Mary McCaslin (December 22, 1946 – October 2, 2022) was an American folk singer who wrote, recorded, and performed contemporary folk music.

Early life

McCaslin was born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

on December 22, 1946, and was raised in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

Career

McCaslin got her start in the mid-1960s at the

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

club, performing at its Monday Night Hoots, as the club’s open-mic nights were known. She recorded primarily for Philo Records, and traveled and performed with her husband, Arkansas folk singer Jim Ringer. Her music ranged from ballads of the old west to her own songs of the new west and modern times. She was regarded as a pioneer of open

guitar tunings Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitches to the open strings of guitars, including classical guitars, acoustic guitars, and electric guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. By c ...

, and known for her distinctive vocal style. Her influences can be heard in many younger folk performers, and she set the path for future

folk-pop Folk-pop is a broad Music genre#Subtypes, musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop music, pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic music, acoustic-based folk music, folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been ...

stars

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She often appeared on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'', starting in 1985 during season 10. In 1990, Griffith appeared on th ...

and

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary Chapin Carpenter (born February 21, 1958) is an American country and folk music singer-songwriter. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C.-area clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records. Carpenter's firs ...

. In 1969, she released a cover version of the

Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

’ hit “ You Keep Me Hangin’ On.” According to New York Times: “transforms the tune from an urban teen-oriented lament into a mountain-flavored folk song of quiet, adult desperation.” Her musical development was influenced by the western ballads of

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

, the guitar playing of

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, the singing and banjo playing of

Hedy West Hedwig Grace "Hedy" West (April 6, 1938 – July 3, 2005) was an American folksinger, songwriter and song catcher. She belonged to the same generation of folk revivalists as Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Carolyn Hester. Her most famous song "50 ...

, and the vocal inflections of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and the

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. Writing of McCaslin's ''Way Out West'' LP,

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

said in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981), "Without self-dramatization—she favors plain melodies and commonplace imagery and her singing is gamely unhistrionic—this woman explores Joni Mitchell's territory with equal intelligence, more charm, and no drums." Her songs have been recorded by Tom Russell, Bill Staines,

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, Kate Wolf,

Stan Rogers Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter who sang traditional-sounding songs frequently inspired by Canadian history and the working people's daily lives, especially from the fishin ...

, and

Còig Còig is a Canadians, Canadian folk music quartet from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

. The Grand Canyon Railroad used her song "Last Cannonball" for its promotional television ad.

Personal life

McCaslin met singer-songwriter Jim Ringer in 1972, and began performing with him. They married in 1978, and as a duo released the album ''The Bramble & the Rose''. They moved to

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

. McCaslin separated from him in 1989. Ringer died in 1992 after a long illness, and McCaslin provided the liner notes for a retrospective album of his songs: ''The Best of Jim Ringer''. McCaslin was busy with family matters for most of the 1980s, finally releasing a new album, ''Broken Promises'', in 1994. She suffered from

progressive supranuclear palsy Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain, linked to 4-repeat tau pathology. The condition leads to symptoms including Balance di ...

(PSP), a rare neurological condition that can cause problems with balance, movement, vision, speech and swallowing. She died from PSP in

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto, California, San Jacinto. The population w ...

on October 2, 2022, at the age of 75.

Discography

*''Goodnight Everybody'' (1969) eissued in 1980 as ''Blue Ridge Epitaph''ref name=":0"> *''Way Out West'' (1973) *''Prairie in the Sky'' (1975) *''Old Friends'' (1977) *''The Bramble & the Rose'' (1978) *''Sunny California'' (1979) *''A Life and Time'' (1981) Flying Fish Records *''The Best of Mary McCaslin'' (1984) *''The Best of Mary McCaslin: Things We Said Today'' (1992) *''Broken Promises'' (1994) *''Rain'' (1999) ecorded in 1968ref name=":0" /> *''Better Late Than Never'' (2006)

References

External links

marymccaslin.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCaslin, Mary 1946 births 2022 deaths American folk singers Singer-songwriters from Indiana Musicians from Indianapolis Singer-songwriters from California