| abstract
| - Born 30 June 1936, Brooklyn, NY, USADied 10 February 2002, New York, NY, USANicknamed the Mayor of MacDougal Street, New York City native Dave Van Ronk was considered by many to be music's raconteur, troubadour and provocateur. Arriving at Washington Square Park in the mid 1950s during the folk revivalist boom, Van Ronk lived hand-to-mouth while teaching himself to play guitar and dabbling in communist political circles. By 1958, he and life-long friend, musicologist [a666121], released their first album, [l72976]'s %22Skiffle in Stereo%22 as members of [a1941172]. After a stint in the Merchant Marine, tireless gigging in most every cabaret in the city, and a one-off collaboration as a [a1916070] on [a869023]'s album of sea shanties, Van Ronk settled on the lower west side Manhattan, in Greenwich Village.Referred to as “the great, grizzled, guitarist” by [a362340], Van Ronk’s music eluded classification. As a self-described ‘moldy fig’ who eschewed the term “folk artist”, Dave Van Ronk’s eclectic blend of dixieland jazz, ragtime, blues, vaudeville and other styles were often in direct conflict with the format-conscious world of the commercial music business. Reminding listeners his only constant was, %22I've always been inconsistent”, his recordings followed one rule, “anything that I like and that I think I can find a handle to, I'll take a whack at. And as it has been, so shall it be.%22 Though more an arranger than a songwriter, Van Ronk was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers toward the end of his four plus decade career in December of 1997. Debuting on [a688836]'s [l20694] label in the early 1960s, Van Ronk moved onto [l19591] with Dixieland revivalists [a1927057] and [l39357] with [a1927050]. At the close of the 1960s, [l30679] released his sole rock album with the [a1927051]. As the folk boom ebbed, Van Ronk’s gravelly voice was relatively quiet, releasing an album for [l1610] in 1972, another the following year on [l31486], then landing on the [l30531] roster in 1976. By the early 1980s, Van Ronk was recording several one-off projects with assorted independent folk labels, including a handful for [a666121]' New England-based [l78952] imprint. Joint ventures with [a1237867] and [a1088718] followed in the 1990s. Van Ronk continued performing live right up to his death from complications following colon cancer surgery in Winter 2002. His auto-biography, written with [a1914189], and live album, %22[r=2415301]%22, which was recorded at the end of his life, were both posthumously released. In the early Summer of 2004, the City of New York commemorated it’s unofficial mayor’s passing by permanently renaming the eastern side of Sheridan Square on Washington Place as Dave Van Ronk Street. Throughout his life, MacDougal Street’s mayor served as a mentor to countless up-and-coming artists that migrated to New York. [a59792], who met Van Ronk upon his arrival from the Midwest, remembers him as %22Greenwich Village’s king of the street%22 where %22he reigned supreme.%22 Singer-songwriters such as [a406171], [a90233], [a536656] and [a41182] have all sung his praises as a mentor, teacher and friend. Dave Van Ronk’s younger, west coast contemporary, [a82294], paid homage when stating, %22In the engine room of the New York Folk Scene shoveling coal into the furnace, one Big Man rules; Dog-faced roustabout songster, bluesman Dave Van Ronk. Long may he howl.%22
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| dbo:abstract
| - David Kenneth Ritz %22Dave%22 Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the %22Mayor of MacDougal Street%22.Van Ronk's work ranged from old English ballads to blues, gospel, rock, New Orleans jazz, and swing. He was also known for performing instrumental ragtime guitar music, especially his transcription of %22St. Louis Tickle%22 and Scott Joplin's %22Maple Leaf Rag%22. Van Ronk was a widely admired avuncular figure in %22the Village%22, presiding over the coffeehouse folk culture and acting as a friend to many up-and-coming artists by inspiring, assisting, and promoting them. Folk performers whom he befriended include Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Patrick Sky, Phil Ochs, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Joni Mitchell. Bob Dylan recorded Van Ronk's arrangement of the traditional song %22House of the Rising Sun%22 on his first album, which The Animals turned into a chart-topping rock single in 1964, helping inaugurate the folk-rock movement.Van Ronk received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in December 1997. He died in a New York hospital of cardiopulmonary failure while undergoing postoperative treatment for colon cancer.
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