John Fahey (musician)

John Aloysius Fahey ( born February 28, 1939 in Takoma Park, Maryland, † February 22, 2001 in Salem, Oregon ) was a U.S. American fingerstyle guitarist and composer, musicologist and record label founder.

Biography

Fahey grew initially with classical and country music on, but began - after he had met in 1952 during a fishing trip randomly on the black singer and guitarist Frank Hovington and was impressed by its fingerstyle guitar - combines modern with blues and with to employ classical. In the 1950s, the first images with the U.S. label fonotone were produced and released as a 78rpm record under the pseudonym "Blind Thomas". In 1959 he published his first recordings on his own label, " Takoma Records ", under the pseudonym "Blind Joe Death". The plate was so convincing that even believed some blue connoisseurs, to have to deal with a forgotten until now bluesmen. The pseudonym cultured Fahey continued with recordings by the '60s. 1963 Fahey published for the first time another artist, namely shots of the only recently been rediscovered by him bluesman Bukka White. Later to follow artists like Leo Kottke and Robbie Basho.

1963 Fahey graduated his studies in Philosophy and Religion at American University in Washington successfully. Then he moved to Berkeley and enrolled at the University of California in order to deepen his philosophy degree, but it broke off soon and moved in 1964 to Los Angeles to attend the local University of California at the Department of Folklore. He completed this program successfully with a thesis on Charley Patton from that made ​​him the master and was published in 1971 in England. This monograph is one of today's authoritative analysis of Patton's work, enriched with lots of information about his life, his discography and lyrics.

Fahey was involved in the recording of Canned Heats album Living the Blues. His own recordings away since the mid-sixties significantly from the blues. Fahey referred influences of non-Western music forms a, experimented with collages and collaborated with the avant-garde band The Red Crayola.

Notwithstanding these hitherto successful biography came Fahey from the mid- 70s in a creative crisis. He began to drink, lost as a result of his first divorce, large parts of his property and had Takoma Records mid-70s sell. Later, he became seriously ill and he lived in the late 80s, early 90s of the hand to mouth, living in cars or cheap motels.

Surprisingly, his work mid-90s by musicians like Sonic Youth, Jim O'Rourke was rediscovered and others, this gave his career a boost. At the same time his father in 1995, the heritage allowed him the re-establishment of a label, Revenant Records, which released in the following years outstanding editions mainly to early American music, but also avant-garde artists such as Derek Bailey, Cecil Taylor and Jim O'Rourke. The most famous publication of the label was the complete edition of the works of Charley Patton, together with an extensive apparatus, which appeared in October 2001. Fahey took increasingly more confidence in his creativity, he took his musical work again and again produced new albums. His late work differed dramatically from his previous works, produced electronically, it was more influenced by genres such as noise and industrial.

2003, published on his label complete edition of the works of Charley Patton was awarded three Grammys. In the same year, the American music magazine Rolling Stone led him to number 35 of the list of the greatest guitarists of all time.

Fahey did not live to this success, he died in February 2001 after a difficult heart operation in which six bypasses were laid.

Discography

Swell

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