Western Music Association
Co-Founder, Makes His Last Ride
Bill Jacobson passed away this week after a brief illness.
Bill was a founding member of the Western Music Association. At the initial
meeting in Las Vegas in 1988, volunteers were needed to launch a publication
that would pick up where the Sons of the Pioneers newsletter left off. It would
broaden the scope of coverage to include new music releases, articles of
historical interest, and help bring together musicians and fans who were
interested in preserving and continuing Western music.
Canadian folk and roots music singer Kate McGarrigle, best
known for her work with her sister, Anna, as the McGarrigle Sisters, has died
at age 63. The McGarrigle Sisters, known for their gorgeous vocal harmonies,
first rose to prominence when Linda Rondstadt had a hit with Anna McGarrigle's
song "Heart Like A Wheel" in 1974. The sisters then went on to release several
critically-acclaimed albums, beginning with 1975's Kate and Anne McGarrigle.
Kate McGarrigle is the mother of Rufus and Martha
Wainwright, her children with Loudon Wainwright III. She succumbed to a rare
form of cancer.
Singer/songwriter and longtime Athens, GA resident Vic
Chesnutt, whose literate lyrics and intimate, unadorned music impressed fans,
critics and fellow musicians alike, died of an intentional overdose of muscle
relaxants on Christmas day, two days after falling into a coma.
Born in Jacksonville, FL and raised in Georgia, Chesnutt learned trumpet
in school and guitar from his grandmother. Chesnutt had been in a wheelchair
since being injured in a one-car accident at the age of 18. Though he'd been a
guitarist and keyboardist in a series of rock bands since before his accident, afterwards
he re-learned guitar, and sticking to simpler chords by necessity, developed his
own idiosyncratic songwriting style, equally influenced by songwriters such as
Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and an (allegedly shoplifted) copy of the Norton
Anthology of American Poetry.
After REM's lead singer Michael Stipe saw him play in the 40
Watt Club in Athens,
where he was playing a weekly residency, Stipe offered to produce his debut
album, Little, featuring Chesnutt's
voice accompanied only by ARP synthesizer.
On Saturday, January 9, from 10 am-1 pm, a "Celebration Of
Curly Musgrave's Life" will be held at Pomona First Baptist Church, 586 N Main
St., Pomona, CA 91768. A multiple top-award-winning musician, headliner at many
festivals, past performing guest on radio's "Tied to the Tracks," and
all-around great guy, he will be remembered in song and word that day and well
beyond in the legacy of music he left us.
There is no Grammy for Western Music. The genre's most
prestigious awards come from two entities, the Western Music Association (WMA)
and the Academy of Western Artists (AWA). Curly Musgrave won top honors from
both. He received two Academy Of Western Artists "Will Rogers' Awards" as "Male
Performer of the Year" and "Entertainer of the Year" in 2003. He won the
Western Music Association's "Male Performer of the Year" in both 2002 and 2003,
and he was the WMA's "Songwriter of the Year" in 2002, 2003 and 2004. His final
music award came in November 2009 - at a time when everyone expected him to
make a complete recovery - when he won the WMA's "Instrumentalist of the Year."
With the passing of Bess Lomax Hawes on the day after
Thanksgiving, November 27, 2009, an era of the great folk song collectors
started by America's founding father of folklore, John A. Lomax, has come to a
close. Bess Lomax was the last of that extraordinary first family, who along
with her father and brother Alan defined the role of the folk song collector
for the past century. She was eighty-eight years old, and died of a stroke in
Portland, Oregon. As W.H. Auden once wrote about the Irish poet Yeats, "Earth,
receive an honored guest; Bess Lomax Hawes is laid to rest."
Where to begin? Let me tell you a story about a woman named Bess: Sixty years ago, in November of 1949, a sound truck was rumbling through Boston with loudspeakers blaring a campaign song she and her friend Jacqueline Steiner had just written: The MTA Song:
LOS ANGELES. LA's hobo troubadour
and documentary filmmaker "Banjo" Fred Starner, a veteran of 1969s first voyage
to clean up the Hudson
River with Pete Seeger's replica of a 19th century sloop The Clearwater, has died of complications from pneumonia and sarcoidosis, a chronic lung disease to which ship builders are particularly prone.
Fred Starner was 72 years old and had been in failing health for two months.
He died on October 25, at Chatsworth Park Rehab in West Hills.
The idea to build a replica of an old Hudson River sloop, which had sailed up and down the Hudson River in the 1800s, came from Pete. He thought if he could get people to come to see this beautiful sloop that he could call attention to the plight of the Hudson, and to educate the public along the Hudson to realize that the river was so polluted that no fish could live in it.
Mary Travers passed
away on September 16th. After successful recovery from leukemia through a bone
marrow/stem cell transplant, Mary succumbed to the side effects of one of
the chemotherapy treatments.
We all loved her
deeply and will miss her beyond words.
Statement by Peter Yarrow
"In her final months,
Mary handled her declining health in the bravest, most generous way imaginable.
She never complained. She avoided expressing her emotional and physical
distress, trying not to burden those of us who loved her, especially her
wonderfully caring and attentive husband, Ethan.
Sam Hinton passed away on Thursday, September 10, at 4 p.m.,
surrounded by family and hearing his own songs.It was a peaceful end to a long,
creative and beloved life. There is a sweet tribute to him on his website maintained his grandchild Katrina
Cooper and her husband Danny.
Ross Altman, in his current column, pays
tribute to Sam referring to the song It's a
Long Way From Amphioxus:
"The song became a part of oral tradition, at least in
zoology and biology departments across the country, mostly from the singing of
marine biologist/folk singer Sam Hinton, who recorded it for Folkways Records
in the early 1950s. Sam later became the head of the Scripps Institute of
Oceanography in La Jolla and carried on his dual career until about ten years
ago.
Sixty years ago San Diego folk singer and marine biologist
Sam Hinton had something quite astonishing for a traveling medicine show
performer (Major Bowes Vaudeville Show)-a certified hit song. It was written by
LA newspaperman (and co-founder of the Newspaper Guild in Southern California)
Vern Partlow, in the wake of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Talking Ol' Man Atom, or The Talking Atomic Blues. It was that
song in which Partlow came up with a closing couplet worthy of Alexander Pope:
Steve Mann wanted to achieve some kind of
immortality as a guitarist, and wasn't afraid to admit it. To him that meant
meeting the standards set by only one guitarist, the one who sold his soul to
the devil at a famous meeting at the Crossroads, in exchange for which he would
be able to play the blues like no one had ever played them. It was a Faustian
bargain and Robert Johnson paid for it with his life.
In the end, so did Steve Mann. But let me
start at the beginning.
If LA had a Mt. Rushmore of folk guitarists I
know who would be on it: Ry Cooder, who at 16 could play Blind Blake so you
couldn't tell the difference between them; David Cohen, a hulking Buddha statue
of a man who taught an entire generation of guitar-enthusiasts to finger-pick
like their favorites, from Doc Watson to Elizabeth Cotton; Dick Rosmini, who
played the 12-string guitar in the movie Midnight
Special, based on Leadbelly's life, even though the filmmaker had to
conceal his white hands; and Steve Mann, the most exciting ragtime and blues
style guitarist I ever saw, who stole the show at the Ash Grove no matter who
else was on stage.
Mike Seeger, Peggy Seeger's older brother and Pete's younger half-brother, died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Lexington, Virginia, on Hiroshima Day, Thursday, August 6. He was 75 years old. He couldn't have picked a better day to leave this world, as he was a quiet champion for peace through music, mentioning during a concert at McCabe's Guitar Shop ten years ago that he played old-timey "non-violent banjo," to distinguish it from hi-powered bluegrass.
He was playing a fretless banjo at the time, one that Frank Proffit, collector of the original version of the ballad Tom Dooley, had made for him many years ago. He also played the Jews Harp (or Jaws Harp), which he could get more music out of than anyone I had ever heard.
Not known particularly as a political artist like Pete, Mike Seeger nonetheless manifested his politics through his music, making African-American traditional songs and tunes a core part of his expansive repertoire, and closing a memorable appearance at UCLA's Royce Hall with a peace song from World War One. He loved letting old voices speak through him; rather than singing the most recent topical song on the politics of the Bush administration, he would make the same point even more forcefully with a seventy-five year old song that no one had ever heard before.
After a long struggle with cancer, Mike Seeger died peacefully last Friday, August 7th, in his Lexington, Virginia home, surrounded by his wife, family, and friends.
Best known perhaps for his role as co-founder of the music group The New Lost City Ramblers, Mike devoted his life and career to performing, collecting, and teaching, and disseminating the music of rural Appalachian America to a vast throng of friends, students, and admirers. Born in NYC in 1933 to Charles and Ruth Crawford Seeger, Mike grew up in Washington DC and its suburbs. Along with the Lomax's, the Seeger's could be considered among the first families of the American folk music revival. His father, Charles, beginning his career as a musicologist, once recounted that he'd tired of studying European classical music, as he realized that this segment comprised just a small amount of the world's musical output. Shifting his attention to folk and ethnic musics from around the world, his studies formed the basis of what we now call ethnomusicology. Mike's mother, Ruth, was an accomplished pianist and music arranger, transcribing the field recordings of such collecting luminaries as John and Alan Lomax for publication via the Library of Congress.
A sad day in 2009 was July 26, when Cape Breton fiddler
Jerry Holland passed away after a long struggle with cancer. He was 54 years
old. Holland was an acclaimed performer, known for a sweet tone that
complemented the sometimes rough, always energetic, musical tradition of Cape
Breton, Nova Scotia. He was also known for his mentoring and teaching, and for
the many tunes he wrote in the Cape Breton and Irish traditions. Jerry's best known
tune, Brenda Stubbert's, has become a
session favorite.
Fiddle music was brought to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, by
Scottish immigrants during the Highland Clearances. These immigrants were from
the wilder and remote regions of Scotland, the Highlands and the Hebrides
Islands.
there was a storyteller named Kathleen Zundell who traveled
far and wide telling stories of fearless kids, feisty women, family foibles,
and four-footed creatures. Her repertoire celebrated many cultures, stories
with American Sign Language, and tales of the earth.
In Memoriam
By Ross Altman
Beloved Los Angeles Storyteller Kathleen Zundell passed away
Monday morning, May 11, 2009. Kathleen was Storyteller-in-Residence at
UCLA-Seeds University Elementary School for many years,as well as at Wildwood
School and Children's Community School in the Valley. She continued teaching
and performing even as she battled both Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma with both conventional and alternative methods of healing.
Travis Edmonson was a gift to the world, enthralling
everyone who knew him or heard him sing - as part of Bud & Travis, The
Gateway Singers and as a magnetic solo performer. Not just an entertainer,
Travis Edmonson was inevitably also a profound source of inspiration to those
who listened to his music.
Mixing that incredible vocal range with the ability to
profoundly touch the heart or create an instant smile, he consistently drew
each member of the largest audience into a direct one-to-one relationship.
To understand Travis Edmonson's extraordinary life, a look
back at the beginning will reveal many links to the inspiring entertainer who
captivated us all so completely.
Born on September 23, 1932 in Long Beach, California, Travis
Jerome Edmonson's first sojourn as a Californian was short-lived, and from
infancy to leaving college, he lived in southern Arizona, not merely a state of
residence for him, but a virtual state of mind which affected much in his life,
his career and his thinking.
Tony Young grew up in
central Scotland, went to
sea as a young man, and ended up in Los
Angeles. Somewhere along the way, he learned to play
the spoons like no one you've ever heard before or since. It wasn't just that he
was the most technically gifted player; it was the absolute joy that he got
from playing and sharing his music. He sat in with just about every Irish or
Scottish band in California
at one time or another, and was a fixture at the local festivals. Lots of folks
never even knew his name... they just called him "Spoonman."
Tony
wasn't able to play his spoons for the last few years of his life, but we bet
he's playing them somewhere now.
A memorial service took place this past Saturday at Maggie's Pub in Santa Fe Springs. A gathering of his friends, neighbors and fellow musicians celebrated his life. His brother Ron shared stories and fond memories.
Tony we will miss you.
ODETTA (1930 - 2008)
Great African-American Folksinger
Odetta (December
31 1930 - December 2 2008) was an African-American singer, actress, guitarist,
songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice
of the Civil Rights Movement." Her musical repertoire consists largely of American
folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American
folk music revival of the 1950s and '60s, she was a formative influence on
dozens of artists, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Janis Joplin.
Early life and career
She was born in Birmingham, Alabama, grew up in Los Angeles,
California, and studied music at Los Angeles City College. Having operatic
training from the age of 13, her first professional experience was in musical
theater in 1944, as an ensemble member for four years with the Hollywood
Turnabout Puppet Theatre, working alongside Elsa Lanchester; she later joined
the national touring company of the musical Finian's Rainbow in 1949.
While on tour with Finian's Rainbow, Odetta "fell in
with an enthusiastic group of young balladeers in San Francisco", and
after 1950 concentrated on folksinging.
The world was dealt a blow early this morning, in a small
town outside Naples, Italy when Zenzile Miriam
Makeba..Mama Afrika to the world, passed away.. and left this earth, aged 76
years. She was born on 4th March 1932.
Whilst this great lady was alive she would say "I will sing
until the last day of my life"
Zenzile Miriam Makeba collapsed on stage, at the end of her
set, after singing Pata Pata,. She was immediately attended to by her grandson
Nelson Lumumba Lee and others before being rushed to the nearest hospital.
Tragically, in the early hours of this 10th of November 2008 morning, the
doctors pronounced that they were unable to revive her.
It is with profound sorrow that we announce the
untimely passing of Artie Traum, a brilliant and creative musician as well as a
much-beloved husband, brother, uncle and friend.
Four years ago, Artie was diagnosed with a rare ocular
melanoma, and he had been undergoing regular treatments for it. In May,
however, it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his liver, and it was
incurable. Like everything else in his life, Artie handled his diagnosis with
dignity, strength and acceptance - and even a little of his irreverent humor.
"Close enough for folk music," was not close enough for Erik Darling. He was a perfectionist who "practiced the banjo the way Heifitz practiced the violin," according to his one-time Weavers' band mate Fred Hellerman. Darling passed away this past August 3 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, of lymphoma. He was 74 years old, and had been a prime mover in the folk revival of the 1960's, having replaced Pete Seeger in the Weavers a few years earlier.
Darling was a virtuoso banjo player, whose sparkling accompaniments enlivened countless albums of traditional American music on such small but essential labels as Riverside, Tradition, Vanguard, Elektra and Folkways, often as the sole guest instrumentalist for better-known singers. He was also a virtuoso 12-string guitarist at a time when none of the major guitar makers included 12-string guitars in their catalogs. Darling was about to change all that and bring the 12-string into the forefront of the folk revival.
Two beacons of
traditional Hawaiian culture have passed away in recent months, leaving vivid
memories for the audiences they entertained and rich legacies for the students
they inspired. Nona Beamer (August
15, 1923 - April 10, 2008) was a noted chanter, composer, singer, and teacher
of hula, who established "Hawaiiana" as an area for scholarship and education
in Hawaii. Genoa Keawe (October 31, 1918 - February 25,
2008) set the standard for female Hawaiian falsetto singers through today with
her uniquely sweet soprano and heartfelt interpretations. Both remained active
in their kupuna (elder) days when I
was privileged to see them perform.
A peerless craftsman and gentle jewel of a person.
Larry was a brilliant acoustic instrument luthier/repairman.
His work on acoustic guitars, banjos, mandolins, and the like was a delight to
behold. He always knew what needed to be done and the best way to do it. If you
have ever entrusted your beloved instruments to someone and experienced the
care, impeccable judgement, and exquisite workmanship of a true craftsman who
honored music and musicians, then you know a little about what letting Larry
work on your stuff was like. From his days at McCabe’s, to his own place, to
his shop above Boulevard Music, there have been many who would trust their
instruments to no one else. A trip to Larry’s to hang out and discuss music,
musicians, instruments, and life was always a joy. His friendship and his
talent will be greatly missed.
Ron Jackson was a fixture in the San Diego music scene as
both a music teacher and performer for 35 years.
His first full-time band was Molly Stone's New Honkytonk Band,
followed in succession during the 1970's by Squatters' Rites, Squatters' Last
Rites, and Fancy Peaches, culminating in the formation of the Unstrung Heroes
in 1981, which was still active until his death. He was also a member of the La Mirada Gutter Strutters jug band and
performed from 1979-1985 with Gabe Ward, last performing member of the
well-known Hoosier Hot Shots of the 1930's National Barn Dance. Ron
also played rhythm guitar for Patsy Montana on her Southern California
tours.
It is with great sadness that we share with you the passing of FolkScene founder, Howard Larman.
Howard was one of a kind. A generous soft-spoken man with a love for folk music he shared with his wife and co-founder of FolkScene Roz Larman. Their musical journey started 35 years ago and they shared that journey with FolkScene listeners almost every Sunday night during this time.
Mary Griffith Cox, wife of folk musician and actor Ronny Cox, died Dec. 18, 2006, at the age of 65, at Tarzana/Encino Hospital it was announced today. The cause of death was lung cancer.
She was born Mary Lee Griffith on Aug. 25, 1941, in Elk Horn, Iowa. Her family moved to Portales, New Mexico, in 1952, where she attended public schools. She took a BS degree from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, majoring in chemistry.
This St. Patrick's Day was strangely quiet for many members of the Irish Community. The festivities went on as usual, but for many there was a distinct silence. There was no lively button box music, for Des Regan had passed away on February 19th, 2007. Desmond James O'Regan of Moycullen, County Galway, Ireland gave us the great joy of his music for the better part of his 70 years.
Singer/songwriter and longtime Athens, GA resident Vic
Chesnutt, whose literate lyrics and intimate, unadorned music impressed fans,
critics and fellow musicians alike, died of an intentional overdose of muscle
relaxants on Christmas day, two days after falling into a coma.
On Saturday, January 9, from 10 am-1 pm, a "Celebration Of
Curly Musgrave's Life" will be held at Pomona First Baptist Church, 586 N Main
St., Pomona, CA 91768. A multiple top-award-winning musician, headliner at many
festivals, past performing guest on radio's "Tied to the Tracks," and
all-around great guy, he will be remembered in song and word that day and well
beyond in the legacy of music he left us.
With the passing of Bess Lomax Hawes on the day after
Thanksgiving, November 27, 2009, an era of the great folk song collectors
started by America's founding father of folklore, John A. Lomax, has come to a
close. Bess Lomax was the last of that extraordinary first family, who along
with her father and brother Alan defined the role of the folk song collector
for the past century. She was eighty-eight years old, and died of a stroke in
Portland, Oregon. As W.H. Auden once wrote about the Irish poet Yeats, "Earth,
receive an honored guest; Bess Lomax Hawes is laid to rest."
Mary Travers passed
away on September 16th. After successful recovery from leukemia through a bone
marrow/stem cell transplant, Mary succumbed to the side effects of one of
the chemotherapy treatments.
Sam Hinton passed away on Thursday, September 10, at 4 p.m.,
surrounded by family and hearing his own songs.It was a peaceful end to a long,
creative and beloved life. There is a sweet tribute to him on his 
A sad day in 2009 was July 26, when Cape Breton fiddler
Jerry Holland passed away after a long struggle with cancer. He was 54 years
old. Holland was an acclaimed performer, known for a sweet tone that
complemented the sometimes rough, always energetic, musical tradition of Cape
Breton, Nova Scotia. He was also known for his mentoring and teaching, and for
the many tunes he wrote in the Cape Breton and Irish traditions. Jerry's best known
tune, Brenda Stubbert's, has become a
session favorite.
Travis Edmonson was a gift to the world, enthralling
everyone who knew him or heard him sing - as part of Bud & Travis, The
Gateway Singers and as a magnetic solo performer. Not just an entertainer,
Travis Edmonson was inevitably also a profound source of inspiration to those
who listened to his music.
Larry was a brilliant acoustic instrument luthier/repairman.
His work on acoustic guitars, banjos, mandolins, and the like was a delight to
behold. He always knew what needed to be done and the best way to do it. If you
have ever entrusted your beloved instruments to someone and experienced the
care, impeccable judgement, and exquisite workmanship of a true craftsman who
honored music and musicians, then you know a little about what letting Larry
work on your stuff was like. From his days at McCabe’s, to his own place, to
his shop above Boulevard Music, there have been many who would trust their
instruments to no one else. A trip to Larry’s to hang out and discuss music,
musicians, instruments, and life was always a joy. His friendship and his
talent will be greatly missed.
