Jesse Winchester, whose “blend of folk, blues and country… embodies the spirit of American music,” died on April 11, 2014. He was 69 and had been battling cancer. His manager, Keith Case, told NPR that Winchester died Friday morning in Charlottesville, VA, where he lived.
NPR Music also noted the following: “Winchester ranks among the elite group of singer-songwriters who can captivate an audience with just his words, his voice and an acoustic guitar. The musician is revered by everyone from James Taylor and Lyle Lovett to Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris. Winchester even famously brought a tear to Neko Case’s eye after performing ‘Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding’ on Elvis Costello’s Spectacle program, which he also performs in this set.”
Winchester’s career was dramatically affected by his decision to leave the US rather than face the draft during the Vietnam War. As World Cafe has written: “Winchester was on track for a successful performing career, but his status as a Vietnam War draft-evader prevented him from touring and gaining a footing in the US. He opted to move north to Montreal in 1967, and developed a strong Canadian following while touring there. Winchester released seven albums in the 1970s and early ’80s, culminating with the Top 40 hit ‘Say What’ in 1981.”
Winchester, like hundreds of thousands of other anti-war protesters who left the country or otherwise avoided the draft, was able to return to the US after President Carter granted them unconditional pardons on his first day in office - Jan. 21, 1977.
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JESSE WINCHESTER
Northampton 1982 [no label, 1CD]
Live at the Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA (early show); October 12, 1982. Very good mono soundboard.
Thanks to kneesfudd for sharing the tracks at Dime.
kneesfudd’s notes:
EXC quality master mono SBD.
Warts: He yells right in mike for a split second about three times (lowered). Tapeflip after #11. #17 has a bit of distortion from playing real hard.
This is the complete early show (the late show was not taped from the board).
Recording Information:
mono soundboard > unknown cassette recorder > master mono Maxell XLII-S 90 cassette, Dolby B on.
Click here for detailed notes.
Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (224 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.
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Track 01. introduction 0:35 (993k)
Track 02. Let It Slide 4:45 (8.0MB)
Track 03. Talk Memphis 3:29 (5.9MB)
Track 04. The Head’s Lament 4:00 (6.7MB)
Track 05. Bowling Green 4:23 (7.4MB)
Track 06. Seems Like Only Yesterday 2:25 (4.1MB)
Track 07. Little Glass Of Wine 4:19 (7.2MB)
Track 08. Nothing But A Breeze 3:50 (6.4MB)
Track 09. Everybody Knows But Me 3:33 (6.0MB)
Track 10. It Takes A Young Girl 2:58 (5.0MB)
Track 11. Yankee Lady 6:22 (10.7MB)
Track 12. Let The Rough Side Drag 2:08 (3.6MB)
Track 13. Don’t I Make You Laugh? 3:50 (6.5MB)
Track 14. The Brand New Tennesee Waltz 3:54 (6.5MB)
Track 15. Rhumba Man 6:53 (11.6MB)
Encore
Track 16. The Twelfth Rose 2:43 (4.6MB)
Track 17. Why Don’t You Love Me Like You Used To? 1:39 (2.8MB)
62 mins
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