RIP John Martyn, 1948 - 2009
I discovered John Martyn slowly, through coverage, and unless you’re an older folkie you may have too. Though he was better known across the pond, and his star shone its brightest in the sixties and seventies, his song May You Never, in particular, become especially familiar in the folk/blues world after Clapton covered it on his seminal 1977 release Slowhand; since then, Martyn had lived life as a songwriter’s songwriter, still touring to smaller and older audiences as his songs traveled on without him in the hands of a diverse set of artists, from Dr. John to Beck to a huge and ever-growing crowd of his britfolk peers.
Martyn’s delivery is easily comparable to his close friend and early label-mate Nick Drake, though without the depression. The covers I’ve collected here show Martyn as a tender songwriter with an eye for detail and an ear for ambience; each in their own way pays solid tribute to a man known for a master’s light touch with sadness and celebration alike. But it’s his own bonus track take on Singin’ In The Rain that makes for the perfect epitaph. God bless, John, and thanks for the songs.
- Brooks Williams: May You Never
- Zubot & Dawson: May You Never
- Capercaillie: Don’t You Go
- Chris and Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes): Over The Hill
- John Martyn: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (orig. Bob Dylan)
- John Martyn: Singin’ In The Rain (orig. )
Looking for a taste of Martyn’s original work? Head over to Some Velvet Blog, Aquarium Drunkard, and Lonesome Music for heartfelt posthumous tributes and a sampler of John Martyn originals.
Category: Uncategorized
January 30th, 2009 at 3:17 am
R.I.P.
“Here a fine line, there a fine wine
Oh what a time we had
Here a strange place, there a strange face
Didn’t it make me sad
I will call up my friends and say
Now come on over and make my day
And tell me about the love that’s in us all.
That’s in us all…”(J.Martyn)
January 30th, 2009 at 9:06 am
One of the giants of modern music. A top singer/songwriter and one of the niftiest guitarists ever. Bye bye Johnny…
January 30th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Too sad… may he rest in peace!
February 1st, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Scotland here…definitely in the older category!
Thanks for recognising Johns music…and for the covers!
You may not have seen this before as it’s from the mid 90’s, but John, Kathy Mattea, Danny Thomson and Jerry Douglas get this one as tight as a folk/jazz number can get.
Look at Kathys, Johns and Dannys faces at the end and disagree??
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sBPTuAl2Qyk
RIP Johnny Too Bad
Stevie
February 1st, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Thanks for passing that one along, Stevie — the video is nigh perfect. Looks like I’m going to have to do a Kathy Mattea cover set one of these days soon…