Bonnie Koloc is a fascinating figure in American folk music! She was born on February 6, 1944, in Waterloo, Iowa. The first in her family to attend college, she enrolled at the University of Northern Iowa, initially majoring in drama before switching to art, supporting herself by singing. In 1968, she relocated from Iowa to Chicago, where she became a vital part of the city’s burgeoning folk scene. By the 1970s, she was recognized as one of the “trinity of the Chicago folk scene,” alongside Steve Goodman and John Prine.

Her angelic falsetto was hailed by critics as “second to none,” and she achieved a minor hit with “Roll Me On the Water” from her 1974 album You’re Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning. In 1984, she starred in the Public Theater’s production of The Human Comedy, earning a Theatre World Bronze Award for Outstanding New Talent on Broadway. Expanding her artistry beyond music, she created A Bestiary in 1996—a collection of linocuts, poetry, and music—which won Best in Show at the Iowa State Fair’s art salon.

A gifted visual artist as well, she specializes in printmaking, painting, and ceramics. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including a one-woman show at the Elmhurst Art Museum in 2009.

Reflecting on her career, she recalled a fond moment in the 1970s while performing at a small folk club in New York City, “I noticed that John Lennon and Yoko Ono were in the audience, sitting at one of those small tables with a candle in the center, intently watching my show… that was intimidating! Then while I was taking a break, they came to my dressing room to tell me how much they enjoyed the performance. They were just the sweetest couple!”

She is best known for her songs “Angel from Montgomery,” “Don’t Leave Me,” “Close Up,” and “Roll Me On the Water,” the latter reaching No. 12 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. Though she never achieved widespread national recognition, she has remained an iconic figure in Chicago, celebrated as a quintessential influence in shaping the city’s folk music movement of the 1970s and beyond.

A true renaissance woman, she has seamlessly blended music, theater, and visual art into a career that continues to inspire.

Discography:

• After All This Time, Ovation, 1971
• Hold On to Me, Ovation Records, 1972
• Bonnie Koloc, Ovation Records, 1973
• You’re Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning, Ovation Records, 1974
• At Her Best, Ovation Records, 1976
• Close-Up, Epic Records, 1976
• Wild and Recluse, Epic Records, 1978
• The Human Comedy (original Broadway cast recording on 2 CDs) Kilmarnock Records KIL 9702, 1984
• With You On My Side, Flying Fish, 1987
• Visual Voice, Naim Audio, 2000
• Timeless, self-released, 2004 (disc 1, recordings from 1973 to 1979; disc 2, recordings from 1979 to 1990)
• A Bestiary – Beasts of the Farm, self-released art book and CD, 2004
• Here to Sing, self-released, 2006
• Beginnings, self-released, 2010 (1969 recordings from the Earl Of Old Town and the University of Illinois)
• Rediscovered, self-released 2012 (selected songs from early albums newly recorded with new arrangements)
• Seems Like Yesterday, self-released 2017 (16 songs, most recorded live at Amazingrace in 1970s)