Obit: Wizz Jones [Raymond Ronald] (1939-2025)

Subject: Obit: Wizz Jones 27/4/25
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 01:24 AM

From Wizz’s FB Page late last night…

”With an extremely heavy heart, I’m letting you all know that my beloved father, the great Wizz Jones, passed away early this morning, two days after his 86th birthday.
His loss has left a huge hole in the lives of our family and has robbed the music world of one of its precious treasures.
His health declined rapidly this year and we thank Trinity Hospice for making his last few days as comfortable as possible.
Always a humble man, these were his closing words at the end of his last ever gig earlier this year, February 28th 2025:
“Thanks to all the people - all over the world in fact - that heard my songs and my guitar playing, and came to my gigs for all those years. Thank you very much.”
Here’s a song from that gig, written by his life-long dear friend Alan Tunbridge.
Wizz was worried about disappointing the audience with his now weak singing voice, but even more worried about letting them down by not showing up…
Spoiler alert – it’s a bit of a tear-jerker.
I hope his wonderful music will live on and continue to make the world a richer place.
Thank you for all the love you’ve given him through the years.

- Simeon

https://soundcloud.com/simeon-jones-913147245/see-how-the-time-is-flying

Another of The Greats gone. A legend who made our music better, and will never be forgotten. RIP Wizz.

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones 27/4/25
From: The Sandman
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 02:39 AM

Thankyou , he was a very good friend of my cousin,, I passed on this sad news ,they were both on a programme with Cliff Michelmore about Newquay and Beatniks.
I remember seeing him in the sixties and then with with pete stanley, he was a fine guitarist and singer.RIP

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones 27/4/25
From: The Sandman
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 02:49 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDsQSOf6_ow&t=145s
Wizz in Newquay in sixties

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones 27/4/25
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 03:32 AM

Such sad news, a fine performer and all round good bloke.
RIP Wizz.

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones 27/4/25
From: David C. Carter
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 03:34 AM

Met him briefly when I was with Mox Gowland,Can't recall exactly where,probably in some club or around Hampstead.Maybe at The Witches Cauldren.Lots of people used to pass by there,guess you know about all that.

I'm sorry to hear this news;Another leaf has fallen from the tree;so sad.

All my condolences Backwoodsman,courage.

D

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones 27/4/25
From: David C. Carter
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 03:36 AM

And wot John just said!


D

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones 27/4/25
From: GUEST,Hootennanny
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 03:47 AM

My own memory of Wizz is from when we were both taking guitar lessons from Peggy Seeger, 1959 in Goswell Road in London.

It's always sad when the inevitable happens.

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones 27/4/25
From: MoorleyMan
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 04:58 AM

All agreed. Great bloke, excellent performer who set a high benchmark. His passing is a tremendous loss to the music. Sympathies and condolences to Simeon. RIP Wizz.

Subject: RE: 2025 Obit: Wizz Jones April 27, 2025
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 11:42 AM

He was always a good friend to the Waddon in Croydon. As many others have said, he was a good bloke who did a lot for folk music throughout his life. I am sorry he has gone. I have, of course, added his name to the "In Memoriam" thread. RIP Wizz.

Subject: RE: 2025 Obit: Wizz Jones April 27, 2025
From: GUEST,Roger Knowles
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 01:46 PM

Saw him with Pete Stanley several times. He stayed at our flat when they played at Harrogate folk club. A thoroughly nice guy. He’ll be missed.

Subject: RE: 2025 Obit: Wizz Jones April 27, 2025
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 04:30 PM

WEnt down to Weymouth today and sat at a beach cafe. Denise had a Mr Whippy and I had a burger and coke.
Suddenly I said, "Wouldn't it be great if Wizz was here - not playing or anything - just haing a chat."
And I started talking about about various times. I told him I was a onehit wonder, and he said he'd never had much work and how he'd played Germany, cos they liked him there. And we'd had a laugh about the various people we'd both come across as we traversed various venues.

Of course we will still have his music. I've lost count of the cds and I've got thevideo he did with Martin Carthy. Actually I bought that video off him , when he played Weymouth Folk Festivals. WE'll still have the music.
But I will miss the man.

Subject: RE: 2025 Obit: Wizz Jones April 27, 2025
From: Johnny J
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 06:31 PM

I've listened to Wizz since the mid to late sixties. Not all the time, of course, and I haven't had a chance to see him live in the last few years. He did gig in Scotland in the noughties and tens though.

I remember he was a regular visitor to Inverness Folk Club in the early days and Edinburgh too. I thought it quite amazing that an artist of his calibre would bother visiting our little clubs but, sadly, one of the reasons was that he didn't receive the recognition he deserved as far as opportunities to play larger venues were concerned. Then again, I think he probably preferred a more "troubadour" style of career as opposed to being a star attraction.

Wizz was always friendly and approachable and without any undue airs and graces.

A great loss.

Subject: RE: 2025 Obit: Wizz Jones April 27, 2025
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Apr 25 - 09:35 PM

There are quite a few online obituaries. While they may each draw some content from basic information released by the family, they look like they're all written independent of each other, so there may be different things to learn from each one.

From Clash Music: British Folk Hero Wizz Jones Has Died

From NME: British folk icon Wizz Jones has died, age 86: “One of the great pioneers of UK folk blues guitar”
He played his final show in London just two months ago, and his son shared his closing words from the gig

From Far Out: British folk icon Wizz Jones dead at 86

From Extra.ie: Folk musician Wizz Jones dies aged 86

And I'll grab the text from the next one:

From Guitarist: English folk icon Wizz Jones – guitar hero of Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Thurston Moore – has died at 86

Wizz Jones, the English folk icon best known for the role he played in the British folk revival and for being a consistent figure in the scene for the past 60 years, has passed away aged 86.

The news was confirmed by his son, Simeon, yesterday (April 27) on his dad's official social media platforms. “With an extremely heavy heart, I’m letting you all know that my beloved father, the great Wizz Jones, passed away early this morning, two days after his 86th birthday,” reads the statement.

“His loss has left a huge hole in the lives of our family and has robbed the music world of one of its precious treasures. His health declined rapidly this year and we thank Trinity Hospice for making his last few days as comfortable as possible.”

Born Raymond Ronald to a working-class family in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England, the young Jones earned the nickname Wizzy from his mother after the Beano comic strip character “Wizzy the Wuz” – because at the age of nine, Jones was a budding magician. The name stuck, and when he formed his first band, The Wranglers, in 1957, it became his stage name.

Inspired by the likes of Big Bill Broonzy and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Jones learned his guitar licks from contemporaries like Davy Graham and Long John Baldry while playing in coffee bars in Soho, London, in the late ’50s. This was followed by a busking stint spanning from the streets of Paris to the markets of Marrakech in the early ’60s, further developing his guitar style.

Despite releasing his only single in 1965 – a rendition of Bob Dylan's Ballad of Hollis Brown – it took until 1969 for Jones to release his first solo album, Wizz Jones. By 1988, he had ten solo albums under his belt – plus a host of collaborations, including playing on Ralph McTell's 1974 album Easy, briefly joining acoustic folk-rock outfit Accolade alongside “king of the buskers” Don Partridge, as well as traditional folk band Lazy Farmer in 1975.

Speaking about his trusty guitar, his 1963 Epiphone Texan – which accompanied his ventures since 1967 – in an interview with the Orpington Folk Club, Jones once said, “I nearly lost it recently. It was on a jet going to Milan, coming from Scotland, supposed to be changing planes to go to Germany, they canceled the flight and my baggage went missing. I lost it for ten days, so I borrowed a guitar from the shop. Whenever I borrow a guitar I realize just how good this one is.”

A key fixture since the very start of the folk scene and a keen collaborator, Jones has also been cited as an inspiration for Keith Richards, Thurston Moore, Eric Clapton, and Rod Stewart, to name a few – so much so that he's often included in their lore.

“I found out Eric used to come to a little club in Croydon and watch me play, but I didn’t know him. In a recent book about the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards said I used to teach him guitar in the toilets at Art College! Complete fabrication,” he clarified.

In the mid-’90s, Jones' career experienced a revival thanks to an appearance on the Bert Jansch TV documentary Acoustic Routes, which led to renewed interest in his work. In 2001, he collaborated with John Renbourn and other members of the folk-rock band Pentangle on his album Lucky the Man, followed by a reissue of his 1970 album The Legendary Me and 1973'sWhen I Leave Berlin in 2007 by the Sunbeam record label.

In 2012, another working-class hero – Bruce Springsteen – opened his sold-out Wrecking Ball tour date at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, with Jones' song, When I Leave Berlin. Fast forward to 2019, and Wizz finally received the recognition he deserved when he was presented with the lifetime achievement award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Performing until the end, Jones played his final show at London's Ivy House on February 28, 2025.

“Always a humble man, these were his closing words at the end of his last ever gig earlier this year,” writes his son.

“‘Thanks to all the people – all over the world in fact – that heard my songs and my guitar playing, and came to my gigs for all those years. Thank you very much.’”

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones (Raymond Ronald) April 27, 2025
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 30 Apr 25 - 06:26 PM

I only saw him live once, but that was a very memorable concert in Edinburgh with John Renbourn. Some fantastic playing from both of them as well as some interesting anecdotes from their working lives as phenomenal guitarists.

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones (Raymond Ronald) April 27, 2025
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 01 May 25 - 07:35 AM

He was a regular at our folk club at the Tree Inn in Stratton, Bude, typically to be seen jackknifed over his guitar (I read someone else describing him thus, so that isn't a Steve original!). On one of those evenings I missed all the floor spots (including what should have been my own) as I was in the local minor injuries unit having a foreign object dug out of my eye by a most charming young nurse. Luckily, I got back in time, somewhat bloodshot, to see the whole of the Wizz performance. Ah, memories! And what a star he was.

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones (Raymond Ronald) April 27, 2025
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 02 May 25 - 01:13 PM

Sad news, I only saw him live once at South St., Reading with Arnie Cottrell and Sonny Black (Bill Boazman). Great night.
RtS

Subject: RE: Obit: Wizz Jones (Raymond Ronald) April 27, 2025
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 03 May 25 - 02:06 PM

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/apr/30/wizz-jones-obituary Long obit article with much reference to Wizz playing with other musicians such as John Renbourne, Ralph McTell, Pete Stanley; Ralph McTell and Martin Carthy's memories of Wizz Jones are quoted in the article.