RIP dave van ronk
van ronk was not known as a songwriter but he could cover the hell out of some one elses material + always with great gusto. I was always amazed by his version of "teddy bears picnic" from his songs for ageing children album.
"Veteran blues and folk singer Dave Van Ronk died at approximately 9:30 AM, February 10, 2002, at
New York University Medical Center in Manhattan. He was sixty-five years old and had been
undergoing treatment for colon cancer, when his cardio-pulmonary system failed.
A crucial early influence on Bob Dylan and others of the Greenwich Village school, Van Ronk was at
the forefront of a musical generation that drew inspiration from rural blues masters, while creating a
solo performance genre popular with urban, college-educated audiences. Beginning in the late 1950's,
he toured widely, performing in coffee houses and campuses. In subsequent years he broadened his
repertoire to encompass the traditional jazz influences of his teenage years, art songs by the likes of
Bertolt Brecht and Joni Mitchell, and his own compositions, usually marked by an ironic
self-deprecation that eschewed sentimentality in favor of hard and beautiful realism. ("From Genghis
Khan to the Fuller Brush Man/ They're all a bunch of losers like me.") He was also known for his solo
guitar arrangements of the work of Jelly Roll Morton and other early twentieth century masters. On his
most recent recording, the highly regarded SWEET AND LOWDOWN, he explored popular
standards like "As Time Goes By" to the accompaniment of a jazz ensemble.
Familiarly known as "The Mayor of MacDougal Street," Van Ronk presided over an apartment that
served as hangout pad/salon to peers like Odetta, Tom Paxton and Peter Yarrow, and a virtual
graduate school to the next generation of guitarists, some of whom, like Christine Lavin, achieved
broad popularity in their own right. Others who acknowledge his influence include Janis Ian, Suzanne
Vega, The Roches and members of The Blues Project.
An engaging raconteur and gourmet cook, he enjoyed sipping wine and spinning philosophical tales
and aphorisms deep into the night. "Honesty is the cruelest game of all," he once observed, "Because
not only can you hurt someone -- and hurt them to the bone -- you can feel self-righteous about it at
the same time." Recipient of a Grammy nomination, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement
Award by ASCAP, the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers.
Van Ronk is survived by his wife Andrea Vuocolo. Memorial services are pending. "
lifted from here
also this :
"Perhaps most notably, Van Ronk expanded the melody of the old blues song "He Was A Friend Of Mine," which was
later adapted by the Byrds as a tribute to John F. Kennedy. Van Ronk also added the chords to "Baby, Let Me Follow
You Down," and co-owned the copyright, said Greenhill.
Dylan recorded both those songs, along with other tunes covered by Van Ronk such as Bukka White's "Fixin' To Die,"
Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and "Cocaine Blues." On the liner notes of his self-titled
debut album, Dylan credited Van Ronk with turning him on to "House of the Rising Sun."
According to music writer David Hajdu's recently published book "Positively 4th Street," Van Ronk was so respected by
the city's folk musicians that New York Times reporter Robert Shelton -- who gave Dylan his first major press exposure in
1961 -- asked him to vet important pieces before he submitted them to his editors. "
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van ronk was not known as a songwriter but he could cover the hell out of some one elses material + always with great gusto. I was always amazed by his version of "teddy bears picnic" from his songs for ageing children album.
- bill 2-11-2002 2:45 pm
"Veteran blues and folk singer Dave Van Ronk died at approximately 9:30 AM, February 10, 2002, at New York University Medical Center in Manhattan. He was sixty-five years old and had been undergoing treatment for colon cancer, when his cardio-pulmonary system failed. A crucial early influence on Bob Dylan and others of the Greenwich Village school, Van Ronk was at the forefront of a musical generation that drew inspiration from rural blues masters, while creating a solo performance genre popular with urban, college-educated audiences. Beginning in the late 1950's, he toured widely, performing in coffee houses and campuses. In subsequent years he broadened his repertoire to encompass the traditional jazz influences of his teenage years, art songs by the likes of Bertolt Brecht and Joni Mitchell, and his own compositions, usually marked by an ironic self-deprecation that eschewed sentimentality in favor of hard and beautiful realism. ("From Genghis Khan to the Fuller Brush Man/ They're all a bunch of losers like me.") He was also known for his solo guitar arrangements of the work of Jelly Roll Morton and other early twentieth century masters. On his most recent recording, the highly regarded SWEET AND LOWDOWN, he explored popular standards like "As Time Goes By" to the accompaniment of a jazz ensemble.
Familiarly known as "The Mayor of MacDougal Street," Van Ronk presided over an apartment that served as hangout pad/salon to peers like Odetta, Tom Paxton and Peter Yarrow, and a virtual graduate school to the next generation of guitarists, some of whom, like Christine Lavin, achieved broad popularity in their own right. Others who acknowledge his influence include Janis Ian, Suzanne Vega, The Roches and members of The Blues Project.
An engaging raconteur and gourmet cook, he enjoyed sipping wine and spinning philosophical tales and aphorisms deep into the night. "Honesty is the cruelest game of all," he once observed, "Because not only can you hurt someone -- and hurt them to the bone -- you can feel self-righteous about it at the same time." Recipient of a Grammy nomination, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by ASCAP, the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers. Van Ronk is survived by his wife Andrea Vuocolo. Memorial services are pending. "
lifted from here
also this :
"Perhaps most notably, Van Ronk expanded the melody of the old blues song "He Was A Friend Of Mine," which was later adapted by the Byrds as a tribute to John F. Kennedy. Van Ronk also added the chords to "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down," and co-owned the copyright, said Greenhill.
Dylan recorded both those songs, along with other tunes covered by Van Ronk such as Bukka White's "Fixin' To Die," Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and "Cocaine Blues." On the liner notes of his self-titled debut album, Dylan credited Van Ronk with turning him on to "House of the Rising Sun."
According to music writer David Hajdu's recently published book "Positively 4th Street," Van Ronk was so respected by the city's folk musicians that New York Times reporter Robert Shelton -- who gave Dylan his first major press exposure in 1961 -- asked him to vet important pieces before he submitted them to his editors. "
- bill 2-11-2002 2:53 pm [add a comment]