Hall of Honor Inductee

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1935, Tuft earned a philosophy degree from Dartmouth College and learned how to play guitar as a way of participating in the folk boom that shook up the Eisenhower era. He made his first visit to New York City in 1960 with his good friend Dick Weissman, a fellow Colorado Music Hall of Famer; a stop at Izzy Young’s New York Folklore Center offered him a preview of his life’s work.

Tuft moved to the Mile High City in December 1961, and the next year, he opened the Denver Folklore Center at 608 East 17th Avenue. The Center sold instruments, offered lessons and provided a performance area inspired by Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music.