He did field research and wrote books on Southern blues, which helped to inspire the blues and folk music revival of the 1960s and '70s. He also produced blues-based records for Folkways, Prestige, Vanguard and other labels.
He produced the first four albums by Country Joe & the Fish, including "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag".
He earned a degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
After serving in the Army during the Korean War, he lived in New Orleans, where he played clarinet, banjo and washboard in bands, and studied with jazz clarinetist George Lewis.