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Herald, John

1939-2005

"He's the country Stevie Wonder." --ĘBob Dylan Part of the Greenvich Village folk scene in the sixties. Lead singer and guitarist in the Greenbriar Boys. Among his songs: "High Muddy Water", covered by Linda Ronstadt. Note the occurrence of the title phrase in Bob Dylan's "Tryin' To Get To Heaven"

Greenbriar Boys Founder John Herald Dead at 65 - (CMT)

John Herald, noted bluegrass musician, dies at 65 - (Daily Freeman)

Dear Expecting Rain,

I thought I'd write in about John Herald, and add a few memories.

I'm sad to hear of his death. I first met him in London about six or seven years ago, and he was playing on the same bill as me at the 12 bar club. He ended up coming back to a party at my house, and played some fantastic bluegrass songs until the early hours. He entertained my wife and I with funny stories about bears in the Woodstock area, and his interest in mushrooms. We swapped Cds, and a year later, I received a call from his hotel, saying that he was back in London. He met me at a venue in Camden, and I watched him play an excellent gig. Afterwoods we ended up at Cecil Sharp House - the folk venue, where he was treated as a hero. I played mandolin, John played guitar and sang, and we were joined by the house band. It was a really memorable night.

He had a unique style, and a friendly character. His knowledge of the old folk songs was incredible. I last spoke to him about a year ago, not knowing that this would be our last conversation.

Many thanks,

Simon Stewart The Official John Herald Website


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