Thursday being Valentine's Day, the first hour of Folk Roots/Folk Branches will be devoted to love songs. In the first half-hour, GERRY GOODFRIEND & STEPHEN BARRY will be dropping by to play a few songs live in the studio.

Then, I'll spend most of the show honouring the life and music of the late DAVE VAN RONK (1936-2002). Dave, a true legend in folk and acoustic blues circles, was one of the most influential artists of the past 40+ years. He passed away on Sunday from cardio-pulmonary failure during chemotherapy treatment. Dave had been battling colon cancer.

I was a teenager when I met Dave, circa 1970, very early in my days on the folk scene. I learned much from him over the years and he was a good friend. I'm proud to have presented numerous Dave Van Ronk concerts when I was running the Golem, a Montreal folk club, in the 1970s and '80s, and that he was a guest on Folk Roots/Folk Branches when he came back to Montreal in 1998 to play at the jazz festival.

Folk Roots/Folk Branches is heard Thursday mornings from 9:00-11:30 (Eastern) on CKUT, 90.3 FM in Montreal, or in RealAudio from the Folk Roots/Folk Branches website.

Mike Regenstreif