We lost a fair number of folk and folk-adjacent performers in 2024. In Volume 1, Mark & Val are going to honor them in chronological order of their passing, starting with Jo-El Sonnier who passed away in January 28, 2024 and end with Dickey Betts who passed away on 4/18/24. In between, we’ll be hearing from Melanie, Toby Keith, Randi Sparks, Roni Stoneman, Malcolm Holcombe, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Gerry Conway, and Russ Gauthier.
Jo-El Sonnier was a singer and accordionist who revived Cajun music in popular culture with hit versions of Richard Thompson’s “Tear-Stained Letter” and Slim Harpo’s “Rainin’ in My Heart.
Melanie, born Melanie Safka, was one of the surprise stars of the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 – one of only two women who performed unaccompanied at the festival. Her biggest hit was “Brand New Key”, No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks starting on Christmas Day 1971.
Toby Keith was a larger-than-life singer-songwriter of No 1 country hits and one of the biggest stars to come out of Nashville in decades.
Randy Sparks was a creative impresario whose musical ensemble, the New Christy Minstrels, helped to jump-start the folk revival of the early 1960s and launched the careers of performers like John Denver, Steve Martin, and Kenny Rogers.
Roni Stoneman was the first woman to play modern bluegrass banjo on a phonograph record and a mainstay of the country music television variety hour HeeHaw, entertaining millions while proving herself to be a rustic comedian on a par with Minnie Pearl and June Carter Cash.
Malcome Holcombe was a musician’s musician. While not a household name, he was quietly one of the most respected writers among the songwriting elite.
Drummer Gerry Conway was a stalwart member of Fairport Convention’s long-lasting lineup, joining the band in 1998 and performing with them for the next 24 years.
Best known for his ‘Top 20’ song “Ain’t Got No Home” which he sang in three successive voices – boy/girl/frog, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry became a fixture at the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Primarily a fiddler, but also a multi-instrumentalist and instrument collector, Russ Gauthier was a member of the country-rock band New Riders of the Purple Sage from 1982 to 1999.
Dickey Betts was a honky-tonk hell-raiser guitarist and guiding force for the Allman Brothers Band band for decades. He wrote some of the band’s most indelible songs, including their biggest hit “Ramblin’Man” and was central to the sound that came to define Southern rock.