Johnathan Edwards

[Patti]

JE is at Stone Soup tonight, I think I might dig up my vinyl records of his to get signed We are hoping to have a sell out!!

Below is from a local newspaper

EVERYBODY KNOWS HIM
Now-neglected artists such as Livingston Taylor, Aztec Two-Step, and
JONATHAN EDWARDS had a glorious New England heyday back in the early 70s.
They d fill cozy bars with their troubadour-tinged singer-songwriter stuff
sometimes weepy, sometimes rowdy. Edwards had a gorgeous rasp of a voice
that was applied to bluegrass a bit when his string of FM staples
( Sunshine, Everybody Knows Her, Shanty ) withered away. He s always
been a charmer with a pocketful of fun ditties. See if he still has it at
Stone Soup Coffeehouse at St. Paul s Church, 50 Park Place, Pawtucket, at
8 pm | $20 | 401.457.7147

[paddyinthepub]

Patti

Hoping to hear about this show.....

It occurs to me that Jonathan Edwards opened my eyes and ears and mind to something around the time I listened to his record with "Sunshine" on it.

Listening to the album as a whole, I remember thinking, "wait a minute, there's a whole lot more to this guy than "Sunshine."

It was then I realised that radio could only scratch the surface of what an artist like Jonathan Edwards had to offer, and that I would have to dive into the full length albums of other artists to fully get what they were about.

Good thing!!!

[mm]

Paddy,
That's such a great observation about the album vs. radio play! What a way to put into words something really key about the importance of folks getting to know in fuller detail the work of artists we enjoy.

[Patti]

The show was a lot of fun. JE has been doing this along time, and it shows. In a good way. He sounded great, had lots of funny stories to tell.

He did most of the songs from "that" album, which of course are his best known. Sunshine was actually written as protest to the Vietnam War and he told how he played it over and over again in DC, during a demonstration down there.

For someone who has been around a long time.. he looks and sounds great. He can play the heck out of his harmonicas!! Unbelievable..

Taylor Armingding and Stewart S ? accompanied him all night and they really added to the show with mandolin, violin, bass and piano playing. It was the first time he was at SS and I'm sure we'll have him back again.

[paddyinthepub]

Thanks for the report, Patti.....it's funny, I can't think of the name of "that" album right now, either. Anybody? I guess I never knew it was a protest song to the Vietnam War...I'll have to go back and listen with that in mind.

I did see him once in concert at the Kerrville Folk Fest, many years ago.

What little I remember of his set was that he was great and I felt like I was watching something of a living musical legend. I'd love to see him in concert again one of these days.

So glad we have a topic on him....I'd kind of forgotten about him. Guess that happens alot with the old troubadors..out of sight..out of mind. It's kind of a shame that radio has gone the way it has...that song of his used to rule the airwaves.

mm -- thanks for the kind words and keen observation. It really did help me dive into other like artists that had hit songs on radio -- and oh so much more.

To name just a few.....Don McLean/HarryChapin/Carly Simon

[PeteM]

That is a great Jonathan Edwards album, and its name is....Jonathan Edwards! Since it's a self titled one, I wonder if it was his first. I remember seing him in a basement bar in Harvard Square many, many years ago. He had the place rocking and dancing on the tables. I've had a great time rediscovering his music ever since I found that the albums were reissued on CD. I'm so glad that those troubadours are still out there doing their stuff, and so glad we have our new ones with a lot of years of great music to come.

Pete