Born in Cleveland, OH, Bill Crofut was an internationally acclaimed singer, composer and banjo player who defied categorization. He first surfaced during the folk music boom in the late 1950s. Pete Seeger taught him to play the banjo after Crofut organized a Seeger concert to support the singer's defense fund (Seeger was under government investigationat that time for alleged "un-American activities.") His diverse interests are represented by more than 20 recordings, including folk music and jazz, classical music, and comparisons of English and American songs. He also collaborated with poets in writing settings of verse to music as a way to introduce young children to poetry. Robert Penn Warren once said, "When Bill Crofut has set one of my poems to music, he has given it back to me in a new and brighter dimension where dew shines on the grass."

Crofut made seven tours representing the United States in more than 50 countries and received a Presidential Citation for his contribution to international cultural exchanges. He was the author of two books: Troubadour, with a foreword by Robert F. Kennedy; and The Moon on the One Hand, winner of the American Library Association's Notable Book Award. His British television program “Simple Gifts” won the Special Jury Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Bill Crofut died of cancer Jan. 25, 1999, at his home in Sandisfield, Mass. He was 64.