John Herald

[Gordon Titcomb]

It is with the most profound saddness that I tell you that John Herald has died. John was a founding member of the
Greenbriar Boys....one of the most successful bluegrass bands of the 1960's.

There are many of us who were inspired to play by the great records of the Greenbriar Boys...a band that included the late Ralph Rinzler on mandolin ( Ralph was also Bill Monroe's manager for a while, I believe). John was one of the first urban "Northerners" to play bluegrass music
on a national level. Has was a great flatpicker...he played with Doc Watson, and his voice was truly amazing.

I played in The John Herald Band for several years in the late 70's, and he and I were both members of Woodstock Mountains Review. I know that many of the Mandolin Cafe folks will remember him for being an inspiration, and I am lucky enough to have also known him as gentle and true friend.

Pick up your mando friends,...Play a little Sleepy-eyed John for him....he loved that tune.

[AlanN]

So sorry to read this, John was one of the key guys.

Gordon, was that you on Wiggle Worm Wiggle? Very hip playing.

[evanreilly]

There has been a good bit of note on the passing of John Herald on several of the email lists. Pete Wernick posted a very good tribute to John on the 'L'...
There is no doubt that John and the 'Greeenies' opened up blue grass to major new audiences, mostly north of the Mason-Dixon line. Thoough they certainly made their mark early on winning the band contest at Galax.
They were one of my earliest influences and I still listen to their CD re-issues. Herald was a great inspiration as a singer and guitar man.

And being in a band with Rinzler was not a bad thing either; Rinzler probably one of the most under-rated influences on the spread of the music. In addition to being the manager for Bill Monroe, Rinzler also played bass in the band for a stint.

[Gordon Titcomb]

Yes...that was me on wiggle Worm Wiggle.

[evanreilly]

Gordon:
I am glad you chimed in here regarding John Herald... I remember meeting/seeing you years ago at a concert with him, and since that time we have gone back & forth online a bunch.

WNCW played a number of Greenie songs in tribute to him yesterday....

[mandopaul]

Was he sick for awhile, or was it sudden? At 65, which is pretty young, what was the cause of his passing?

RIP John Herald...

[evanreilly]

It appears, from what I have read, that he took his own life.

[RichieK]

I played a few gigs with John in Woodstock around 1991...he was always very enthusiastic, supportive and could really 'read' the crowd. It was said to hear of his passing.
Richie

[Lee]

What a shame; RIP.
I first saw the John Herald Band unexpectedly while on a bicycle tour. We found ourselves in the midst of traffic and realized we'd stumbled upon the Philly Folk Festival (approx. 1975). We bought evening tickets, had a decent hot meal from the concessions, and I recall the most memorable tune that night being "John, the Generator". After the show, well past mid-night, we rode through the dark until finding a place to camp in the town park behind a monument. Ah yes, the vagrant teenage days of summer freedom. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[evanreilly]

Here is a very well-written piece on John Herald, written by (and reposted here with his permission) Peter Wernick:

Hello folks,

I'm writing this not because I've been authorized to, but because no one else
seems to be doing it, and it needs to be done. Apparently John had no one
considered next-of-kin.

John Herald, one of the most significant bluegrass pioneers of the Northeast
U.S., mostly through his work with the groundbreaking group The Greenbriar
Boys, passed away July 18 at the age of 65. So sad to say, he committed suicide.

I never knew John well, but as a Greenbriar Boy, he influenced a generation
of not only Northeastern bluegrass musicians (myself among them), but was an
influence on many young bluegrass players and folk music fans outside the
Southeast, including groups like the Wildwood Boys in California, Jerry Garcia's
first bluegrass band, who dressed and even had their band photo taken in the
style of the Greenbriars. As far as I know, the Greenbriar Boys were the first
bluegrass group originating outside the Southeast to record a bluegrass album.

The Greenbriar Boys, who came to prominence in the early 60s with John as
lead singer, Ralph Rinzler on mandolin, and Bob Yellin on banjo (the only
surviving member of the three), featured all the elements of pure bluegrass,
including convincing harmony, material, and instrumentation including John's deft
guitar flatpicking. He was among the first lead guitar pickers to ever record
bluegrass guitar in the fiddle-tune or 16th-note style.

Based in New York City, the group went to Union Grove, NC in 1959 and 60 (I'm
pretty sure) and took home top awards, much to the amazement of their city
friends. They soon recorded for Vanguard and got major national exposure for
bluegrass when they accompanied folk diva Joan Baez on four cuts of her very
popular second album. They appeared on national television such as the popular
prime-time network show Hootenanny, and Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest.

With repertoire drawn from old songs from a variety of genres, John's singing
introduced notable material into bluegrass including Amelia Earhart (sp??)
and At the End of a Long Lonely Day. Their humor and stage presence also set
the stage for the inclusion of bluegrass in urban contexts and folk festivals at
a time when bluegrass was becoming nationally exposed as part of the folk
music boom of the time. The Dillards and the Kentucky Colonels made similar
impact, helping make bluegrass a national and international phenomenon. John
remained a Greenbriar Boy throughout the band's existence into the 1970s, and
including a 1992 reunion tour.

In later years, John continued to perform as a regional musician, including a
show in Massachusetts the night before he died. One of the band members
indicated that the show had gone well, was well appreciated, and that John gave no
indication of the despair that led him to take his life the next day.

This tragic loss comes within two months of the death of another important
musician of the early Northeastern bluegrass scene, the great banjo player
Winnie Winston. In some ways, guys like John and Winnie were our early equivalents
of Flatt & Scruggs, or Jimmy Martin. We are grieving these good men.

Pete Wernick

DrBanjo.com

[AlanN]

Thanks, Evan. Warm, erudite tribute from Pete.

"John the Generator with his work clothes on"

[Christian]

The Greenbriar Boys had an impact not only in the Northeast or within the United States, but throughout the whole planet. Probably because they recorded for a label (Vanguard) that featured other folk music luminaries, their records were easily found on this side of the pond, and I, as many others I believe, was exposed to their music before I could hear all the major bluegrass artists. Even after I learned to appreciate more authentic, "southern" bluegrass, I always liked Herald's genuine and honest way to deliver a song. He will be missed. Thanks Gordon for letting us know.

Christian Séguret

[evanreilly]

It (Vanguard) certainly was a major label for them to land on.
I used to study their album covers, especially looking at Rinzler's mandolin. I must have thought I'd learn to play by just staring at it.
The Greenies certainly 'opened the door' with their great music.

[Bob1300]

Sorry to hear this. In 1964 the Greenbriar Boys (Herald, Yellin, Wakefield, and I think Fred Weisz on bass) played a week-long gig at a coffeehouse in Toronto, where I was a university student. On the weeknights only 3 or 4 people came to see the show. One memorable night, Joni Mitchell showed up and did some songs. I had lugged my reel-to-reel tape recorder to the club that night, and made a tape of most of the performances, which I still have. "Wabash Cannonball" was tremendous as the lead-off song.

[Mike Bunting]

About that same time, one year either way, they played at the New Penelope Coffeehouse in Montreal, same lineup except with Eric Weissberg replaced Yellin on the banjo. I was astounded by Wakefield's playing as well as his personality, it was the first time I'd met anyone from the south. He told me all about Emory Gap, Tennesee. John Herald was an impressive performer. Was he not the great grandson of John Greenleaf Whittier, the New England poet?