Dave Van Ronk

Dave Van Ronk (* June 30, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, † 10 February 2002 in New York City ) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and one of the driving forces of the folk and blues revival of the 1960s. He promoted inter alia, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell.

Van Ronk visited a high school in Queens, which he left early age of 15. Since 1949, he played in a barbershop quartet, the early 1950s he went to the Merchant Marine. In 1956 he performed as a professional musician. Van Ronk was interested in intense for jazz and blues, but finally opted for the blues. His songs were based on the work of blues legends like Furry Lewis and Mississippi John Hurt. He gave his last concert a few months before his death in February 2002.

For most of his life spent Van Ronk in New York's Greenwich Village artist. There in 2004, a street was named after him. His autobiography was the inspiration for the film Inside Llewyn Davis, the Coen brothers.