Papers of Sam Hinton, professional folk singer, illustrator, aquarist, and teacher of literature and folklore at UC San Diego.
Sam Hinton Papers, 1937-2006 (MSS 683)
OFF-SITE STORAGE: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW TWO TO THREE (2-3) WEEKS FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
Restrictions: Audiocassettes in Series 11 are restricted. Listening copies may be available for
researchers.
Extent: 16.8 Linear feet (42 archives boxes, 2 card file boxes, 2 map case folders, and 1 flat box)
Digital Content
Selected materials from the accession processed in 2015 have been digitized.
Sam Duffie Hinton (1917-2009) was an American folk singer, illustrator, aquarist, and teacher of literature and folklore. His musical career began as a young child, playing a button accordion, harmonica and pennywhistle for public audiences in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hinton performed with his two sisters under the group name "The Texas Trio" after moving with his family to Crockett, Texas in 1935. In 1937 Hinton was hired to perform on the popular radio program The Major Bowes Original Amateur Hour.
Hinton graduated with a degree in zoology from UCLA in 1937. He served as Director of the Palm Springs Desert Museum for three years, before being hired as an illustrator for the University of California Division Of War Research in 1944. In 1946 he was appointed Curator of the Thomas Wayland Vaughan Aquarium Museum at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In 1965 he was appointed Assistant Director of the department of Relations with Schools at UC San Diego. He served as Associate Director of the same department from 1967 until his retirement in 1980. Hinton continued his musical career in retirement, performing for local schools through his "Singing Through History" classroom program. He also travelled throughout the United States, performing at national folk festivals and hosting musicians' workshops.
Over the course of his career Hinton wrote two books on marine biology, Exploring Under the Sea and Seashore Life of Southern California. Hinton also served on the board of directors for Sing Out! Magazine, and wrote numerous articles for various science and folklore journals. Over the course of his musical career, Hinton recorded twelve solo albums, which include Singing Across the Land, 1956; Whoever Shall Have Some Peanuts, 1964; I'll Sing You a Story, 1972; and Sam Hinton: Master of the Solo Diatonic Harmonica, 2005.
Papers of Sam Hinton, professional folk singer, illustrator, aquarist, and teacher of literature and folklore at UC San Diego. The collection is arranged in two accessions. The accession processed in 2009 consists of music-related and professional files, and includes Hinton's work with Sing Out! Magazine, as well as drafts and research materials for Hinton's published articles and books. The accession processed in 2015 was originally donated to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Archives and contains artwork, including portrait caricatures and drawings for Hinton's weekly newspaper column "The Ocean World," science materials and photographs.
ACCESSION PROCESSED IN 2009
Arranged in eleven series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) SONGWRITING AND RECORDING, 3) PERFORMANCES, 4) COLLECTED SONGS, 5) TEACHING MATERIALS, 6) WRITINGS, 7) PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, 8) ARTWORK, 9) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 10) MISCELLANEOUS and 11) AUDIOCASSETTES.
ACCESSION PROCESSED IN 2015
Arranged in seven series: 12) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 13) CORRESPONDENCE, 14) PROFESSIONAL MATERIALS, 15) MUSIC, 16) ARTWORK, 17) WRITINGS and 18) PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES.
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