Gilbert Vandine "Cisco" Houston (August 18, 1918 – April 29, 1961) was an American folk singer and songwriter,[1] who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of traveling and recording together.

It is reported[2] that Houston was regarded as highly intelligent during his time at school, despite the nystagmus that afflicted his eyesight, leaving him to rely heavily on peripheral vision.

[1] Despite Houston's poor eyesight (which rendered him nearly blind by the end of his life), he was a member of the National Maritime Union and worked in the Merchant Marine starting in 1940 and continued through three years of World War II.

After the war, Houston returned to New York and performed with the Almanac Singers, a left-wing folk group that often included Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Millard Lampell, and Woody Guthrie, among others.

He recorded for various labels, including Folkways, Stinson, Disc, Coral, Decca and Vanguard, and was a guest on numerous radio and television programs.

Houston toured India in 1959 under the sponsorship of the State Department with Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Marilyn Childs.

In the months preceding his death, with the knowledge of his imminent demise, Houston talked at length with his old friend Lee Hays, who recorded their sessions for a project he dubbed The Cisco Tapes.

The Kingston Trio, still at the height of their popularity in 1960, recorded it for their album String Along, because they "wanted to do something for this artist who had contributed so much to the folk movement, but had somehow failed to receive the commercial recognition one would expect for a talent of his magnitude.

"[3] Houston's death was mourned by a growing folk music community that included young songwriters including Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, and Phil Ochs,[1] a new generation of musicians who revered such performers as Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Sonny Terry, and Houston.

Some of his compositions were included in the songbook 900 Miles, the Ballads, Blues and Folksongs of Cisco Houston, issued by Oak Publications in 1965.