Dance of death biography of john fahey

By Jim Higgins of the Journal Sentinel

June 13, 20140

Teenager Leo Kottke, while trying to buttonhole another musician backstage, heard a note that blew his mind and still resonates for him today.

"I can still hear that big bong of a thumb on the E string....It was Fahey.

It was Fahey yet to be... which I'm thinking is all we'll ever know of him."

Many musicians and listeners would nod their heads in agreement with Kottke's reaction, which Steve Lowenthal reports in his excellent biography, "Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist." Fahey's guitar playing knocked people out; his odd personality and self-destructive behavior made them scratch their heads.

Out of elements of classical, country, folk and blues, Fahey (1939-2001) wove a style of acoustic guitar playing that he dubbed "American primitive"; my former guitar teacher John Stropes and other scholars