Died On This Date (June 6, 2015) Ronnie Gilbert / Folk Music Great; The Weavers
themusicsover Ronnie Gilbert
September 7, 1926 – June 6, 2015
Simply put, Ronnie Gilbert was folk music royalty. Along with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, and Fred Hellerman, Gilbert formed the Weavers in 1948. Based in the folk mecca of New York’s Greenwich Village, the band was arguably the most influential folk group the scene had ever produced. Artists and activists like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi & Richard Farina, and Peter, Paul & Mary were all products of the folk revival they kicked off by putting a contemporary spin on folk music. The band gained popularity, mostly by word of mouth, while their songs resonated with so-called progressive causes like civil rights and workers’ rights. Their recordings of “If I Had a Hammer,” “This Land is Your Land,” and “Goodnight Irene” – among many others – became folk music standards. During the 1950s, the Weavers became a victim of the “Red Scare,” causing them to become blacklisted from radio stations, television and beyond. Due to a lack of bookings and recording opportunities that followed, the band broke up. But in 1955, they reunited for a much-heralded performance at Carnegie Hall, which lead to renewed interest in their music. The group continued on, though with Erik Darling replacing Seeger, over the next decade before calling it quits again. Gilbert went on to enjoy a career in theater as well as as a solo recording artist. In 1980, the surviving Weavers reunited once again to a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Ronnie Gilbert was 88 when she passed away on June 6, 2015
What You Should Own
Nick Marsh is best remembered as the co-founder and lead singer of ’80s goth/alternative rock band, Flesh For Lulu. Formed in London in 1982, the band quickly signed to Polyder who unceremoniously dropped them after lackluster sales of the self-titled debut. After a couple more miss-starts, the band signed with Beggars Banquet who was able to place their new single, “I Go Crazy,” into the popular John Hughes film, Some Kind Of Wonderful film; the result, decent rotation on American college radio and their first tour of the United States. The momentum continued with Capitol Records soon releasing Long Live The New Flesh, which included “I Go Crazy,” as well as their second college (and MTV) hit, “Postcards From Paradise.” In 1989, they scored their biggest hit single with “Time And Space,” after which Capitol dropped them for reasons unknown. The band soon split up. During the mid ’90s, Marsh resurfaced fronting a new band called Gigantic, which failed to repeat the success of Flesh For Lulu, so they disbanded a couple of years later. In 2013, Marsh reformed Flesh For Lulu who toured clubs to the cheers of longtime fans. On June 5, 2015, Nick Marsh, 53, died of an aggressive form of throat cancer.
Dennis Sheehan had been U2‘s tour manager since 1982. Joining the European tour prior to the release of War, Sheehan went on to become not only a trusted colleague of the band, but a dear friend as well. Throughout his career, Sheehan also worked with Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Led Zeppelin,