Any further info about this event online ??!!??

Quote from Daniel Gewertz' eulogy "Love Comes Rolling Down on Blues Legend" in Club Passim's 'the Listening Room' July/August 2000 (Acrobat-Newsletter - takes nearly endless to download):
"The cake presented to Eric von Schmidt at Club Passim in Cambridge on Sunday simply said, 'Thanks for a lifetime of great blues.'
But by the time the ASCAP Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony was over, it was clear that von Schmidt, 69, was being honored for more than the folk-blues he sang and wrote.
Von Schmidt was the linchpin for the 1950s and '60s folk revival in Boston, teaching a new generation the forgotten folk and blues songs that would form the basis of a reborn genre.
...
Club Passim the former site of the old Club 47, was the perfect spot for the ceremony, an event that combined fond testimony, hilarious anecdotes and sublime music.
Von Schmidt, well known as a painter, illustrator,and writer in addition to his 50 years in music, sat in middle of Passim, beaming. Though whitehaired, frail and very thin, the light from his piercing eyes gave him a remarkable youthful aura.
Von Schmidt, suffering from throat cancer, underwent a tracheotomy last October. He is now in remission.
He speaks with difficulty with the aid of a larynx implant.
'I used to sing 'Love Comes Rolling Down,'' he said, 'And it still does.'
The event was also remarkable for the first real reunion of the Kweskin Jug Band in 26 years."(end quote)

I wish him a speedy recovery - may his Love Come Rolling Down for another 69 years !!!

Stefan Wirz

So sorry to read your sobering addendum about one of my music heroes. I wonder if there was much media coverage. Wouldn't it make a great PBS special?

Fascinating guy. In addition to illustrating his own books and album covers, he did a bunch of other album covers I have, including Rev. Gary Davis and Paul Geremia.

His father, Harold Von Schmidt, was a famous Western artist and illustrator (Sat. Eve. Post covers, etc.) who also founded the Famous Artists' Schools in Westport, CT. Kind of a cross between Frederic Remington and Toulouse-Lautrec. We have one of his paintings, too.

Good wishes, Eric.

Thanks for posting that link. You really made my day.

      - Mark