"Glenn Yarbrough" has been added to your list of bookmarked artists
close
Glenn Yarbrough
Biography
Glenn Yarbrough's high, clear tenor has served him well throughout his long career as a singer (that's him singing "Things go better with Coke" on all those commercials), and although it has been many years since he placed a song on the pop charts, he continues to have a large and loyal fan base. He was born on January 12, 1930, in Milwaukee, WI, where he began singing at church functions as a child. His entry into the world of folk music came while he was a student at St. Johns College in Annapolis, MD, in 1951, where a late-night singing session with his roommate, Jac Holzman (who would later found Elektra Records -- Yarbrough would release a handful of records on the label) and a visiting Woody Guthrie would prove to be pivotal for Yarbrough. He bought a guitar the next day.

Following a stint in the Army as a radio operator (he served in Korea) and then a stay as a radio and television host in South Dakota, Yarbrough traveled to New York City in 1957, where he recorded an album, Come Sit by My Side, for New Traditions Records and began regularly playing the country's coffeehouse circuit. He eventually settled in Aspen, CO, where he purchased a local folk club called the Limelite.