Erik Darling died Aug. 3. A singer and instrumentalist, Darling stepped into the Weavers to replace a departed Pete Seeger bringing along a 12-string guitar, a banjo and a deep knowledge of the jugband tradition that inspired much of the '60s folk revival. Darling introduced "Tom Dooley" and "The Banana Boat Song" into the American songbook. He created the Rooftop Singers so that he could record his version of "Walk Right In," a #1 hit in 1963 and one of Darling's biggest successes. Along with the Weavers and the Rooftop Singers, Darling was also a member of the Tarriers with actor Alan Arkin. He was living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at the time of his death and had recently published a memoir: I'd Give My Life -- A Journey by Folk Music.
Erik Darling and the Weavers in 2006:
Vintage recording of the Rooftop Singers:
Posted by Ann VerWiebe at August 11, 2008 4:34 PM
Comments
I had a grampa-in-law who lived with Lymphoma
for many years. He never complained out loud but
wrote a column toward the end there about how
intensely painful it was.
I'm saddened every time I even hear about someone
else going through that.
Posted by: Marco Capelli at August 11, 2008 8:29 PM
The Weavers are at the foundation of why I started playing folk music all those decades ago. Erik Darling is one of the many musicians who are barely remembered even when they die but are a big part of the whole folk music history that we currently base this new folk movement on. There are many... Utah Philips, Jim Ringer, and others both alive and passed on... I could make a very long list. I miss them and all the times at festivals and coffeehouses over the years.
Posted by: Anne Schmitt at August 12, 2008 12:03 AM
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Erik Darling Dies of Lymphoma
