Died On This Date (October 27, 2011) David Rea / Influential Folk Singer-Songwriter
themusicsover David Rea
October 26, 1946 – October 27, 2011
David Rea was folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist who, although he was born in Ohio, became a longtime fixture of the Canadian folk scene. Over a career that spanned four decades, Rea collaborated with the likes of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Judy Collins, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, Tom Rush, and perhaps most famously, Ian & Sylvia, and Gordon Lightfoot. He can be heard on Lightfoot’s debut album as well as tapes from his early shows. For Ian & Sylvia, Rea played on So Much For Dreaming, Nashville, and Full Circle. The duo recorded a handful of Rea’s songs as well. As a songwriter, Rea’s biggest hit came with Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” which he co-wrote with Leslie West, Felix Pappalardi, and Corky Laing. He recorded several respectable albums of his own over the years as well. As reported by Spinner, 66-year-old David Rea passed away on October 27, 2011. Cause of death was not immediately released.
Thanks to Scott Miller for the assist.
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, 
