R.I.P. Dave Van Ronk
Posted by: Sigmund on 11 February 2002
Veteran blues and folk singer Dave Van Ronk died at approximately 9:30 AM Eastern Time on February 10, 2002, at New York University Medical Center in Manhattan. He was sixty-five years old and had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer when his cardio-pulmonary system failed.
A crucial early influence on Bob Dylan and others of the Greenwich Village school, Van Ronk was at the forefront of a musical generation that drew inspiration from rural blues masters, while creating a solo performance genre popular with urban, college-educated audiences. Beginning in the 1960's, he toured widely, performing in coffee houses and campuses. In subsequent years he broadened his repertoire to encompass the traditional jazz influences of his teenage years, art songs by the likes of Bertolt Brecht and Joni Mitchell, and his own compositions, usually marked by an ironic self-deprecation that eschewed sentimentality in favor of hard and beautiful realism. He was also known for his solo guitar arrangements of jazz repertoire, especially the work of Jelly Roll Morton. On his most recent recording Sweet and Lowdown, a jazz ensemble accompanied his exploration of popular standards like 'When Time Goes By.'
Familiarly known as 'The Mayor of MacDougal Street,' Van Ronk presided over an apartment that served as hangout pad/salon to peers like Odetta, Tom Paxton and Peter Yarrow, and a virtual graduate school to the next generation of guitarists, some of whom, like Christine Lavin, achieved broad popularity in their own right. An engaging raconteur, he enjoyed sipping wine and spinning
philosophical tales deep into the night. Recipient of a Grammy nomination, he was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by ASCAP, the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers.
Van Ronk is survived by his wife Andrea Vuocolo. Memorial services are pending. For further information contact Folklore Productions (310) 451-0767.