Herb Metoyer

Herb Metoyer is a Louisiana Creole gentleman who graduated from Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA. He is a retired military officer and helicopter pilot, and a recent retiree from General Motors where he served as a Test Engineer in GM's Testing Laboratories. Some folks say Herb is an Urban Blues Folk-singer. Nevertheless, he writes in many genres wholly dependent upon the subject matter he is addressing at the time. These include Blues, Country, Latin, Contemporary Folk, and Jazz. He is also one of the few (maybe the only) African-American folksong writers to emerge during the 1960’s era. You might also say that he is a musically enhanced "Storyteller" & "Poet." Much of his music concerns civil rights, unusual people & children, historical events, and other topical subjects such as war and personal observations he has encountered during his lifetime. His favorite subjects, however, concerns his memories about his home state of Louisiana. He performs utilizing both the guitar and synthesizer, sometimes playing a harmonica which hangs around his neck, and the tambourine with his foot. His vinyl album recorded in 1965 by MGM’s VerveFolkways record label entitled "Something New," has become a classic folk album that has been selling on ebay as a collector's item. Even today, he still receives fan mail relative to this album. When released, Herb’s first album received a “Four Star” rating by Billboard magazine. He was a Helicopter pilot in the military at the time. But once he was promoted to grade of Major, the military cut his budding music career short, claiming that his activities as a singer/songwriter were unbecoming of a Field Grade Officer. So…, Herb gave up performing in favor his military career. One of Herb's most prized accomplishments, however, is the fact that one of his songs "Mother, Fools are A Long Line Coming" is on the “moon" in the Time Capsule. It was recorded by Fred Neil on his "Sessions” album by Capitol. During his youth, Herb performed on the same shows along side such great artists as Joni Mitchell, Fred Neil, Mike Taylor, Josh White (Senior & Junior), Odetta, Vince Martin, Judy Collins, Phil Ochs, Mayon Weeks, Danny Potter, and Steve Biggs. During his latter years, Herb concentrated on writing and book publishing. In 1984, he became a founding member of the “Detroit Black Writer’s Guild,” a non-profit organization devoted to improving literacy and training potential authors. To his credit, he has completed two novels, and edited and published over twelve books for other authors. He is also in the final stages of completing a Louisiana Historical Adventure novel to be titled “Small Fires In The Sun.” This novel is based on actual events that depict the aspirations and conflicts that evolved between the French, Spanish, African and Indian cultures during colonial Louisiana. Now, in his later years, Herb is again focusing on his music. His last CD, “Here I Am Again” was released in 2004. In June, 2010 he released a new CD titled “This Is The Time.”