Obit: Dave Fisher of the Highwaymen 7 May 2010

Subject: Obit: Dave Fisher of the Highwaymen
From: Amos
Date: 13 May 10 - 11:09 AM

Dave Fisher, founding member and lead singer of the 1960s folk group the Highwaymen, whose recording of the Civil War anti-slavery song "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" became a surprise pop hit in 1962, has died. He was 69.

Fisher died Friday at his home in Rye, N.Y., of myelofibrosis, a rare blood disease, family friend Nicole Fiftal said Wednesday.

"The original Highwaymen, along with the Kingston Trio and, later, Peter, Paul and Mary, were among those responsible for popularizing original American music — call it folk, blues, country, whatever," Kris Kristofferson told The Times on Wednesday. "Those of us who were able to walk through the doors they opened are grateful."

David Louis Fisher was born July 19, 1940, in New Haven, Conn., and while in high school developed his singing and arranging talents in a doo-wop group called the Academics.


He formed the Highwaymen in 1958 with other students at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., during the height of the folk music renaissance that had been spurred by Woody Guthrie, the Weavers, the Kingston Trio and others.

It was there that Fisher met Bob Burnett, Steve Butts, Chan Daniels and Steve Trott, and started the Clansmen, a name they picked for the Irish and Scottish folk music influences they drew upon.

They were unaware of the racial connotation the name carried in the American South, and as soon as their music started to build a following in the Northeast, their manager came up with the name the Highwaymen, a nod to the early 20th century poem by Alfred Noyes.

It was a choice that led to a brief scuffle years later with the country music supergroup born when Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kristofferson and Willie Nelson decided to record and tour together under the same name.

After the original Highwaymen sued the country quartet in 1990, Jennings suggested that Fisher and his mates open for them on their tour stop in Los Angeles, extending them the recognition and exposure before a crowd of several thousand fans they wouldn't have otherwise had access to.

Trott, who ultimately became a judge for the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, praised Jennings' solution. "With a single swipe, he eliminated all the usual things that go with the resolution of this kind of thing," Trott told The Times at that time. "Maybe we should turn the legal system of the U.S. over to Waylon."

The Highwaymen's melancholy 1959 recording of "Michael," abbreviating the original title for their version, was released as the B side of a single, and only became a hit two years after it had been issued, well after the group had been dropped by United Artists Records because its music had failed to connect in a big way like that of the Kingston Trio.

Disc jockeys, however, belatedly homed in on "Michael" and began playing it in 1961. It eventually went to No. 1 nationally, and spent two weeks atop Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

The Highwaymen's only other release to make the Top 20 was "Cotton Fields," at the time a nearly forgotten song by folk-blues musician Leadbelly. Because of the Highwaymen's version, the song worked its way into the folk-rock lexicon and later was treated to versions by Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Beach Boys, among others.

The Highwaymen recorded eight albums before disbanding in 1964 amid the British Invasion. The various members of the group finished their undergraduate degrees and went on to nonmusical careers.

Fisher, however, remained in music and, in 1969, moved to Los Angeles, where he spent many years as a composer, arranger and music producer in film and television, having contributed music to TV series including "The Fall Guy," "Glory Years," "Pensacola" and, fittingly, "The Highwayman."

The Highwaymen reunited periodically over the years for occasional performances, and recorded several more albums after a national tour in 1987. Fisher's only solo album, "Love's Way," came out in 2002.

He is survived by his wife, Elaine Haagen; a son, Casey; a daughter, Charlotte; a stepson, Jed Burgess; and a sister, Joan Fare.

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Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

Subject: RE: Obit: Dave Fisher of the Highwaymen 7 May 2010
From: open mike
Date: 13 May 10 - 12:37 PM

thanks for the chance to learn more about Dave Fisher...
and to learn about Waylon Jennings--what a great solution!
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Subject: Obit: Dave Fisher, Leadsinger of Highwaymen
From: Bobert
Date: 14 May 10 - 10:13 PM

Kinda surprised that this hasn't been posted but...

...leadsinger of the Highwaymen ("Michael, Row the Boat Ashore", 1962) died May 7th... He was 69...

B~

moved from later thread

Subject: RE: Obit: Dave Fisher, Leadsinger of Highwaymen
From: Rapparee
Date: 14 May 10 - 10:15 PM

So am I. They were one of the better "folk scare" groups.

moved from later thread

Subject: RE: Obit: Dave Fisher of the Highwaymen 7 May 2010
From: Shadowman
Date: 14 May 10 - 11:36 PM

Except for "Michael," I discovered The Highwaymen rather late. Only about 2 years ago, I picked up their CD of "folk hits," and was very sorry I had not latched on to them when I was discovering the other folk groups of the early '60s...in the early '60s. The compilation CD is interesting in that it combines Highwaymen songs and sounds from the 1960s to the early 2000's. The more recently recorded cuts showed some gruffness in the "mature" voices, but the passion was there. They may have been a commercial group, but I enjoyed something that struck me as genuine. The story of how their friendship remained over the years added to my sense that they really were having fun and loved the music. The Highwaymen were not plagued with high profile personnel changes and they weren't all over PBS, and I think I have enjoyed connecting with this lower key group from the past. I hope the surviving members will continue to keep the music going.
Shadowman

Subject: RE: Obit: Dave Fisher of the Highwaymen 7 May 2010
From: mrdux
Date: 15 May 10 - 01:39 AM

i had no idea that Judge Trott, Reagan appointee to the Ninth Circuit, had been a Highwayman. . .

Subject: RE: Obit: Dave Fisher of the Highwaymen 7 May 2010
From: GUEST,addison
Date: 15 May 10 - 05:36 AM

Obituary in today's Times in UK (Saturday)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article7126950.ece

Subject: RE: Obit: Dave Fisher of the Highwaymen 7 May 2010
From: gnu
Date: 15 May 10 - 02:20 PM

RIP

Subject: RE: Obit: Dave Fisher of the Highwaymen 7 May 2010
From: GUEST,addison
Date: 09 Jun 10 - 09:29 AM

Obituary published today in The Guardian (UK).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jun/08/dave-fisher-obituary