Music has been an inseparable part of me since childhood. As I grew up I transitioned from Tamil songs (my mother tongue I'm so proud of) to English and from one genre to another, to now find myself listening to a whole lot of them from Tamil Carnatic Classical to Hindustani to Western Classical to Jazz... and I love them all. But the one genre, I've been so intrigued with of late is the folk, combined with the guitar finger-picking. This has been a journey not only just listening to them but also trying to sing along and perhaps perform some when there was a chance. Somewhere I started to bookmark a few which I could perform and interestingly most of them were not performed by stars who made it big. A couple of them died very young and much before they could realize their dream. I would like to present a few of them in this blog and their songs which I still love. If you are someone with a great following for the big stars then you may not appreciate this. Yet, if you have a soft corner for the unsung stars with real talent who are out of view due to circumstances, then read on!
1. Eva Cassidy - Eva Casidy was a singer, my brother in law Capt.Jonathan Manuel introduced to me a couple of years ago. I fell in love with her voice the first time I heard her sing. Every song was sung so sweetly accompanied by some impeccable finger style guitar playing. She sang from different covers mostly, but sang a version that was uniquely customized to suit her voice, her style of singing and playing. She sang mostly to small gatherings in pubs and coffee houses and was said to be publicity shy. She finally produced her own album and would sell them out of the trunk of her car. She never got signed up by any big record company. Songs like O Danny Boy, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Fields of Gold, What a wonderful world, etc - some very popular hits, were sung to perfection with every note in a very unique way that gave a feel of a very gentle musical breeze and yet so powerfully reverberating.
Destiny had her say 'goodbye' to life at a very early age of 33. Eva Cassidy fought skin cancer and succumbed after suffering for a while. The last time she sang was when she was honoured by her friends for her life when she was given just a few more weeks to live - she sang the Louis Armstrong classic "What a Wonderful World". Five years after her death the United Kingdom woke up to her singing and some of the songs stayed on top of the UK charts for a long time. From there her music became popular throughout Europe and spread around the world upto New Zealand from where I got my copy of her albums.
2. Jim Croce - Another victim of a tragic and unexpected end was Jim Croce. I happened to pick up Jim Croce's album in an obscure record store in the city of Kolkata. Jim Croce took to music at a very young age when he began to play the accordion and moved on to playing the guitar. He never pursued music as a career until a bit later in life when he got the right breaks. Till then he served in the army, worked as a welder and as a trucker for sometime besides playing at small time gigs and bars before the winds of change began to blow. In 1970, he met his good friend Maury Muehleisen who played the lead guitar and sang with him. The music was mostly folk with down to earth themes from everyday life. The speciality of the music was the intricate harmonies of the guitars and the vocals of this duo which sounded so wonderfully unique. Croce had done just 5 studio albums and 11 singles before the tragic air crash in 1973 which ended his life and his just budding career. He was only 30 at the time of his untimely death. I'd like you to listen to this song by Jim Croce "Time in a bottle", which is my all time favourite. This song was written when his wife Ingrid was pregnant with their son A.J.Croce. AJ was born in 1971 and is now an accomplished singer and songwriter as well.
3.Dennison Witmer - Thankfully Witmer is still alive as this is being written. Again another finger picking neo folk and an Indie artist from the USA. This soft spoken singer songwriter has made about 8 albums so far and are not the kind of albums which make it big on the charts. But personally to me, these are excellent works of poetry combined with some beautiful melodies and very simple sounding but complicated finger picking. I happened to get hold of his "Are you a Dreamer?" album and some more 'off the cuff' studio recordings. These sweet melodies are so touching and can make you cry sometimes. These are songs written about a lot of practical life issues and questions which any normal person would have. Some are about values and things which are so essential to live a life of difference. Denison Witmer may not have made it big on the charts but sure has won many hearts like mine who just need songs and music with which to connect to. Denison travels around the world singing his songs in many places in the USA and outside.
In concluding, I want to ask you, 'How 'bout you?' Are you a star shining in obscurity. Are you someone sitting around with a lot of talent and wanting someone to turn the limelights on you. Perhaps you are waiting for a day when you will get the right kind of break to make it big someday. Don't give up! Someday you will make it! Have faith!! I like this verse from scripture which says, "If you believe, you will see the glory of God!" God bless!!!
