ERIK DARLING

Erik Darling passed away on August 3 at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Erik had been suffering from lymphoma.

I never had the honor of meeting Erik, but we conversed on the phone several times and exchanged e-mails. He would send me recordings from time to time, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to share his music with my radio audience.

He was very modest, but he really opened up the first time I interviewed him and we ended up chatting for over 90 minutes. He ended by saying “I never knew so much about myself”.

I am glad that he was able to complete and publish his autobiography “I’d Give My Life! A Journey by Folk Music From Washington Square to Carnegie Hall”. The book was recently published and it tells not only of his inolvement with the folk revival, but also of his struggles with panic disorder and his path of self-discovery through the creative experience. He felt it saved him from suicide. His life was a remarkable story.

I feel that his involvement in the folk revival deserves more attention.He was a central figure in Greenwich Village in the 1950’s, teaching just about everybody a lick or two on the banjo. He recorded with numerous artists – I think he gets a credit on just about every Elektra album of the era! Ed McCurdy told me how they would have mock “sword fights” on the subway, using their guitar cases as the weapons as astonished straphangers watched. He wrote The Bananna Boat Song, merging two Jamaican songs, and it became a hit for the Tarriers. The Tarriers would also become the first integrated group to appear on television.

I seem to recall that he also played on the recording of “Tom Dooley” that Roger Sprung created, and was heard and practically copied note for note by the Kingston Trio. His work with the Weavers was more than just a replacement for Pete Seeger. He introduced new songs and styles to the group and really held his own, something that Frank Hamilton would also do. Too many people forget that the Weavers made some incredible music after Pete left.

Then came the Rooftop Singers, an admirable folk/pop sound that also brought attention to Gus Cannon with “Walk Right In”. Erik sent me a copy of the Rooftop Singers reissue a few years ago with a nice note. He was very proud of the work.

He did “change careers”, part of his path of self-discovery. In the last decade there were a couple of projects that brought him back into the limelight – or whatever limelight is left in this world of “folk” music. His album “Child, Child” was, in my estimation, a superb re-working of old tunes mixed with some new songs that showed was a good songwriter he was.

The last recording I received from him was his Christmas CD from two years ago. There was a sparkle to his music – it wasn’t a sappy collection of holiday songs but rather a CD that celebrated the joy of the season without preaching or phony sentiment.

I’m greedy. I was hoping for more. I would e-mail him from time to time to see if he would consider performing in NJ. I am deeply sad that we won’t have an opportunity to share the joy that came from his music and performance in the future, other than the recordings he left us. I pray that he did not suffer too badly or long. His spirit will remain whenever a song is played. My condolences to his family and friends.

I am going to dig out the interview that I did with him about 10 years ago and air it on my WFDU radio show on August 17th.