0 Comments Folk Music Passings

In recent days we have seen the loss of several folk music personages, each known for a different type of role. Bess Lomax Hawes, folklorist and musician, passed away on November 27th. Following in the footsteps of her father John Lomax and making giant footsteps of her own, she spent her life working to preserve folk music in different forms. During the 50s and 60s she produced several university films including Georgia Sea Island Singers, of that group’s performance in Los Angeles, and Say, Old Man, Can You Play the Fiddle?, about fiddler Earl Collins. More recently, while with the National Endowment for the Arts, Hawes established the National Heritage Fellowships. Obituaries can be found in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Peter Dreier has an article in the Huffington Post. And if you want to know a lot more about her life, your best bet is probably her autobiography, Sing It Pretty.

Jack Cooke, of the Clinch Mountain Boys, died December 1st. He was a much-loved singer and bass player. The New York Times has an obituary and the Bluegrass Blog has comments from bandleader Ralph Stanley. Cooke’s solo CD Sittin’ on Top of the World, released in 2007, was produced by Jim Lauderdale.

In Ireland, the last of the Clancy Brothers, Liam Clancy, died December 4th. The group was influential in the 1960s folk music revival in the U.S. During his early musical career, Liam was also a Broadway actor. In addition to his albums with the group, Liam recorded solo; his latest album was Wheels of Life. See the Telegraph for more.