Lots of stories like this. My favorite is Judee Sill - disappeared, died of an OD pretty much penniless. Music ahead of its time with layered recordings, rediscovered decades later...
My favorite is, fortunately, a lot less depressing. Sinead Lohan, right on the cusp of making it big, touring with some of the biggest names in folk at the time. Realized she didn't like the music industry so she stopped and retired right then and there. I have no doubt she'd be a legendary folk name if she continued. Whatever It Takes is my favorite song by her.
Collie Ryan is mine. She did three albums in the 1970s and then basically disappeared. I became aware of her through the use of her (amazing) song "It's Gonna Rain" which was featured on the soundtrack of Computer Chess (2013), a very weird (but good) film that seems to be about a computer chess tournament in the 1980s but gets weirder.
I knew her in Ann Arbor. By then she had stopped performing but I heard her play a couple of times at my uncle's house. I now wish I'd paid closer attention, I was just a stupid teenager at the time.
I love her. Listening to her album sounds like you’ve opened a time capsule that’s been left undisturbed for years. It’s so unique and the lyrics are so lovely. Talkin’ Like You is my favorite.
“I don’t stand in the need of company / with everything I see talkin’ like you”
I'm not familiar with this writer. I'm not surprised- I know many hundreds of fairly good writers who live and die, many without recording much of their work. It's not at all uncommon in this world.
What is rare is that there is a good enough story to some company think re-releasing a record might get some interest.
For about 15 years, I stage managed the New Folk competition at the Kerrville folk festival. It was pretty impressive to see 24 singer songwriters (selected from a poool of 600-1000 or so) all play over the course of 2 concerts, bringing whatever they thought was their best material.
Even weirder was going to Folk Alliance this year and running into all these folks who are slightly familiar... "oh, yeah, I remember you- I put a mic in from of you for 3 songs, 8 years ago".
Of the 800 or so songs I have heard there over the years most were as good as anything I hear outside these little folk music spots.
I know a solid 100 or so folks who put out an album of good work and then went on to live their lives. It's such a hard thing to make money off it that our time gets spent up doing all of the many, many other things in life that are compelling but pay better.
Still, if you look, you'll find folks who are out there writing songs to play. Even better, they are still alive and get really happy when you give them some cash for a tip.
Being a musical genius doesn't matter if you don't have a good way to market yourself.
That's why record companies traditionally did so well.
There are countless incredible works of art out there that almost nobody will ever see or hear. Most of it probably hasn't even been publicly shared.
I just watched a yt video of a guy who goes and looks for YouTube videos with zero views that are old. I thought that would make a great art project. I'm sure someone will eventually do it
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[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 28.0 ms ] threadhttps://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/connie-converse-how-sad...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAfUXna0N-4
This cover is pretty spectacular:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFazlnIxHmE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judee_Sill
https://www.spinmagazine.com/2013/07/collie-ryan-its-gonna-r...
“I don’t stand in the need of company / with everything I see talkin’ like you”
What is rare is that there is a good enough story to some company think re-releasing a record might get some interest.
For about 15 years, I stage managed the New Folk competition at the Kerrville folk festival. It was pretty impressive to see 24 singer songwriters (selected from a poool of 600-1000 or so) all play over the course of 2 concerts, bringing whatever they thought was their best material.
Even weirder was going to Folk Alliance this year and running into all these folks who are slightly familiar... "oh, yeah, I remember you- I put a mic in from of you for 3 songs, 8 years ago".
Of the 800 or so songs I have heard there over the years most were as good as anything I hear outside these little folk music spots.
I know a solid 100 or so folks who put out an album of good work and then went on to live their lives. It's such a hard thing to make money off it that our time gets spent up doing all of the many, many other things in life that are compelling but pay better.
Still, if you look, you'll find folks who are out there writing songs to play. Even better, they are still alive and get really happy when you give them some cash for a tip.
That's why record companies traditionally did so well.
There are countless incredible works of art out there that almost nobody will ever see or hear. Most of it probably hasn't even been publicly shared.
I just watched a yt video of a guy who goes and looks for YouTube videos with zero views that are old. I thought that would make a great art project. I'm sure someone will eventually do it