Ralph Rinzler (July 20, 1934 – July 2, 1994)[1] was an American mandolin player, folksinger, and the co-founder of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall every summer in Washington, D.C., where he worked as a curator for American art, music, and folk culture at the Smithsonian.
Rinzler went to Swarthmore College where he began performing as a mandolin player in various folk music groups in the mid to late 1950s.
[5] He also played on a lot of other people's albums, including Joan Baez, Clarence Ashley, and won a Grammy for his work as a producer.
[6] At the same time Rinzler was also a diligent folklorist, who helped bring new artists into Folk Revival scene, such as Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Hazel Dickens, and others.
He got a job at the Smithsonian where he became an influential curator, producer, promoter, champion, writer, and advocate of important and beautiful American folk music from all cultures.