"The questions are often asked, "Why was traditional old-time music so important in the rural South?" And since it is so rare anymore, "Why did they give up the tradition so quickly?" Neither question can really be answered satisfactorily, but there are some certainties."
that's from mike seeger's music of the southern appalachian mountains. the news of his passing has come from many sources but the single theme has been a life devoted to music, music that stretches back into the days of greil marcus' "old weird america" to our current time. someone on the no depression site notes that the new lost city ramblers were jerry garcia's beatles & that w/o them, the dead wouldn't have moved into its major phase of true innovation that working class dead & american beauty is.
there are guys like allan lomax & harry smith & mike seeger who operated on the margins of music but did more for it than can be reckoned at this point in the game. they were never stars & never really wanted to be. they loved music, especially american folk music. there is just no telling where we'd be w/o their contributions. a poorer nation, that's for sure.
here's an obit from london's telegraph.
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