At Sharp’s folk club, one seat was poignantly empty: that of Tom Paley, who once played with Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly and who died last week. The club’s regulars explain what he meant to them
An old man in an exceptional jumper is singing an old sea shanty in tribute to Tom Paley, who died last week aged 89. Everyone joins in with the chorus, hesitantly at first but harmonising strongly by the end: “Tom has gone and we’ll go, too. Tom’s gone to Hilo.”
Paley, a legendary figure on the folk scene who played with Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie, and influenced Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia, was to be found awaiting his turn alongside the mixed company of regulars, veterans and first-timers at Sharp’s, one of London’s most venerable folk clubs, hosted at Cecil Sharp House, Camden (home to the English Folk Dance and Song Society).
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An old man in an exceptional jumper is singing an old sea shanty in tribute to Tom Paley, who died last week aged 89. Everyone joins in with the chorus, hesitantly at first but harmonising strongly by the end: “Tom has gone and we’ll go, too. Tom’s gone to Hilo.”
Paley, a legendary figure on the folk scene who played with Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie, and influenced Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia, was to be found awaiting his turn alongside the mixed company of regulars, veterans and first-timers at Sharp’s, one of London’s most venerable folk clubs, hosted at Cecil Sharp House, Camden (home to the English Folk Dance and Song Society).
Continue reading...
Continue reading...