Obituary from the CTPost: *************************************** Fred Hellerman, 89, the last of the Weavers By Jim Shay and John Burgeson Updated 12:32 pm, Friday, September 2, 2016 Fred Hellerman, the last remaining member of the Weavers, died Thursday, his son, Caleb, confirmed Friday morning in a telephone interview. Hellerman, who lived in Weston for 46 years, was 89. The son said that there would be no funeral, adding that a memorial event will take place in the coming months. "I have sad news to share: my dad, Fred Hellerman, died this morning after a long run of failing health," Caleb announced late Thursday on Facebook. "He was home and surrounded by family. It's still sinking in, but I appreciate the words of comfort that many of you have shared. There won't be a funeral but we will hold a memorial service, with music, some time in the next few months." The Weavers, whose other members were Pete Seeger, Lee Hays and Ronnie Gilbert, helped spark a national folk revival by churning out hit recordings of "Goodnight Irene," ''On Top of Old Smokey," ''If I Had A Hammer," ''Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" and "Wimoweh." The group was hugely popular before being targeted by anti-Communists and blacklisted during the Red Scare. Their popularity returned in the 1960s; the group released more than 25 LPs over the years, and at least 16 are still available on CD and vinyl. Hellerman lived on Goodhill Road in Weston since 1969 and had a recording studio in his home. He knew and sang with Woody Guthrie, and later produced "Alice's Restaurant" for Guthrie's son, Arlo. The group, formed in 1948 and disbanded in 1964, played a reunion concert Carnegie Hall in New York City on Nov. 28, 1980. Seeger died in 2014 at age 94, Gilbert died in 2015, and Hays in 1981.
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