Karen J. Dalton (born Jean Karen Cariker; July 19, 1937 – March 19, 1993) was an American folk blues singer, guitarist, and banjo player. She was associated with the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene, particularly with Fred Neil, the Holy Modal Rounders, and Bob Dylan. Although she did not enjoy much commercial success during her lifetime, her music has gained significant recognition since her death. Artists like Nick Cave, Devendra Banhart, and Joanna Newsom have noted her as an influence.
Dalton was born Jean Karen Cariker in Bonham, Texas, but was raised in Enid, Oklahoma. She also lived in Stillwater, Oklahoma and Lawrence, Kansas. At the age of 21, Dalton left Oklahoma and arrived in Greenwich Village, New York City in the early 1960s, she brought her twelve string guitar and long-neck banjo with her. Dalton quickly became entrenched in the Greenwich Village folk musical scene of the 1960s. She played alongside big names of the time, including Bob Dylan (who occasionally backed her up on harmonica), Fred Neil, Richard Tucker, and Tim Hardin. She covered many of their songs in her own performances. She was among the first to sing Hardin's "Reason to Believe".
While Dalton was a regular at famous folk venue Café Wha? and performed at benefit concerts for civil rights groups, she was a reluctant performer and refused to perform her own songs. Dalton was "not interested in playing the music industry's games in an era when musicians had little other choice," as bass player and producer Harvey Brooks noted. She often responded in anger when producers attempted to change her music while recording. At first, producer Nik Venet was unsuccessful in recording her first album, It's So Hard to Tell Who's Going to Love You the Best (Capitol, 1969). It wasn't until he invited Fred Neil to a session that they were able to come away with recordings. And even then Venet and Neil were only successful by tricking Dalton into thinking the tape wasn't rolling. Dalton cut most of the tracks with one take, and all in one night. The record features songs from Neil, Hardin, Jelly Roll Morton, and Eddie Floyd & Booker T. Jones. It was re-released by Koch Records on CD in 1996.
Dalton's second album, In My Own Time (1971), was recorded at Bearsville Studios (which was set up by Bob Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman) and originally released by Woodstock Festival promoter Michael Lang's label, Just Sunshine Records. The album was produced and arranged by Harvey Brooks, who played bass on it. Piano player Richard Bell guested on the album. Its liner notes were written by Fred Neil and its cover photos were taken by Elliott Landy.
It's So Hard to Tell Who's Going to Love You the Best was re-released on Koch records in 1997, in collaboration with New York based radio DJ and Karen Dalton fan Nicholas Hill, and with liner notes by Peter Stampfel. In 1999 the French label Megaphone music did a European re-release of the same album, which included a bonus DVD featuring rare performance footage of Dalton and a French TV feature on Karen Dalton from 1970. In My Own Time was re-released on CD and LP on November 7, 2006 by Light in the Attic Records.
Dalton lived in rural Colorado some years in the 1960s, in a small mining cabin in Summerville. Eventually she moved back to New York via LA, and later to Woodstock. She died there in March 1993 from an AIDS-related illness, aged 55.
