Last Friday at 75
Painter, illustrator, singer/songwriter and folk singer Eric Von Schmidt was a spearhead of the folk revival that swept through Cambridge, Massachusetts’ Harvard Square in the early 1960s. When he wasn’t hosting late-night jam sessions at his apartment/studio, Von Schmidt was performing Leadbelly-influenced songs in coffeehouses and inspiring several generations of folk-rooted singer/songwriters. …
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:vdjn7i5jg7xr~T1
Very sad. Eric was one of my early guitar models (along with Dave Van Ronk, Taj Mahal, Libba Cotten, Etta Baker), when I was attending college in Boston in the early 70’s. His version of ‘Baby, Let Me Follow You Down’ became a classic, overshadowing it’s own model, (the Blind Boy Fuller version from twenty-some years earlier). I also loved his folky posters and album covers. His father was a very prominent artist as well.
He’ll be missed.
May his soul fly free, and may all he influenced through the years carry on his legacy.
Seconded. he, too, was an early guitar hero. I think Eric was on a compilation album that I bought in high school.