David P. McAllester received his Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University, where he studied with George Herzog. A student of American Indian music since 1938, he undertook fieldwork among the Comanches, Hopis, Apaches, Navajos, Penobscots and Passamaquoddies. He was the author of such classic works in ethnomusicology as PEYOTE MUSIC, ENEMY WAY MUSIC, MYTH OF THE GREAT STAR CHANT and NAVAJO BLESSINGWAY SINGER (with co-author Charlotte Frisbie). He was one of the founders of the Society for Ethnomusicology, and he served as its president and the editor of its journal, ETHNOMUSICOLOGY. Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Music at Wesleyan University, he passed away in 2006.