Died On This Date (Otober 25, 2009) Banjo Fred Starner / The Hobo Minstrel
themusicsover George “Banjo Fred” Starner
August 6, 1937 – October 25, 2009
Banjo Fred Starner was a banjoist and folk singer who helped document the hobo culture of America. Taking a cue from Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, Starner not only set out to be a voice of the unheard, but also helped raise money for various humanitarian causes along the way. Starner taught himself to play the guitar and banjo while in college during the ’50s and was soon playing the folk festival circuit. He later became a college professor, and in 1969, found himself performing and working as a deck hand on the Clearwater, a boat launched by Seeger in New York’s Hudson River to educate people about the environment. By the late ’80s, Starner was living in Los Angeles where he continued to teach, write songs, and perform. It was while in Southern California that he began putting more focus on the hobo culture in both his songs, and his studies. From time to time he even performed at modern hobo encampments and for events sponsored by the American Hobo Association. Starner passed away of pneumonia and sarcoidosis in a medical facility at the age of 72.
Elliott Smith was a celebrated contemporary folk and indie rock singer-songwriter who quietly gained a legion of fans in the late ’90s. After several years in a rock band, Smith went solo in 1994, first recording for hip indie labels, Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars, and then major, Dreamworks Records. In 1997, his “Miss Misery” was nominated for an Academy Award after it appeared Good Will Hunting. Elliott Smith died after being stabbed twice in the chest. Initial reports indicated that he committed suicide, but autopsy reports were inconclusive and his case is still considered open by the Los Angeles Police Department.
John Denver was an American folk rock singer-songwriter who released several pop hits during the ’70s. His 300-strong catalog of popular songs included “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Take Me Home Country Roads,” “Rocky Mountain High,” “Annie’s Song,” and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” and “Sunshine on My Shoulder.” Denver also had a strong presence on television and film during the height of his career. He was featured in a handful of Muppet specials, hosted the Grammy’s five times, and sat in for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show several times. In 1977, he starred alongside George Burns in the popular comedy, Oh God!. In later years, Denver devoted most of his time to various humanitarian causes. He was also a licensed pilot and flying enthusiast. On October 12, 1997, John Denver died when the experimental aircraft he was piloting crashed shortly after take off from a Central California coast airport. Witnesses say the plane made a sudden dive into the ocean, leading experts to conclude that he likely accidentally pushed the right rudder pedal while maneuvering in the seat. Denver was 53 when he died.
Woody Guthrie was arguably America’s most important folk singer and songwriter. Over a career that spanned a quarter century, Guthrie penned 100s of songs, many lending a voice to the common man. He also wrote many children’s songs. He wrote about the plight of the migrant worker, stories he learned first-hand as he traveled among them throughout the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. Many such songs are archived in the Library of Congress, and one in particular, “This Land Is Your Land,” is sung in elementary schools across the US. In the late ’40s, Guthrie’s health began to deteriorate while his mental state seemed to come into question. At the time, some thought it might be due to schizophrenia and alcoholism. As it turned out, he was diagnosed in 1952 with a neurological disorder called Huntington’s disease. He spent several of his final years in psychiatric hospitals. With his health and mind failing during the folk revival of he early ’60s, he eld court with some of the day’s up-and-coming troubadors who admired him, most famously, Bob Dylan, 
Nick Reynolds was a founding member of the Kingston Trio, one of the premier groups of the ’60s folk revival. Formed in northern California in the late ’50s, the group were a direct descendant of the Weavers, but thanks in part to their youthfulness, they were able to bring folk music further into the mainstream. Their harmonies would, in turn, heavily influence such groups as the Beach Boys in years to come. The Kingston Trio won two Grammy’s during the early part of their career. The group broke up in 1967 as harder rock music started becoming more popular with American kids, so Reynolds took some time off from music to enjoy his other love, auto racing. He made a name for himself driving formula B and C cars along the Northwest circuit. He reunited with the Kingston Trio in the early ’80s and played with them on and off until his retirement in 1998. Nick Reynolds was 75 when he died of respiratory disease on October 1, 2008.