Jesse Winchester 1944-2014

[66Grandeguy]

i just heard that Jesse died yesterday. That is a true shame as we have lost one of the world's gentlemen songsters. He epitomized, to me, the perfect combo of Canadian and American sensibilties as he had spent a lot of time up here even though he was always southern to his roots. My wife and I met him at one of his last concerts in Denver last fall when we went for a 3200 mile drive to see him and to pick up my ebay purchase of my groovy old Akai 1800D-SS tape deck. He still had the magic to entertain 300 people for two hours with just him, his guitar, and his sly wit. He was a rare example of a guy who seemed to gained wisdom as he aged instead of bitterness, especially since he was already sick. His idea was to tell people as economically as possible a story in 3 minutes that distilled as much as he could into it. He wasn't cryptic, he was clear which is rare and appreicated by me as the real thing instad of the hokum we've been led to believe is profundity.
We got to shake his hand and talk to him after the show and he was appalled that we would have gone that far to see him. Believe me it was worth it.

Here is a link to him performing on Elvis Costello's show a few years ago that shows his power to move people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uKGWpqnS8E


ken

 

[Quad Linda]

Let the rough side drag and let the smooth side show. RIP

 

[watsontr]

Very sad to hear but does also remind some of us of our age. My girl and I truly loved Let the Rough Side Drag and still play it to this day. That one deserved much better than it fared in my opinion and difficult to believe that it was in the mid 70s. Thanks to the man for the wonderful insights and music