Died On This Date (February 27, 1986) Robbie Basho / Progressive Folk Guitarist
themusicsover Robbie Basho
August 31, 1940 – February 27, 1986
Robbie Basho was a folk guitarist who is best remembered for his skills on the steel string guitar. Unlike similar contemporaries like John Fahey, Sandy Bull and Leo Kottke, Basho generally incorporated elements of Indian, or raga music into his compositions. Over the course of his career, Basho released several albums on such respected labels as Vanguard, Windham Hill and Fahey’s Takoma. On February 27, 1986, Robbie Basho died accidentally when a chiropractor’s adjustment ruptured blood vessels in his neck, causing him to die from a stroke. He was 45.
What You Should Own
John Fahey was an influential folk and blues guitarist who is revered for his minimalistic steel string finger-picking style of play. Fahey bought his first guitar at the age of 13, and by the time he was 20, he was making his own recordings. Besides his amazing guitar skill, what separated Fahey from most other musicians at the time, was that he started his own record label, Takoma Records through which to release while he was still just a teenager. Through all this, Fahey continued his education, eventually earning a Master’s degree in folklore from UCLA. As a musicologist, Fahey tracked down the long forgotten blues great, 
