When Len Chandler arrived in New York City in the 1950s, he had no intention of getting involved with the folk music scene. Born in Akron, Ohio in 1935, he showed an interest in music at an early age. "My father was in the army," Chandler recalled, "and my mother bought me a little plastic flute with eight holes in it, and I played songs on it until I ran out of range." At eight, he began playing piano and at 12, he started studying classical music. He learned to play the oboe so he could join the high school band, and during his senior year joined the Akron Symphony.
Chandl...