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Ramblin' Jack Elliott
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Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Total Media Plays: 4,784
Become a Fan
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
is one of folk music's most enduring characters. Since he first came on the scene in the late '50s,
Elliott
influenced everyone from
Bob Dylan
and
Pete Seeger
to
the Rolling Stones
and
the Grateful Dead
. The son of a New York doctor and a onetime traveling companion of
Woody Guthrie
,
Elliott
used his self-made cowboy image to bring his love of folk music to one generation after another.
Despite the countless miles that
Elliott
traveled, his
nickname is derived from his unique verbiage: an innocent question often led to a mosaic of stories before he got to the answer. According to folk songstress
Odetta
, it was her mother who gave
Elliott
the name when she remarked, "Oh, that
Jack Elliott
, he sure can ramble."
Pressured by his parents to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor,
Elliott
resisted their urging. Instead, inspired by the rodeos he attended at Madison Square Garden, he became fascinated with the image of the American cowboy. After reading the books of cowboy novelist Will James, he ran away from home at the age of 15 and joined the J.E. Ranch Rodeo. Although he was only with the rodeo for three months (before his parents tracked him down and he was sent home),
Elliott
was exposed to his first singing cowboy, a rodeo clown who played guitar and banjo and sang songs. Returning home,
Elliott
taught himself to play guitar.
Elliott
's recording debut came in the mid-'50s when he recorded three songs for a multi-artist compilation,
Bad Men, Heroes and Pirates
, released by Elektra.
Elliott
was so influenced by
Guthrie
(whom he had met during a Greenwich Village picking session in 1950) that he began his musical career by mimicking the legendary folksinger. When
Guthrie
traveled to Florida in 1952, he sent for
Elliott
to join him. By the time
Elliott
arrived, however,
Guthrie
had already left for Mexico, where he was turned back at the border and forced to return to New York.
Elliott
reunited with
Guthrie
a few months later. In the winter of 1954, they traveled together back to Florida; in the spring of 1954, they continued on to California's Topanga Canyon. The trip marked the last time that
Elliott
saw a healthy
Guthrie
. When he went to Europe in 1955,
Elliott
sang
Guthrie
's songs and told stories about him. England provided the setting for
Elliott
's early success; his first album on his own,
Woody Guthrie's Blues
, was recorded in England for the Topic label. In addition to recording four more albums for Topic, he attracted attention with his performances with
Derroll Adams
, a banjo player he had met in California. The duo barnstormed throughout Europe and had a profound influence on the British music scene.
After living in Europe for six years,
Elliott
returned to the United States in 1961. The day after he returned, he visited
Guthrie
in the hospital and was introduced to
Bob Dylan
. (In the mid-'70s,
Elliott
joined
Dylan
's Rolling Thunder Revue and was featured in
Dylan
's film Renaldo and Clara.) Before long, he renewed his friendship with
Guthrie
, and ended up staying with him, his wife
Marjorie Guthrie
, and their children for a year.
Elliott
was an influence on folksinger
Pete Seeger
. During an early-'60s tour of England and Scotland with
Seeger
and
the Weavers
, he inspired
Seeger
with his tales of sailing ships. Among the many other musicians
Elliott
befriended was
Jerry Garcia
.
Elliott
often performed opening sets for
Garcia
's bands and occasionally sat in with
the Grateful Dead
.
In 1990, Red House released
Legends of Folk
, a live recording of a concert that
Elliott
had performed with
Bruce "U. Utah" Phillips
and
Spider John Koerner
at the World Theater in Minnesota.
Bob Feldman
, owner of Red House, later persuaded
Elliott
to record his first studio album in more than two decades,
South Coast
. Recorded at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, MN, the album's 25 tracks were recorded during three four-hour recording sessions. The album received a Grammy award as Best Traditional Folk Album of 1995.
Elliott
returned to the recording studio to record
Friends of Mine
. Released in 1997, the album featured duets with
Joe Ely
,
Tom Waits
,
Guy Clark
,
Jerry Jeff Walker
,
Nanci Griffith
,
John Prine
, and
Bob Weir
.
The Long Ride
followed in 1999. A documentary about
Elliott
, The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack, and its soundtrack appeared in 2002, while Anti released the album
I Stand Alone
in 2006. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide
More
Listeners
Upcoming Shows
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Venue:
Texas Union Theater
Location: Austin, TX
more info
Friday, September 19, 2008
Venue:
McDavid Studio
Location: Fort Worth, TX
more info
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Venue:
Henry Miller Memorial Library
Location: Big Sur, CA
more info
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Venue:
Paramount Theatre
Location: Charlottesville, VA
more info
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Venue:
Freight & Salvage Coffee House
Location: Berkeley, CA
more info
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