Posted by fayeroe on August 7, 2008, at 4:42:43
In reply to I found it » fayeroe, posted by Sigismund on August 7, 2008, at 3:18:59
In Memoriam: Ribbon of Highway Narrator passes:
Acclaimed Oklahoma singer/songwriter Bob Childers died Tuesday, April 22,
succumbing to emphysema and related lung disease. As one of the
ground-breaking figures in Red Dirt music - an Oklahoma sound and scene
colored in Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie influences - Childers was the
lightning rod, the songwriting "big brother' who informed a host of Oklahoma
songwriters and musicians including Jimmy LaFave, Tom Skinner, Garth Brooks,
Greg Jacobs, The Red Dirt Rangers, Mike McClure, Jason Boland and Stoney
LaRue, just to name the most familiar. Born on November 20, 1946, to Howard
and Rhea (Gaskins) Childers in West Union, West Virginia, Childers became an
Oklahoman in 1972 when he stopped in Stillwater on his way east from UC
Berkeley. After hearing local favorite Chuck Dunlap, Childers knew he had
found his new home. "California had the money and the reputation," Childers
said, "but Oklahoma had the magic,." Childers soon began playing music all
over Oklahoma and built a solid reputation as Oklahoma's best folk/country
songwriter. By 1978 his music had come to the attention of Jimmy LaFave, an
early star of the new Red Dirt scene. In 1979, with LaFave's help, Childers
recorded his first record, the aptly titled "I Ain't No Jukebox." In 1986
he moved to Nashville and then Austin, before returning to Oklahoma in 1991.
It was then that Childers began the most productive period of his career.
Childers unique blend of country, folk and roots-rock rang with a clear
authenticity. His laid back casualness and weathered voice were perfectly
suited to his songs of love, loss, regret, promise, betrayal, fun and just
hanging out with friends. Through his association with Chris Maxwell's
Binky Records, Childers released those songs on seven compact discs,
including the seminal Red Dirt classic, "Nothin' More Natural," featuring
"Woody's Road" his most famous song. By the turn of the decade Childers was
touring less, but still playing around Oklahoma, appearing at all the Woody
Guthrie Tributes at the Blue Door in Oklahoma City and becoming a fixture at
The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah. In 2004 Binky Records released
"Restless Spirit: A Tribute To The Songs Of Bob Childers," a three disc set
featuring a diverse cast of Childers' friends and musical acquaintances.
That same year Childers began a five year run as narrator of "Ribbon Of
Highway," Jimmy LaFave's touring tribute to Woody Guthrie. While he never
had any real hits to speak of, Bob Childers influenced two generation of
songwriters, at least in Oklahoma, but probably elsewhere as well. His
songwriting style was straightforward yet deeply moving; his world-weary
wisdom always allowed optimistic belief in better days ahead. He was part
wide-eyed Okie mystic, part Guthriesque down-to-earth populist. He is
survived by his parents, two sons Zach and Jesse Childers, two brothers Mark
Childers of Ponca City, OK and Paul Childers of Waynoka, OK and one sister
Ann Thorpe of Ponca City. He was preceded in death by one brother David
Childers. A memorial service will be held 11 AM Saturday, April 26, 2008 at
the Trout Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Guy Fox, minister of the Kildare
Baptist Church, officiating. A musical tribute will be held at 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 27, at the Blue Door in Oklahoma City.
poster:fayeroe
thread:843305
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20080728/msgs/844753.html