Because I now live in England, I have only recently learned of Lionel's death, thus the delayed response.

Lionel was one of the nicest, kindest, most generous people you'd ever want to meet. Just a couple of examples: when my wife and I got married in NYC in 1962, Lionel's mother had recently died. He then drove us out to the family house in Brooklyn, and asked us to take any utensils, plates, gadgets, etc. that we needed to set up home. We still have some of them. In the winters, after the picking season in the Square had finished, he used to host monthly Sunday afternoon sessions in his loft apartment near Houston Street. It was there that I saw Woody Guthrie, who was by then very ill - quite a shock, as I had only previously seen him in concert.

Lionel and I, along with my brother Willie and Jules Hansen, appear in the feature film "Greenwich Village Story" - which opens with a scene from the Square, showing us doing two full numbers. However once the story begins, you never see us again!

The Shanty Boys were an excellent and entertaining group. Roger Sprung's banjo picking was exciting, and Mike Cohen's singing and playing were top-notch, but the anchor was Lionel, whose mellow voice and witty comments really pulled them together. They used to give monthly late night concerts in the basement of the Youth Hostel building on West 8th Stree - where Mike worked. They also played in Carnegie Hall. Lionel gave my brother a Brownie bass, and luckily, I wound up with the fine Gibson SJ guitar that Mike used to play (I think it was actually Roger's) - it's the one pictured on their album cover.

More human beings like Lionel are needed. Sadly missed.