Anybody still interested in my whereabouts? Just noticed this thread after all these years.. Kinda slow about picking up on internet stuff, to say the least! So here's a re-cap of things:

I am now 86 1/2 years old, sang my last full concert for my 85th birthday at the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley. Now I sing smaller house concerts whenever possible, but this last year have been incapacitated by arthritis in the back, bronchitis and/or some sort of COPD in the lungs, etcetera. My husband Irwin Silber's long slow death from Alzheimer's took quite a toll on my own health, but he was my heart and he needed me.

(By the way, just for the record, it is a complete fiction that Irwin had a problem with Dylan "going electric"... it was that he was afraid he was drifting away from his base, the people who understood his poetry best and needed him to produce more of it. Irwin regretted the somewhat patronizing tone he took in that open letter, but never had a chance to discuss it with Bob. After that letter, watching Dylan's development, Irwin felt more and more appreciation for the power of his songwriting and how much it meant to at least two generations of folks, with many more to come.)

Last year I made a recording of "Good Morning Blues" with my grandson Osamu Menendez, who created a great blues backup band out of his Cuban rock band for the occasion. It is now getting lots of play on Cuban radio.

My son Pablo Menendez, guitarist and bandleader of Mezcla, will be here from Cuba in January when we plan to record some of those great old "American Songbook" tunes from the '30s and '40s with a small hot jazz combo.

My son Jesse (a/k/a/ Nicky) Cahn is in Oklahoma City where he writes meaningful songs, sings his heart out with his touchingly beautiful voice, teaches guitar and runs an important weekly Open Mike.

My daughter singer/producer Nina Menendez just successfully wrapped up her 8th Annual Festival Flamenco Gitano featuring some of the greatest figures in genuine Gypsy flamenco.

My great-grandson Mauro Menendez is already 20 years old and invites you to check out the kind of prize-winning beats he creates at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00932NREM/?tag=you09f-20

We've come a long way from my days in the '40s singing in front of shop gates in Detroit, but here we all are, making music each in our own way and all deeply grateful for being able to work at what we love. We all agree that music is not a toy but a necessity that helps heal, unite, and glorify the human race.

With heartfelt wishes for you all to have a peaceful and happy holiday season, with plenty of great music to share, Barbara Dane   

Please reply to: barbara@barbaradane.net with subject line "Mudcat family"