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Subject: Fred Neil has apparently passed away From: Tedham Porterhouse Date: 08 Jul 01 - 05:19 PM I've heard from several people that Fred Neil was found dead at his home in Florida yesterday. |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Amos Date: 08 Jul 01 - 05:25 PM A sorry passing -- one of the starters. Dylan's reminiscence of him: BOB DYLAN: I used to play in a a place called Cafe Wha?, and it always used to open at noon, and closed at six in the morning. It was just a non-stop flow of people, usually they were tourists who were looking for beatniks in the Village. There'd be maybe five groups that played there. I used to play with a guy called Fred Neil, who wrote the song "Everybody's Talking" that was in the film "Midnight Cowboy."
Fred was from Florida I think, from Coconut Grove, Florida, and he used to make that scene, from Coconut Grove to Nashville to New York. And he had a strong powerful voice, almost a bass voice. And a powerful sense of rhythm ... And he used to play mostly these types of songs that Josh White might sing. I would play harmonica for him, and then once in a while get to sing a song. You know, when he was taking a break or something. It was his show, he would be on for about half an hour, then a conga group would get on, called Los Congeros, with twenty conga drummers and bongoes and steel drums. And they would sing and play maybe half an hour. And then this girl, I think she was called Judy Rainey, used to play sweet Southern Mountain Appalachian ballads, with electric guitar and small amplifier. And then another guy named Hal Waters used to sing, he used to be a sort of crooner. Then there'd be a comedian, then an impersonator, and that'd be the whole show, and this whole unit would go around non-stop. And you'd get fed there, which was actually the best thing about the place...
( Bert Kleinman Interview, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, NYC, NY, Jul 30, 1984.) |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Amos Date: 08 Jul 01 - 05:28 PM Here's a partial listing of his remarkable career. I trhink you'd have to say e was one of the real movers of the movement when it was a-buiilding. A |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: TishA Date: 08 Jul 01 - 06:18 PM Fred Neil's music meant a lot to me in the sixties. I had been thinking about a couple of his songs lately and wondering what became of him. What a great and singular voice he had. He will be missed. Chip A. |
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Subject: ADD: The Other Side of this Life (Fred Neil) From: Lonesome EJ Date: 09 Jul 01 - 01:38 AM THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS LIFE Fred Neil-Third Story Music Co. BMI
Would you like to know a secret, just between you and me.
Refrain:
I think I'll go to Nashville, down to Tennessee, (Refrain)
I don't know what I'm doing half the time,
(Refrain)
My whole world's in an uproar, my whole world's upside down,
And that's another side to this life, I've been leadin',
Would you like to know a secret, just between you and me.
And that's the other side to this life, I've been leadin', Great tune that a lot of people including Jefferson Airplane and Gram Parsons covered back in the day. Sail on sailor. |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Wesley S Date: 09 Jul 01 - 10:54 AM If this is true he will be greatly missed. There were some of us that hoped he would come out of retirement and record again but I guess that will never happen now. What a huge voice and 12 string guitar sound. I'll bet that Fred and Travis Magee have found a good fishing hole together. Skipping over the ocean like a stone. "I've been searching for the dolphins in the sea. And sometimes I wonder if you ever think of me" |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Tedham Porterhouse Date: 09 Jul 01 - 11:01 AM Wesley, Fred walked away from performing and recording about 30 years ago. In that sense, he's been missed for a long time. Fred was a junkie and needed to get away from the performer's life to get himself clean. He knew that if he didn't do something else with his life, he probably would not have made it to 40. His friends Tim Hardin and Tim Buckley ended up dead, Fred found the dolphins and lived for another 30 years. |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Wesley S Date: 09 Jul 01 - 11:11 AM Then let's hope he got his wish and died clean. Do you know where we can find an obit? Where did he die? |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Tedham Porterhouse Date: 09 Jul 01 - 11:22 AM Wesley, I haven't seen any published obits so far. The news was passed on to me by mutual friends who had heard from Vince Martin, Fred's old duet partner. Fred was found at his home on one of the Florida keys south of Miami. |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Tedham Porterhouse Date: 09 Jul 01 - 01:14 PM Reuters is now reporting the death of Fred Neil. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010709/re/people_neil_dc_1.html |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Mudlark Date: 09 Jul 01 - 03:23 PM oh, man, this has been a hard year. Such a great voice, as thick and rich and satisfying as homemade fudge sauce.... |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: GUEST,Janice in NJ Date: 09 Jul 01 - 03:51 PM Oh my goodness! It must be more than 35 years since I saw Fred Neil for my own and only time. It was somewhere in the Village, maybe the Gaslight. He opened for Odetta, then she called him back and they did a couple of songs together. I could swear that she looked at him like she was in love with him. What a fine performer he was! |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: GUEST Date: 10 Jul 01 - 04:49 PM It was reported on the radio today in Miami that Fred Neil had been suffering from lung cancer. Since the death of Fred Neil, approximately 3300 other Americans have also died of smoking-induced illnesses. |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Justa Picker Date: 11 Jul 01 - 11:46 AM From CNN's website: SUMMERLAND KEY, Florida (AP) -- Folk singer Fred Neil, who had such hits as "Everybody's Talkin' " and "Candy Man," was found dead Saturday of natural causes in his home. He was 64. Neil started his music career in 1955 when he moved from St. Petersburg to Memphis, Tenn. He released his first single, "You Ain't Treatin' Me Right/Don't Put the Blame On Me," two years later. The singer became a cult favorite in New York City's Greenwich Village folk scene after Roy Orbison released a blues recording of Neil's "Candy Man" in 1960. Neil released his first solo album, "Bleecker & MacDougal," in 1965. After moving back to Florida, Neil took an interest in protecting dolphins. He frequently visited Kathy, the star of the television show "Flipper," and wrote a song called "The Dolphins," which was released on his 1967 album "Fred Neil." Billy Bragg delivered a haunting cover of the song on his 1991 album, "Don't Try This at Home." In 1970, Neil co-founded the Dolphin Research Project to help curb the capture and exploitation of dolphins worldwide. His last big hit came in 1969 when the film "Midnight Cowboy" featured singer Harry Nilsson's version of Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'."
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Sarah2 Date: 11 Jul 01 - 01:42 PM Hell. I adored his voice, loved his songs. Still have a 33rpm of "Tear Down the Walls" with Vince Martin. I play it one time every few years -- so I can tape it again whenever I wear the tape out. They were something else. Spent an exhorbitant amount on a CD relese of "Bleeker and McDougal" not long ago. But Fred Neil fans will do that kind of thing...May the dolphins dance for him now. Sarah |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: iamjohnne Date: 15 Aug 01 - 11:49 PM I dont have a clue who or where you are, but we share a common interest. Rolling Stone has a very nice commentary on Fred Neil written by Richie unterberger. He quotes David Crosby about Fred. The Miami Herald also has a nice obit. Published about the 8th of July I think. I was a teenager in Miami back in the late '60s. I used to go hear Fred sing with vince Martin and jon sebastion and Bob Ingram at the Gaslight South in coconut Grove. I have just recently bought the cd that is out and now I am saddened to find he passed away. He sang the songs of my youth. I used to sing my kids to sleep with "Bs Di Da" |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Melani Date: 16 Aug 01 - 11:32 PM Hey, jamjohne, I saw what I think was his last show at the Gaslight in late 1967 or early '68. The Gaslight closed down soon after that, and became a restaurant called the Feedbag and a health food store called the Oak Feed Store. (Remember the O.K. Feed Store on U.S.1? Oh my God, Miami nostalgia?!) It was the only time I ever saw him live, and I'm sure glad I had the chance. And while I'm engaging in Miami thread creep, did you ever manage to catch Michael Smith at the Flick when he was part of the Flick Trio? He was known as Mike then, and generally very silly. We saw him here in the S.F. Bay Area a couple of years ago, doing a bunch of serious, beautiful stuff like "Margaret and the Dutchman," and I couldn't believe it was the same guy. (Well, I hadn't seen him since about 1970!) I really wasn't sure, until he told the story about tuning his guitar to the Miami phone system dial tone. We asked him about his apparent personality transplant, and he said the Flick wanted a comedian and he needed a job. So now he is doing what he really wanted to all along. So much for thread creep. A friend of mine used to berth his boat next to Fred's, and was always chasing strange people off his own deck when they mistook it for Fred's. I'm glad to hear that he cleaned up his life in the end. |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Allan C. Date: 17 Aug 01 - 12:21 AM Sarah2, that album was my introduction to Fred Neil as well and what the jacket described as being his "subterranean rumble". I don't know if he had a hand in writing "I'm A Drifter" (perhaps you could tell me?) but I have enjoyed performing that song from the album for many years. For that alone, I thank him. Nobody (not even Hank, IMHO) ever did "Weary Blues From Waitin'" any better than Fred (& Vince). |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Sarah2 Date: 17 Aug 01 - 01:18 PM Allan C., The back of the album says: I'M A DRIFTER (Edmonson, Carte Music BMI) 2:27 ...so I'd guess not. I'll always think of it as a "Fred Neil song," though. Sarah |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: Wesley S Date: 17 Aug 01 - 01:40 PM That was Travis Edmonson of "Bud and Travis" if I'm not mistaken. But I'm often mistaken - just ask my wife. Wesley - formerly of Indian Rocks Beach and Maderia Beach - the west coast of Fla. |
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Subject: RE: Fred Neil From: GUEST,keberoxu Date: 25 Apr 25 - 06:57 PM Ideally this thread would be titled Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) but I'm not sure there's an actual obit here. There is a New York Times obit online, but as I am not a subscriber, I cannot link to it. Here, however, is a link to a modest obituary in The Guardian.
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: GUEST,keberoxu Date: 25 Apr 25 - 07:29 PM Thank you, Joe! |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 25 Apr 25 - 09:06 PM Obit - Fred Neil Miami New Times By Steve Ellman September 20, 2001 Dolphin Song miaminewtimes.com/music/dolphin-song-6353730 ....... When singer-songwriter Fred Neil passed away at his Key West home at the age of 64 last July 5, a fabled part of Miami history died with him. In the eyes of American hipsters of the Sixties, Neil embodied Coconut Grove at a time when the city had a major major role in what some remember as a golden age of American popular music, the first indication that Miami had something more going on than the Fontainebleau and the mob. The epitome of laid-back bohotropicale, Neil spurred Jimmy Buffett in his pursuit of Margaritaville and made the Grove a regular stop for people like David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell, the Lovin' Spoonful, Mama Cass, Richie Havens, and Jerry Jeff Walker. A skinny little guy, Neil could reach down into his hip pocket and pull out a bass baritone that was wrapped in honey and sinuous as a snake. He could twirl his voice around a lyric and throw it across the room, making your head snap. His voice could rumble and soothe simultaneously with sorrow and pity and a sweetness that curled your toes. Along with Tim Hardin, another pained soul with no stomach for the limelight, Neil served as an early prototype of what we know as the singer-songwriter. Other musicians worshipped him. When Fred played a date in the Grove or ventured out on the folk-club circuit to other cities, everybody who was seriously down with the new freedom in folk was there. Crosby and Stills, among others, cite him as a major influence. Even though Neil first gained renown as a folksinger, he never quite fit the mold. Older than most of the coffeehouse cohort, he came to the folk music scene from a pop background in early rock and roll. They say he was a back-up musician at Sun Studios at one point, and his discography includes a few rockabilly/countryish Nashville singles from the late Fifties. He wrote his own stuff right from the start and brought a rhythmic sense to the folk repertoire when others were singing Elizabethan ballads. He was one of -- if not the -- first to record material incorporating Indian raga-style sounds, use electric instruments, drop the vocals, and jam. A folksinger in shades who wrote songs influenced by blues, pop, and early rock, Neil's troubled, sometimes abrasive personality and his cool aloofness served as a model for the young Bob Dylan, who got his first paying gigs in New York City in 1961 backing Neil on harmonica at Café Wha? Moody and enigmatic, Neil's persona was both a blessing and a curse. He was known to his friends for great generosity as well as sudden coolness. He was passionate about social injustice but too down home for any ideological straightjacket. (In 1963 he wrote a song called "Dade County Jail," and even his protest of overcrowding in the juvenile facilities swings.) He liked to get high and party, but his drug of choice often was heroin. The hard stuff, along with a series of tragedies in his personal life (typical: A car up on a repair hoist collapsed and killed his significant other in the early Nineties), fed Neil's withdrawal and seeded the cloud of blues that trailed him most of his life. Withdrawn, even onstage, as if some great inner pain was never far from the surface, he came across like James Dean with a guitar. He hated to perform and never recorded much because producers practically had to drag him into the studio. Viscerally opposed to the crass commercialism of the music business, he refused to play the show-biz game. Almost despite himself, he scored hits with "Candy Man," recorded by Roy Orbison, and his best-known song, "Everybody's Talkin'," which was picked up as the theme for Midnight Cowboy. Other songs were covered over the years by artists from the Jefferson Airplane and Tim Buckley to Dead Can Dance and The The. By the early Seventies, with a steady stream of royalties to support him, Neil dropped out. He lived quietly in the Grove for some time before eventually retiring to Key West. In between it's said he bought a recreational vehicle and roamed the country. Neil just wanted to write songs, hang out in the Grove, and, so they say, swim with the dolphins. He had this thing about dolphins and, on Earth Day 1970, along with Miami-area naturalist/activist Richard O'Barry, founded the Dolphin Project, dedicated to the abolition of what they called the "dolphin slave trade" -- the capture of dolphins for entertainment or research. Neil did a number of concerts for the Dolphin Project, including one in Japan, and used his musical network to get other performers into the act. The project is still up and running, educating the public, working to halt the dolphin trade, and retraining captive dolphins for release into the wild. Death removes the biggest single obstacle to wider recognition of Neil's talent: his own stubborn self-abnegation. Like other reclusive geniuses, Neil has inspired a devoted cult of fans. Since his passing, the Websites and online discussion lists dedicated to him have mushroomed. Messages indicate that numerous unreleased live and studio recordings lie hidden in record company vaults and in the hands of individual fans, so a lost stream of his work may be forthcoming. Others talk of a memorial concert and/or tribute album. The perfect final irony would be for Neil's death to spur the fame he deserves. Sincerely, Gargoyle Thanks for the TIMES tip ... this writer has real class. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 25 Apr 25 - 09:33 PM Fred Neil, Folk Singer And Composer, 64 New York Times July 11, 2001, Section B, Page 9 Fred Neil, a folk singer whose hits included 'Everybody's Talkin' ' and 'Candyman,' was found dead on Saturday in his home here. He was 64. His death was attributed to natural causes. Mr. Neil started his music career in 1955 when he moved from St. Petersburg, Fla., to Memphis. He released his first single, 'You Ain't Treatin' Me Right/Don't Put the Blame on Me,' two years later. He became a cult favorite after Roy Orbison released a blues recording of 'Candyman' in 1960. Mr. Neil released his first solo album, 'Bleecker and MacDougal,' in 1965. After returning to Florida, he became interested in dolphins. He wrote a song called 'The Dolphins,' released on his 1967 album, 'Fred Neil,' and in 1970 co-founded the Dolphin Project to help curb the exploitation of dolphins worldwide. His last big hit was in 1969 when the film 'Midnight Cowboy' featured Harry Nilsson singing 'Everybody's Talkin' .' Sincerely, Gargoyle What an interesting person. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 25 Apr 25 - 10:11 PM Fred Neil; Reclusive Musician Wrote ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ By RANDY LEWIS Times Staff Writer July 10, 2001 12 AM PM Los Angeles Times Fred Neil, the influential folk musician whose song “Everybody’s Talkin’ ” became the theme of the film “Midnight Cowboy” but who turned his back on the fame that seemed to be his for the asking and became one of pop music’s legendary recluses, has died. He was 64. Neil was found Saturday at his Florida home in Summerland Key by a friend, Kathleen Brooks, who had been checking in on him regularly, Morris County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Becky Herrin said Monday. She said Brooks told deputies that Neil had been ill with cancer. “His death was unexpected,” Brooks said. During the 1960s, when he released three albums, Neil shunned anything relating to fame and celebrity, and was said to prefer playing privately for friends. Over the years he refused virtually all requests for interviews. “He was really a very private person,” Brooks said Monday. “There really isn’t anything I can tell you. His main interest was with the Dolphin Project,” a nonprofit dolphin-rescue organization he founded in 1970 with marine biologist Richard O’Barry, who once trained dolphins for the “Flipper” TV series. Neil “was the support system,” Brooks said. “I can’t get more specific than that.” Neil’s second album, “Fred Neil,” included a song “The Dolphins” that expressed his respect for the mammals. It was also recorded by folk singer-songwriter Tim Buckley. It was Harry Nilsson’s 1969 recording of “Everybody’s Talkin’ ” that put Neil’s song into the pop music mainstream, a realm Neil never entered with his own recordings. It was Harry Nilsson’s 1969 recording of “Everybody’s Talkin’ ” that put Neil’s song into the pop music mainstream. Neil’s biggest hit seemed to express his disdain for the public life and to telegraph his retreat from it: Everybody’s talkin’ at me I don’t hear a word they’re sayin’ Only the echoes of my mind. . . . I’m goin’ where the sun keeps shinin’ Through the pourin’ rain Goin’ where the weather suits my clothes. Neil was born Jan. 1, 1937, in St. Petersburg, Fla., but as little is known of his early life as of his doings over the last three decades. “Fred was mysterious; his background was sketchy,” John Sebastian once wrote of Neil. Before he formed the folk-rock group Lovin’ Spoonful, Sebastian played on Neil’s first album, “Bleecker & MacDougal,” in 1965. The Lovin’ Spoonful recorded one of Neil’s best-known songs, “The Other Side of This Life,” which also was recorded by Jefferson Airplane and the Youngbloods. Though he remained a mystery man for most of his life, he was a hero to members of the burgeoning folk revival in the early 1960s, renowned for his rich baritone voice, his handling of the 12-string acoustic guitar and his haunting songs of self-exploration. “I used to play in a a place called Cafe Wha?, and it always used to open at noon and close at six in the morning,” Bob Dylan told an interviewer in 1984. “It was just a nonstop flow of people; usually they were tourists who were looking for beatniks in the Village. There’d be maybe five groups that played there. I used to play with a guy called Fred Neil, who wrote the song ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ ’ that was in the film ‘Midnight Cowboy.’ “He had a strong powerful voice, almost a bass voice. And a powerful sense of rhythm. . . . And he used to play mostly these types of songs that [folk-blues singer] Josh White might sing. I would play harmonica for him, and then once in a while get to sing a song.” Noted Sebastian: “It was the voice that got you first . . . that honey-laden baritone with the Southern lilt. Fred Neil would slump over that mike with his big, fat 12-string [guitar] and the walls would move. . . . Waitresses would melt in their tracks.” His first song of note was “Modern Don Juan,” which a pre-stardom Buddy Holly recorded in 1956. Neil moved to Greenwich Village in the late 1950s and joined the growing number of musicians taking an interest in playing folk music. He also wrote “Candy Man,” which Roy Orbison recorded and put out as the B side of his 1961 hit “Crying.” None of Neil’s four albums released between 1965 and 1971 made the national charts, but he acted as a guru for many younger musicians. “He showed me where to eat, where not to go, how to roll a proper joint, where to get guitar strings,” David Crosby once said of Neil, whom he met in New York in 1961. “He taught me a sizable chunk of what music was about, and even more about the whys and wherefores of being a musician. He was a hero to me.” Of Neil’s withdrawal from the public eye, Jefferson Airplane singer-guitarist Paul Kantner said: “It was rightfully deserved; he was treated rather brutally by the music business, and he was a gentle soul. “He sort of showed how to be a dignified white boy playing music and not have to play black. He was very cool just being Freddy,” Kantner said shortly after a concert Monday night in Pittsburgh. “He gave all us poor little middle-class white boys a star to shoot for.” Neil’s friend Brooks said he had some relatives, but she would not elaborate. No funeral or memorial services have been announced. ........ (For the record: 12:00 a.m. July 12, 2001: FOR THE RECORD Los Angeles Times Thursday July 12, 2001 Home Edition Part A Part A Page 2 A2 Desk 1 inches; 22 words Type of Material: Correction Fred Neil obituary--Tuesday’s obituary of Fred Neil cited the wrong date of birth and age for the folk singer and songwriter. Neil, born March 16, 1936, was 65.) Sincerely, Gargoyle What a remarkable worldwide show of respect. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: gillymor Date: 26 Apr 25 - 06:33 AM He was one of my favorite singers and his version of Libba Cotten's Sugaree is one of my favorite recordings. Thanks for these obits. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: GUEST,keberoxu Date: 26 Apr 25 - 08:55 AM If this link works, it will go to Rolling Stone's article. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: keberoxu Date: 26 Apr 25 - 09:27 AM The magazine No Depression is dedicated to singer-songwriters; it didn't exist when Fred Neil was active. When a tribute album to Fred Neil was released, the magazine interviewed a number of people for their reminiscences and tributes to Fred Neil. Do You Ever Think Of Me |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: GUEST,keberoxu Date: 26 Apr 25 - 01:28 PM The post for August 15, 2001 mentions an article by Richie Unterberger, giving a retrospective of Fred Neil's career. Unterberger now has his own website, and his articles are under copyright. Here is a link to Unterberger's Fred Neil article. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: Mark Ross Date: 26 Apr 25 - 05:51 PM I met Fred in the late '60's when I hit Greenwich Village playing the basket houses. He was always kind and helpful to young performers. After a disastrous guest set opening for the band Ten Wheel Drive Fred took me aside and gave me instructions in how to handle that situation. "Just keep strumming softly until the audience quiets down." Thank you Fred. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: gillymor Date: 27 Apr 25 - 10:51 AM Whenever I hear or think of the line, Banking off of the northeast wind, Sailing on a summer breeze. I flash back to happy days, from long ago, sailing my little skiff in the Chesapeake. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: Fred Neil (1937-2001) From: gillymor Date: 27 Apr 25 - 10:53 AM whoa forgot the all-important last line- Skipping over the ocean. Like a stone. Jeesh! |
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