Folk

Died On This Date (July 19, 2002) Alan Lomax / Music Historian

Alan Lomax
January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002

Alan Lomax was an ethnomusicologist who, like his sister, Bess Lomax, followed in the footsteps of his father, John A. Lomax by documenting folk music around the world in the form of field recordings.  After he got out of college during the ’30s, the younger Lomax went to work archiving folk music at the Library of Congress.  Around this time, he traveled through the southern states of America to record the local blues and folk musicians.  While visiting a Louisiana prison, he discovered Lead Belly.   Besides making field recordings, Lomax interviewed countless music pioneers.  That list includes Muddy Waters, Jelly Roll Morton, and Woody Guthrie.  He also penned numerous best selling folk music history book.  During the ’50s, Lomax traveled Europe in search of its hidden folk music.  In all, he is said to have recorded thousands of songs.  Alan Lomax was 87 when he passed away on July 19, 2002.

What You Should Own

The Alan Lomax Collection: Prison Songs, Vol. 1 - Murderous Home - Alan Lomax & Various Artists

Died On This Date (July 18, 1988) Nico / Velvet Underground

Nico (Born Christa Päffgen)
October 16, 1938 – July 18, 1988

Nico was a German-born singer, actress and model who is best remembered for her work with Velvet Underground as well as Andy Warhol.  As a young adult, Nico worked as a model, appearing in such magazines as Vogue and Elle.   After landing the lead in the 1963 French film, The Strip-Tease, Nico recorded the Serge Gainsbourg produced theme song.  In 1965, Nico recorded her first single with the help of Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones.  It was around this time that Nico began working with Andy Warhol who managing the Velvet Underground at the time.  The band reluctantly agreed to let Nico sing lead on three songs on their 1967 debut, The Velvet Underground & Nico,  considered one of the most influential albums of the era.  The partnership soon dissolved with Nico moving on to a critically acclaimed solo career.  She recorded and performed into the 1980s.  On July 18, 1988, Nico fell from her bicycle after suffering a minor heart attack.  Unconscious, she was taken to a hospital where she was misdiagnosed with heat stroke.  She died the next day of a cerebral hemorrhage from the fall.

What You Should Own

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The Velvet Underground / Nico (Deluxe Edition) - The Velvet Underground

Died On This Date (July 18, 2001) Mimi Fariña / ’60s Folk Great

Mimi Fariña (Born Margarita Baez)
April 30, 1945 – July 18, 2001

MimiMimi Fariña was a folk singer-songwriter who came of age during the ’60s folk revival in America.  A few years younger than sister, Joan Baez, Fariña performed at many of the same clubs and festivals, including the legendary Newport Folk Festival.  In 1963, she met writer and singer-songwriter, Richard Fariña, and within a year, they were married.  Together the recorded a couple of noteworthy albums as Mimi & Richard Fariña for revered label, Vanguard Records, also home to Morgana Kennedy.  On the night of Mimi’s 21st birthday, Richard left the party on his motorcycle only to be killed in an accident.  Vanguard released a third album of “rarities.”  By the ’70s, Fariña was performing and recording but her attention turned more toward activism.  In 1974, she founded Bread and Roses, an organization that puts together free concerts for people bound to hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons.  Over the years she’s had such artists as Bonnie Raitt, Odetta, Pete Seeger and Carlos Santana perform at such shows.   By the ’80s, Fariña was rarely performing or recording as she becoming more and more involved with Bread And Roses and other human rights organizations and events.  Mimi Fariña passed away of neuroendocrine cancer in 2001.  She was 56.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com

Mimi and Richard Farina: The Complete Vanguard Recordings - Mimi and Richard Farina

Died On This Date (July 16, 1981) Harry Chapin / Popular ’70s Singer-Songwriter

Harry Chapin
December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981

A highly regarded singer-songwriter of the ’70s, Harry Chapin is perhaps best remembered for his timeless classics, “Taxi” and “Cats In The Cradle.”  After graduating from high school in New York City, Chapin originally set his sights on film making, directing the a boxing documentary, Legendary Champions, which was nominated for an Academy Award.   Chapin moved on to music, releasing his debut album in 1972.   It included the top 40 hit, “Taxi.”  It wasn’t until his fourth album, 1974’s Verities & Balderdash, that Chapin scored a bonafied hit with “Cats In The Cradle.”  The heartwarming song shot to #1 and forever cemented his musical legacy. What many don’t know is how much philanthropic work Chapin quietly did.  Whether helping colleges on Long Island or to wipe out hunger in the US, Chapin unselfishly donated time and money.  It has been reported that Chapin donated in the neighborhood of 30% of his concert earnings to charity.  On July 16, 1981, Chapin was involved in a fiery car accident and was airlifted to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead of cardiac arrest.  It was never determined if the heart attack factored in the accident.  He was 38 years old at the time of his death.

What You Should Own

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Harry Chapin

Died On This Date (July 14, 2000) Bill Barth / Blues Guitarist

Bill Barth
December 13, 1942 – July 14, 2000

Photo by Tim Kendall

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.