2011 - In Memory

We mourn the loss of some of the most talented and esteemed local, national and international musicians over the past year. We’ll miss them all:

·        Hazel Dickens – A pioneer among women in bluegrass music, she was a bluegrass singer and songwriter who not only wrote provocative pro-union and feminist songs, but was a strong advocate for coal miners and the working class.

·        Jack Hardy – A singer-songwriter based in Greenwich Village, who promoted music and musicians through the Fast Folk Music Magazine which is now part of the Smithsonian Folkways collection.

·        Bert Jansch – A Scottish folk musician and founder of the band Pentangle; he was a legendary British folk music guitarist who recorded more than 25 albums and was a leading figure in the British folk music revival of the 60s. He received two Lifetime Achievement Awards at the BBC Folk Awards.

·        Bill Morrissey – A singer-songwriter from New Hampshire who was influenced by country, blues and jazz music, and is best known for dark lyrics and songs about crumbling New England mill towns. Two of his eleven albums were nominated for Grammy awards.

·        Phoebe Snow – A New York City bluesy singer-songwriter, best known for her 1975 song “Poetry Man.” Her first album Phoebe Snow sold over a million copies and featured guest performances by The Persuasions, David Bromberg and Dave Mason.

·        John Lincoln Wright – A New England songwriter who was leader of the 1960s band The Beacon Street Union. He is better known along with his band the Sour Mash Boys, who brought the voice of country music to many greater Boston and Cambridge clubs.

Bill Morrissey Tribute

This Thursday there is a concert to honor the memory and accomplishments of the late Bill Morrissey. This is a wonderful thing with his friends flying in at their own expense to perform. Peter Case, for example, is coming in from the west coast.


There are some things about Bill that I want to remember above and beyond his skills as a songwriter and performer. He was generous, especially with younger artists. This was not only because he was a kind and giving person, but because he understood his place in the musical continuum. I remember one afternoon when a young songwriter, and I won't say who, came into the radio station very excited because Bill had talked to them. But not just talked to them - but treated as an artistic equal. And here's a name I will mention. Ask Mark Erelli about the concert he shared with Morrissey when Bill asked him to sing "Birches."


Bill was one of the funniest people I've ever known. His humor came from his humanity and from his incredible observational skills. The same things that made him not just a great songwriter but a great writer.


Though he would probably have denied it, Bill was a sensitive guy. Every mistake he made in his life, and every harm he caused another, lived like a barbed fish hook in his flesh.


Bill was also incredibly courageous. He fought demons all through his life that few of us can imagine. The demons finally took him, but he battled hard, right to the end. And that is the Bill Morrissey I want to remember.


~ Dave Palmater