I first heard of John Fahey in the early 1980s, when I was just starting my graduate career. My housemates at the time praised his country blues guitar stylings. The more famous performer Leo Kottke followed in Fahey’s footsteps; Kottke was better know as he was a regular guest on A Prairie Home Companion back in its early days. Fahey called his style “American Primitive.” Here’s an example:
Fahey’s style was, of course, copied from black southern blues guitarists such as Elizabeth Cotten and Mississippi John Hurt, though he added elements of his own. I assumed that Fahey had a career touring and selling his recordings like every other folk musician I was aware of. No folk musician I’m aware of ever gets rich, and touring is not an easy life, but with Fahey’s talent, I figured he was out there somewhere making a decent living.
A decade later, I had a sabbatical replacement position at Willamette University in Salem Oregon. One day, to my surprise, I saw a notice announcing that John Fahey would be playing on campus in the tiny cafe in the basement of the student union called the Bistro. Could this really be the virtuoso himself playing to such a small crowd? I showed up for the performance, and sure enough, the guitar playing was unmistakable. What was such a talent as this doing playing a tiny venue where most people were ignoring him?
A new article in The New Yorker goes some way to explain this. His career was not without interruption. Alcohol had something to do with it. He was resentful that his career did not have a higher profile, and that he tended to be grouped with folk musicians, who had a whole lot less in the way of “chops” than he had. And he had a bad heart. He ended his days in a room rented from the Salvation Army. A sad end to a great but little-known talent.
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