Bill Barth
December 13, 1942 – July 14, 2000
Bill Barth was a festival planner and blues guitarist who is perhaps best remembered for being with John Fahey and Henry Vestine when the found early blues great, Skip James in a Mississippi hospital and relaunched his career in 1964. As a musician, Barth helped form blues rock band, The Insect Trust who were likened to Jefferson Airplane and Fairport Convention. The band, which also included Elvin Jones and future rock critic, Robert Palmer, released two albums. During the mid ’60s, Barth founded the Memphis Valley Blues Society which produced five festivals during the late ’60s and featured the likes of Bukka White, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Sleepy John Estes. Bill Barth was 57 when he passed away on July 14, 2000.
Nice tribute to Barth who also influenced Taj Mahal and acted as Bukka Whites road manager. Being the youngest of the three who found Skip James it was Bill who was sent into the hospital where they found Skip James and gave Skip his Martin guitar when they took him to play at the Newport Folk Festival.