Stan Wilson is a West Coast singer who has had unusual success with folksongs, calypso, blues and modern songs written in the folk manner. He was born May 2, 1922, in Oakland, California. He attended elementary schools in Oakland and Berkeley and high school in Berkeley. His parents were not singers or musicians, and he is largely self-taught.

Stan recalls that his first performance was in the first grade at school, and he’s been singing ever since. Singing of folksongs became a professional interest for him about 1949. He collects songs to add to his repertoire, uses the guitar, and does his own arrangements. He’s published a few songs, including “Rollin’ Stone,” known as a Western ballad type.

His performances number in the thousands, for singing and playing are his regular occupation as well as his hobby. In the main, he has appeared at the favorite supper clubs in San Francisco, Chicago, Milwaukee, Reno, Las Vegas, and elsewhere. Stan reports as follows on his singing of folksongs: “I sing mostly folksongs because I find I get the greatest feeling from them.” He has done several long-playing recordings.* The San Francisco Examiner (September 27, 1953), Billboard (November 14, 1953), and other journals have given highest praise to his performances.

Stan Wilson was married to his first wife, Roberta, from 1946 to 1952. They are the parents of three children: Paul . . . Wayne . . . and Randy (a girl) . . . He was married to Tamar Hodel in 1953, and they have a daughter, Deborah [Fauna.] The Wilsons make their home in San Francisco.

SOURCE: “Folksingers and Folksongs in America,”
by Ray M. Lawless, NY: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1965
many thanks to Pete Curry for providing the transcription of this bio.