Mary McCaslin (December 22, 1946 – October 2, 2022) was an

American folk ''American Folk'' is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by David Heinz. The film stars Joe Purdy, Amber Rubarth, Krisha Fairchild, David Fine, Bruce Beatty and Elizabeth Dennehy. The film was released on January 26, 2018, by Good ...

singer who wrote, recorded, and performed contemporary folk music.

Early life

McCaslin was born in Indianapolis on December 22, 1946, and was raised in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

Career

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

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) 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 troubadour is usually called a '' trobai ...

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 acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. By ...

, 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 musical style that may be 1) contemporary folk songs with large, sweeping pop arrangements, or 2) pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Recording production values created a unblemished style that appealed to ...

stars

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program '' Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award ...

and

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also ca ...

. In 1969, she released a cover version of the Supremes’ 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 singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

, 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 more ...

and Joni Mitchell, the singing and banjo playing of

Hedy West Hedwig Grace "Hedy" West (April 6, 1938 – July 3, 2005) was an American folksinger and songwriter. She belonged to the same generation of folk revivalists as Joan Baez and Judy Collins. Her most famous song " 500 Miles" is one of America's m ...

, and the vocal inflections of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

and the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era i ...

. 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 well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

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, Gretchen Peters,

David Bromberg David Bromberg (born September 19, 1945) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. David Bromberg biographyat Billboard.com An eclectic artist, Bromberg plays bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock ...

, Kate Wolf,

Stan Rogers Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter. Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and ...

, and Còig. 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 (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

. 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 degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain. The condition leads to symptoms including loss of balance, slowing of movement, difficulty ...

(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. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundi ...

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'' (1986) *''A Life and Time'' (1981)

Flying Fish Records Flying Fish Records was a record label founded in Chicago in 1974 that specialized in folk, blues, and country music. In the 1990s the label was sold to Rounder Records. Bruce Kaplan, the label's founder, was a native of Chicago and the son of ...

*''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