JOHN MARTYN 1948 - 2009
“They say that half the lies he tells you are not true….” – “Glorious Fool”
And now, as of Thursday, John Martyn is gone. And the bottle’s practically down to the lees.
Too many of you reading this won’t know who he was. That makes me mad and very sad. Probably more of the latter than the former, but who cares? John was just one of those quietly brilliant songwriters you never hear enough about, like Elliott Murphy or Duncan Browne or Peter Hammill, who can pull on your heart strings with the delicacy of a weaver.
Even with friends like Phil Collins and Eric Clapton helping out on his albums and covering his tunes, people still don’t know the name. They don’t know tunes like “Solid Air,” the quiet elegy he wrote for Nick Drake, or “Grace and Danger,” or “Glorious Fool” (his backhanded tribute to Ronald Reagan) and his scintillant rendition of the old folk song “Spencer the Rover,” just him on acoustic guitar and vocals and the great Danny Thompson on acoustic bass. They also don’t know his playful side, his cover of “Big Muff” and “the man who taught you how to dance,” aka the “Perfect Hustler.”
It had been known for years that John wasn’t well. You know, being on the road and the toll that exacts. Having to have a leg removed a few years back didn’t help either. Once I heard that, I knew there was no chance of him ever playing in the US, and thus virtually no chance I’d ever see him perform live. Another regret to add to the list.
Well, maybe more people will hear him now. That’s the real bitch about being in this business: you’ll probably be more popular after you kick off. Just ask Van Gogh or Bill Hicks or Jimi Hendrix about that. At least his kids and Beverly will see some money from any future sales of his albums. I think they call that saving grace.
Oh, by the way he wrote a song about John Wayne. Maybe some radio station somewhere could throw that on. Maybe even one here in Californa, if the irony in his voice isn’t too much to take.
God bless ye, John. "Sit you down, father; rest you…."
