MMW: John Fahey

Saturday, February 15th, 2014 // Blogs,MMW

John Fahey was a normal lad growing up in Takoma Park MD, unless you consider getting a full scholarship to Tulane University on the strength of a philosophy thesis abnormal. John never made it to Tulane, though. One day, a radio station changed format, and when Bill Monroe’s version of Blue Yodel #7 played on John’s radio, John changed format, too, switching from philosophy to music.

John bought a guitar and his own finger picking guitar, playing tunes in which the blues, bluegrass, country and folk roots were so intertwined they could not be teased apart.

John’s music was widely known in the 60s and 70s, especially among musicians. However, John never made much money from his music and the 80s found him living in an Oregon welfare motel, beset by alcoholism, diabetes and Epstein-Barr syndrome. With help and encouragement from other musicians, he returned to recording and performing in the 90s, but he passed in 2001 at the age of 61.

During a very difficult two year period of my life, I spent a lot of time listening to music and most of the music I listened to was the music on John’s first three Takoma albums. Those tunes were one of the few things I found calming and comforting then. The music contained the terrible forces I was feeling, but those forces were expressed in a such a way that they did not seem threatening, just a part of life.

Hear it: Kenny Joe presents Pinkney Hall every Friday morning from 9 until 10.