Mike Seeger, 1933-2009

Thanks to Louis O'Dwyer of Tullamore, who was the first to send us news that Mike Seeger had suspended treatment for cancer and had entered a hospice. Since then, news has been received of Seeger's death on Friday 7 August, eight days short of his seventy-sixth birthday.

Mike Seeger's importance in making the revival of old-time music possible since the mid 1950s, and in bringing the young city people of the folk music movement together with the rural culture of old-time and bluegrass performers, can hardly be overstated. He was not alone in this work (the names of his New Lost City Ramblers colleagues Tom Paley, John Cohen, and Tracy Schwarz, and of Ralph Rinzler and Alice Gerrard, are among those that come to mind), but probably no one else had his mastery of so many instrumental and vocal styles and genres, or the breadth of his friendships among those who created the music.

The Wikipedia biography has a discography and links to recent tributes and obituaries; see also the links in a post on the European Bluegrass Blog.