Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was a prominent American folk musician known for his unique blend of jazz and blues that left a lasting impact on the 1960s folk music scene. Born during the Great Depression in Brooklyn to a working-class family, Van Ronk's early life was shaped by his exposure to jazz music and a series of formative experiences, including a brief stint in the merchant marines. He became deeply involved in the Greenwich Village music community, where he honed his fingerpicking guitar technique and embraced folk music's social and political dimensions.
His career took off in the late 1950s, with the release of several albums and a notable presence in coffeehouses and music festivals. Van Ronk's sound was characterized by a gravelly voice and a distinctive guitar style, which gained him recognition and influence within the folk genre. He supported emerging artists like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, helping to shape their careers while contributing to the broader cultural landscape of folk music. After his passing, he was honored with a section of Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village named after him, solidifying his legacy as a significant figure in American music.
Subject Terms
Dave Van Ronk
American folk and blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter
- Born: June 30, 1936
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
- Died: February 10, 20022002
- Place of death: New York, New York
With his gravelly voice and ribald performances, Van Ronk came to prominence in the early Greenwich Village folk music scene, with his unique blend of ragtime, blues, and other musical styles.
The Life
Dave Van Ronk was born to working-class parents during the Great Depression. His father left soon after the birth, and Van Ronk was raised by his mother and her family and friends. Van Ronk wrote that he never missed his father since he never knew him. He spent his early life on the streets of his Brooklyn neighborhood, getting in trouble at school for his impudent nature and absorbing the jazz music of the period. In 1945 he and his mother moved to Richmond Hill in Queens, a suburban neighborhood. He took piano lessons for a few years, and then he taught himself the ukulele. He dropped out of high school, and he began taking guitar lessons from jazz guitarist Jack Norton. When he was around seventeen, he began playing jazz professionally but not regularly. In addition to playing guitar, Van Ronk sang.
He made very little money playing music, so, tired of being broke, he joined the merchant marines. After a year or two as a sailor, he lost his seaman’s papers in a mishap. In 1957 he moved back to New York City to try making a living playing music once more. Around this time, he moved to Greenwich Village, where he began taking part in the weekly impromptu gatherings of amateur musicians in Washington Square. It was there that Van Ronk was introduced to folk music. During this period, Van Ronk perfected a fingerpicking style he learned mostly from Tom Paley of the folk group the New Lost City Ramblers. This style was modified and elaborated upon after Van Ronk met and studied the style of Reverend Gary Davis.
At the time, the influence of leftist politics was prominent in the folk music scene, and Van Ronk helped organize and perform in several benefits to support its causes. He also wrote a regular column for the folk music scene broadsheet titled CaraVan.
Playing in coffeehouses and bars, Van Ronk enjoyed a moderate success, and he released his first solo album in 1958, followed by another in 1959. By 1961 the folk music scene was a national phenomenon, and Van Ronk was well known. He continued to record, releasing eight more albums before the end of the 1960’s. He was also a regular feature on the festival circuit.
Van Ronk was married to Terri Thal in the 1960’s. When that marriage ended, he lived for many years with Joanne Grace, and then he married Andrea Vuocolo, with whom he spent the rest of his life. He was working on his memoirs when he died of a heart attack during treatment for colon cancer.
The Music
Van Ronk’s sound is a unique synthesis of jazz and blues that blends the harmony and melody in one line. Critics noted its similarity to piano playing and to traditional jazz. His technique developed as he matured, and his voice maintains its gravelly quality from his first album until his final work recorded in 2002. Van Ronk occasionally departed from the singer-songwriter persona, recording with jug bands and even a traditional ragtime band.
Early Works. On Dave Van Ronk Sings Ballads, Blues, and Spirituals, Van Ronk is a bit raw. His fingerpicking style is still being worked on, and his voice is not as raspy as it would become. However, this album represents what he does the best: interpret standards and other people’s songs.
Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters. In this album, Van Ronk appears with an electric backing group. Although folk purists were dismayed, interpreting this as another folksinger going commercial, Van Ronk and the band are a convincing blues-rock combo with echoes of Paul Butterfield’s Blues Band and the electric Bob Dylan.
Going Back to Brooklyn. Made up completely of Van Ronk compositions, this album highlights his songwriting abilities. Sometimes dry and other times more overt, his humor is apparent in the lyrics, and his guitar playing excels.
Musical Legacy
Van Ronk was an innovative force in the U.S. folk music scene of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. His introduction of blues and jazz guitar stylings influenced such artists as Dylan, Phil Ochs, and Joni Mitchell. His support for these and other young folksingers helped them launch their careers. His social influence on the folk music scene was pronounced. After his death, a section of Sheridan Square, where Barrow Street meets Washington Place, in Greenwich Village was renamed in his honor.
Principal Recordings
albums:Black Mountain Blues, 1959; Dave Van Ronk Sings Ballads, Blues, and a Spiritual, 1959; Dave Van Ronk and the Ragtime Jug Stompers, 1960 (with the Ragtime Jug Stompers); Dave Van Ronk Sings Earthy Ballads and Blues, 1961; Dave Van Ronk Sings the Blues, 1961; Van Ronk Sings, 1961; In the Tradition, 1963; With the Red Onion Jazz Band, 1963 (with the Red Onion Jazz Band); The Genius of Dave Van Ronk, 1964; Just Dave Van Ronk, 1964; Gambler’s Blues, 1965; No Dirty Names, 1966; Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters, 1967 (with the Hudson Dusters); Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger, 1967; Van Ronk, 1969; Songs for Ageing Children, 1973; Sunday Street, 1976; Hummin’ to Myself, 1990; Peter and the Wolf, 1990; A Chrestomathy, 1992; Going Back to Brooklyn, 1994; Chrestomathy, Vol. 2, 1995; From…Another Time and Place, 1995; Statesboro Blues, 1996; Somebody Else Not Me, 1999; Sweet and Lowdown, 2001.
Bibliography
Brookhiser, Richard. “A Village Voice.” National Review (September 9, 2001). A brief article details the writer’s discovery of Van Ronk, and it provides a concise and accurate description of Van Ronk’s musical approach and performance style.
Dylan, Bob. Chronicles, Vol. 1. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Van Ronk rates several mentions in Dylan’s first volume of his memoirs. Dylan’s impressions of Van Ronk are revealing, demonstrating the reverence younger musicians in the Greenwich Village scene of the early 1960’s held for Van Ronk.
Perlman, Ken. “Back-picking.” Sing Out! (Spring, 2005). Perlman discusses Van Ronk’s guitar playing, and he describes in words and in notation how to learn the guitarist’s technique. He uses examples from Van Ronk’s version of “Cocaine Blues.”
Van Ronk, Dave, with Elijah Wald. The Mayor of MacDougal Street. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. This posthumously published autobiography is a colorful detailing of Van Ronk’s life and career. Most of the book covers the first twenty years of Van Ronk’s career, with many anecdotes about this period. It includes his reminiscences of the various musical and political scenes in which he was involved.