Dave Van Ronk

b. 30 June 1936, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Van Ronk learned to play guitar and later played in jazz groups in New York. He also learned to play the banjo. His first love was New Orleans jazz, and his initial involvement with folk music did not come about until 1957, when he worked with Odetta. From this, his interest in blues grew, inspired by Josh White. Van Ronk's reputation for playing blues, together with his distinctive gruff voice, grew until he was signed by Folkways Records in 1959. His first album, however, appeared during the same year on the Lyrichord label. After a couple of releases he moved to Prestige in 1962, and from the mid-60s concentrated more on jazz and jugband music. He formed a band called the Ragtime Jug Stompers, and in 1964 signed to Mercury Records. He continued playing concerts both in the USA and abroad and in 1965 played the Carnegie Hall as part of the New York Folk Festival. Van Ronk worked a lot less during the '70s. However, many of his earlier works were still available well into the '80s. In 1974 Dave took the stage with Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs for AN EVENING WITH SALVADOR ALLENDE, for a closing version of Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind. DAVE VAN RONK, on Fantasy Records, was a re-issue of his first two Prestige albums.