caption death_date death_place years_active alias label article_title name background birth_date instrument genre origin birth_name occupation
josh white in 1945 5 september 1969 manhasset , new york 1928 - 1969 pinewood tom tippy barton paramount , arc , decca , elektra josh white
 josh white solo_singer 11 february 1914 guitar , vocals piedmont blues , country blues , topical songwriting greenville , south carolina , united states joshua daniel white singer , actor , songwriter
josh white

joshua daniel white -lrb- february 11 , 1914 -- september 5 , 1969 -rrb- , known as josh white , was an american singer , guitarist , songwriter , actor , and civil rights activist .
he also recorded under the names `` pinewood tom '' and `` tippy barton '' in the 1930s .
white grew up in the jim crow south .
during the 1920s and 1930s , he became a prominent race records artist , with a prolific output of recordings in genres including piedmont blues , country blues , gospel , and social protest songs .
in 1931 , white moved to new york , and within a decade his fame had spread widely ; his repertoire expanded to include urban blues , jazz , traditional folk songs , and political protest songs .
he soon was in demand as an actor on radio , broadway , and film .
white also became the closest african-american friend and confidant to president franklin d. roosevelt .
however , white 's anti-segregationist and international human rights political stance presented in many of his recordings and in his speeches at rallies resulted in the mccarthyites utilizing the pretext of labelling him communist to slander and harass him .
accordingly , from 1947 through the mid-1960s , white became caught up in the anti-communist red scare , and combined with the resulting attempt to clear his name , his career was damaged .
white 's musical style influenced many future generations of musical artists , including , brownie mcghee , pete seeger , lena horne , dorothy dandridge , nat king cole , harry belafonte , lonnie donegan , eartha kitt , alexis korner , odetta , elvis presley , tracy chapman , joan armatrading , the kingston trio , the clancy brothers and tommy makem , merle travis , dave van ronk , peter , paul and mary , bob dylan , eric weissberg , judy collins , mike bloomfield , danny kalb , roger mcguinn , david crosby , richie havens , don mclean , roy harper , ry cooder , john fogerty , eva cassidy and jack white .
