Wine3:3911Lush Green Trees3:42. The New Yorker's Amanda Petrusich included it in her 10 best albums of the year list.
Personal life
Hurley was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on December 20, 1941, and grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He began playing and writing songs at the age of 13. He recorded his first album, First SongsFirst SongsSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Blue MountainA2You Get Down By The Pool Hall Clickety Clack (Sister Song)A3I Like My WineA4No, No, No, I Won't Come (Go) Down No MoreA5The Tea SongB1Just A BumB2Raven Rock (They Took Away The Diesel)B3Fat MamaB4The Animal Song (If I Could Ramble Like A Hound)B5Captain KiddB6Intersoular BluesB7The Werewolf Song at the age of 22. He also lived in New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Vermont, Ohio, Florida, and most recently in Oregon.
Hurley self-published at least three magazines. The Underground Monthly, The Outcry, and The Morning Tea. He also created several comic books featuring Jocko and Boone, Greenbriar Kornbread, and Mama Molasses, among other characters.
Hurley liked to call himself Elwood Snock, Doc Snock, Snockman, The Snock, or Snock. Hurley did much of the artwork for his own albums. Two oft-featured cartoon werewolves, Jocko and Boone, were something of a theme across Hurley's musical career, even appearing in their own comics. Both are based on dogs that Hurley's family owned when he was a child.
Hurley had three children with his former wife, Marjorie, whom he called "Pasta", two sons, Jordan and Colorado, and a daughter, Daffodil. He had a son, Rollin, with a girlfriend, Kim, and a daughter, Wilder Mountain Honey, with another girlfriend, Bethany.
Hurley died on April 1, 2025, in Portland, Oregon, while being rushed to the hospital after he stopped breathing. He was 83. Hurley was being driven home after returning from playing a show the previous day in Asheville, North Carolina, and also playing two shows at Big Ears Festival on March 28 and 29 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 11 | 61.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 26 | 89.3th |
| Studio albums | 23 | 97.2th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 26 | 95.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 61 | 98.1th |
| Genres | 7 | 93th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (26 release groups · 23 studio albums)
Albums · 23
1964 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks
A1Blue MountainA2You Get Down By The Pool Hall Clickety Clack (Sister Song)A3I Like My WineA4No, No, No, I Won't Come (Go) Down No MoreA5The Tea SongB1Just A BumB2Raven Rock (They Took Away The Diesel)B3Fat MamaB4The Animal Song (If I Could Ramble Like A Hound)B5Captain KiddB6Intersoular BluesB7The Werewolf Song1971 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 44:39
1Werewolf4:472Grand Canyon Line3:523English Nobleman2:234Be Kind to Me3:005Troubled Water2:156Red Ravager's Reel2:127Sweedeedee5:418Open Up2:519Jocko's Lament2:1710Light Green Fellow3:5411Get the Best of Me3:3112Biscuit Roller2:2513When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano1:5214Penguins3:391972 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 41:12
A1Blue Driver3:37A2Water Train2:55A3The Sun Is Slowly Sinkin'3:05A4Old Black Crow0:46A5The Twilight Zone5:00A6I'm Worried I'm Worried2:57A7In Florida2:27B1Mr. Whiskerwits4:00B2Lilly Pads Upon the Pond3:05B3Eyes Eyes2:41B4The Girl I Love2:09B5Uncle Bob's Corner3:41B6Rat Face0:22B7Trinidad4:271976 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 42:43
A1Long Journey2:42A2The Portland Water3:36A3So You Say3:16A4Reconciled to the Blues2:53A5You Got to Find Me3:58A6The 8-Ball Cafe3:01A7Polynesia #12:17B1Monkey on the Interstate1:08B2Whiskey Willey3:59B3Panama Hat3:41B4Why Should I Have to Worry?1:44B5The Vt. - Ore. Floor3:56B6Hog of the Forsaken3:26B7In the Garden3:061980 · studio album
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Tracklist · 15 tracks · 50:59
1Midnite Rounder3:072O My Stars3:273Tia Marie3:584I'm Gettin' Ready to Go3:525Watchin' the Show3:316Automatic Slim & The Fat Boys4:027Don't Treat Me Bad2:298I Head the Voice of a Porchchop2:449No Home2:0010Jolé Blon2:3111I Think I'll Move3:1912Goin' to Florida3:3913You Gonna Look Like a Monkey3:5414Sweet Lucy4:0215Grapefruit Juice Blues4:241984 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 55:01
1Blue Navigator3:462Whoever Heard of You?3:523Dices, Dices3:124Werewolf4:415Wolf Dispatch3:176'54 Chevy3:577Code of the Mountains6:098Ghost Woman Blues5:049Someone to Say Bye Bye To2:4910Open Up3:2711National Weed Growers Assoc.4:3512Slippery Rag2:3013Coloured Birds4:0414Wildegeeses3:381987 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 39:19
1The Revenant3:452I Paint A Design3:463Lush Green Trees3:084Keep Rockin'2:415You'll Never Go To Heaven3:356Ma's Dream Blues3:047I Still Could Not Forget You Then3:168Indian Chiefs & Hula Girls3:409Broadcasting The Blues5:3010Uncle Bob's Corner2:4311Moon Song4:111992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks
A1Ms. Petty BluesA2Me Solo UnoA3She Got a MathematicA4Old Mother HubbardA5The Abominable SnowmanA6The Dialogue of LoveB1$10.00 GigB2I've Taken LeaveB3Down in Little ChineeB4Fare Thee Well BluesB5The Beggar's Terms1994 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 38:51
1The Portland Water3:482Eyes Eyes3:163Mayor of Alburg1:554I Paint a Design5:495Werewolf4:226Hog of the Forsaken3:207Somebody to Say Bye Bye To3:128Ditty Boy Twang3:089Letter in Neon2:58103 Blinds Blues7:031998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 39:39
1$10.00 Gig4:522Girl on the Billboard3:123Victoria4:344Ruben's Train2:565The Beggars Terms3:166Misery3:007Pay No Attention to Alice3:048Love Changing Blues3:319English Nobleman2:2610Ghost Woman Blues3:4511Sweet Thing5:031999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 48:35
1Your Old Gearbox3:412Extra Love3:123The Beggars Terms3:314Nat'l Weed Growers Assoc.3:055Me & Red4:206The Rue of Ruby Whores4:187Vanessa2:248Mr. Man in the Moon3:289Lean on Me3:5610Dust Off This Old Guitar5:1911Rider's Lament3:4412Don't Call Me Sam3:3913Wildegeeses3:582002 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 47:46
1Ohio Blues5:442The Rue of Ruby Whores4:173Barbera Allen4:264The Question3:535Blockade Stillers5:186Edinburgh Lag3:177Negatory Romance3:168Got Over It3:529O My Stars4:3510Mona Lisa3:3511The End of the Road5:332004 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 45:49
1Goners3:472What I’d Give4:223Rough and Rocky3:164Slurf Song4:405Uncle Smootchface4:556Monkey on the Dual Carriageway2:447Have I Told You Lately4:008Gooseball Brown2:139I Don’t Care X 33:5810Pancho and Lefty3:4311Whiskey Willy4:3512You Got to Say3:362007 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 52:34
1Knockando4:282Dying Crapshooter's Blues5:083Lonesome Graveyard5:194New River Blues4:435El Dorado3:5361st Precinct Blues5:237Light Green Fellow4:238Gambling Charley4:159Streets of Laredo4:0510When I Get Back Home6:0511She Got a Mathematic4:522009 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 50:51
1You're a Dog and Don't Talk to Me2:112Hoot Owls5:403Give Me the Cure7:384New Tea5:485Don't Blame It on Me3:076Parsnip Snips1:427Runaway3:238Old Black Crow3:129Light Green Fellow2:3710The Time Is Right3:4511Goin' to Polynesia5:1612Abominable Snowman5:0513Us Space Weevils1:272009 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 41:23
1It Must Be Gelatine2:562Wildegeeses4:163Hog of the Forsaken4:334I Stole the Right to Live3:535Valley of Tears3:116Going Steady2:047Hoot Owls4:498The Time Is Right4:069I Can’t Help Myself3:1810Loch Lomond‐Molly Malone3:0311Ragg Mopp2:3712Any Ninny Any2:372010 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 31:18
A1In the Morning5:25A2Help Me to Get Rid of Her – How Sweet I Roamed5:20A3The Corridor6:59B1Shockoe Bottom2:41B2Meara O’Reilly4:54B3Tea5:592011 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 29:26
A1Automatic Slim & The Fatboys3:53A2Drivin’ Wheel3:25A3Ghost Woman Blues4:02A4Long Legs3:10B1Long John3:18B2Move It on Over3:22B3Watchin’ the Show2:05B4The Portland Water2:37B5Singing Waterfall3:342012 · studio album
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Tracklist · 8 tracks · 36:05
A1What’llya Do What’llya Say4:51A2The Blues Had Gone Away2:56A3Pretty Girl on Rollerskates6:14A4The Tea Song5:22B1Intersoular Blues3:55B2I Like My Wine4:09B3Hey Hey Hey4:32B4I Love You Babe4:062013 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 44:27
A1Dark Valley Walls3:10A2Disaster on Your Wheel2:59A3Big Black Spider3:50A4The Corridor3:56A5Doin’ the O’Possum7:08B1How Many Biscuits?4:51B2Sun to Sun2:31B3Go Tell Aunt Rhody2:58B4Old Doc Gieger3:43B5Ohio Blues4:12B6You Got to Die5:092016 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 41:53
A1Kentucky 33:00A2Charona5:03A3Tender Is the Guitar4:38A4Beasley’s Release4:17A5Boone & Jocko5:04B1Cuckoo Rock5:12B2Lo Bonney4:28B3The Moon Song4:33B4Moonman Newfie2:44B5Dragging the Indian2:542021 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 43:08
1Are You Here for the Festival3:562Alabama2:583Se fue en la noche4:084Blondes and Redheads4:195Love Is the Closest Thing5:046Boulevard4:037Knocko the Monk2:548Jacob’s Ladder4:359Little Blue River3:5010Beer, Ale and Wine3:3911Lush Green Trees3:422025 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 3:24
1Junebug2Indian Chiefs and Hula Girls3This4Abomidable Snowman5The Monkey6Fava3:247Cherry Pie8I’ll Walk With You9New Orleans ’6110Letter in Neon11In a Dress
Single · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Wildegeeses / South in VirginiaSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 7:28A1Wildegeeses3:45 B1South in Virginia3:43 | June 2013 |
Album · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Listening to the WatertrainSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 18 tracks · 1:17:251Halleluia I'm A Bum6:02 2I'm Gettin' Ready To Go4:03 3Blue Driver3:54 4Watertrain3:04 5Biscuit Roller2:21 6And They Laughed, Laughed, Laughed3:38 7Crazy Little Devil2:08 8Blue Driver3:05 9Mo Fun4:54 10Walking the Dog3:33 11Letter in Neon2:48 12The Revenant3:40 13I Will Survive3:56 14Biscuit Roller3:05 15Jocko's Lament3:02 16Take a Deep Breath4:50 17The Tea Song8:34 187/4 Loop10:48 | Compilation | February 2014 | |
| 2021 | Live Ateliers ClausSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 22 tracks · 1:44:2411954 Chevrolet5:36 2Heavy on Me, Heavy on You3:17 3Waitin' for the Aliens3:45 4Open Up3:21 5Eyes, Eyes3:12 6Knockando4:51 7O My Stars3:32 8Disaster on Your Wheel3:07 9Extra Love4:32 10Indian Chiefs & Hula Girls4:32 11The Slurf Song5:49 12Putting' Sugar3:52 13The Tea Song4:46 14I Paint a Design6:32 15Never River Blues2:42 16The Portland Water10:08 17Horse's Ass4:06 18Sun to Sun2:42 19The Code of the Mountains5:42 20Sweedeedee11:15 21Automatic Slim and the Fatboys4:34 22Old Black Crow2:31 | Live | 24 February 2021 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Michael Hurley head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 11 | 61.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 26 | 89.3th |
| Studio albums | 23 | 97.2th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 26 | 95.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 61 | 98.1th |
| Genres | 7 | 93th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michael_Hurley_2006.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a45bbcf5-f009-49cb-962e-4591083573d1discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/a45bbcf5-f009-49cb-962e-4591083573d1core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5817598genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5817598seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hurley_%28musician%29biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hurley_%28musician%29
Why this artist is in the database
- List of folk musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: no portrait · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q5817598 · MusicBrainz: a45bbcf5-f009-49cb-962e-4591083573d1
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