Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?

Subject: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 10:37 AM

Bob Dylan credits Rick Von Schmidt for "Baby Let Me Follow You Down" and in his introduction to the song says he's a Blues Guitar player. Now I was three years old when this album was released in '62, but I have never heard of Rick Von Schmidt otherwise.

Can anyone tell me more about him? I also have trouble believing he actually wrote this song as it is so close to Reverend Gary Davis's "Baby Let Me Lay It On You" which I believe was originally recorded long before '62.

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: Mooh
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 10:50 AM

Wasn't he an artist? Mooh.

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: dwditty
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 10:59 AM

I don't believe Rick ever claimed "Baby, let me..." as his own. He did much to bring such music to the forefront as a kingpin of the Cambridge (Mass) folk scene of the late 50's and early 60's. I'm pretty sure Dylan says that he learned the song from Rick,not that Rick wrote it. Anyway, to find out more about him CLICK HERE.

dw

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: dwditty
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 11:01 AM

Aw crap. CLICK HERE

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: dwditty
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 11:01 AM

I give up. Where is Joeclone when you need him.

http://www.ascap.com/playback/2000/august/foundation.html

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From:
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 11:09 AM

Steve:

You're right, it is close to Davis's "Lay It On You," but everything came from everything back then, and in the tradition of folk and country blues, Eric Von Schmidt wrote, and passed (more importantly) "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" on to the young Dylan. Like the intro days, Rick was a blues guitar player from Cambridge, (from Connecticut, actually), and is largely responsible (along with Joan Baez, Rolf Cahn, Jim Rooney, Bill Kieth, Jim Kweskin, and a host of others) with forcing Cambridge's folk-scene upon the city in the early 60's. Clubs like Club 47, and I think it was "The Golden Lion" or something like that, became very popular folk venues during a very popular folk time, attracting newly revived folk artists through it's doors (John Hurt, Skip James, Howlin' Wolf, all played there). Cambridge was a huge part of the folk-revival of the early 60's. It introduced many artists to the world and legacy of the music (see above list, for starters), and Von Schmidt was a large part of the making of the scene. He is well known, and recently received a lifetime ASCAP achievement award for his contribution to folk, well known for ransacking the Smithsonian archives in Washington for old traditonal song lyrics and bringing them back to life by sharing them with the young folknicks of Cambridge. This could be how he got his hands on "Baby, Let Me Lay It on You." He lives in CT, and, unfortunately, became quite ill, with, I think, throat cancer, and had his larynx removed before last summer. Other than that, I think he's in ok shape. I talked with him a few times this summer and he's plenty excited to talk about any old thing. If you want to learn more about him and Cambrige, he wrote a book in 1979 with Jim Rooney called, appropriately, "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down." It is still in print. Take care.

andy friedman

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: simon-pierre
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 11:10 AM

Complete discography of Eric von Schmidt:

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: simon-pierre
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 11:15 AM

???... Anyway, the discography is there:

http://wirz.de/music/american.htm

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: simon-pierre
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 11:15 AM

???... Anyway, the discography is there:

http://www.wirz.de/music/american.htm

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: Greg F.
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 12:40 PM

See also this thread:
CLICK HERE

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: Stefan Wirz
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 01:24 PM

Eric von Schmidt discography
Achtung: Takes some time to load !!!

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: Stewie
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 05:33 PM

The Schmidt & Rooney book is a marvellous read. The second edition is around (I bought it last year)- published by Uni of Massachusetts Press.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Rick Von Schmidt, any Info?
From: Abby Sale
Date: 05 Feb 01 - 06:45 PM

Andy: I think that's very well put. Every now & then in the late 50's a bunch of us would pile into 3 or 5 cars and drive down from Cambridge to Greenwich Village to see just what folking was going on there we'd heard those rumors about. We were generally well-received & housed & beered & such and heard some good music. But them Villagers kept saying Hey - we got this van Ronk. We'd listen politely to a song or two but explain that that really weren't no big thing... We had a Von Schmidt. Much better. And he was.

Steve: If you like, the Folkways record with Rolf Cahn is still available. One of my favorites - makes me wish I could sing blues...