So, as you probably know, it’s MLK day.
“March! for Martin Luther King,” by John Fahey (mp3, about 4 MB)
Fahey, who died in 2001, was an eccentric but singularly talented acoustic guitarist. His first releases appeared in 1958, and he kept up a relatively steady recording schedule for decades. Even so, Fahey fell into relative obscurity in the 1980s, but was rediscovered in the mid 1990s by avant-garde post-rock musicians like Jim O’Rourke, Sonic Youth, and the folks at music label Table of the Elements.
You can buy his stuff at good brick and mortar music stores, or online at iTunes, or from this eMusic page .
For more info:
- Relevant page at good old, possibly reliable Wikipedia.
- John Fahey: American Primitive Guitar
- “In Memory of Blind Thomas of Old Takoma,” by Eddie Dean (Washington City Paper. March 9-15, 2001.
- “A 60’s Original With a New Life on the Fringe,” by Ben Ratliff (New York Times, January 19, 1997).
- “Homage to John Fahey,” by Nels Cline
