David Blue (born Stuart David Cohen; February 18, 1941 – December 2, 1982) was an American

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

singer-

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Early life and education

The son of a Jewish father and Irish

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

descent mother, David Blue quit high school at age 17, left home, and joined the Navy, but was soon thrown out for his "Inability to adjust to a military way of life."

Career

Blue became an integral part of the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

scene in New York City, which included

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter, protest song, protest singer (or, as he preferred, "topical singer"), and Political Activist, political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic h ...

, Dave Van Ronk,

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bob Neuwirth Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit son ...

, and

Eric Andersen Eric Andersen (born February 14, 1943) is an American folk music singer-songwriter, who has written songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead, Rick Nelson, and many others. Early in his career, ...

. Blue is best known for writing the song " Outlaw Man" for the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, which was included on their 1973 '' Desperado'' album. Blue's original version of "Outlaw Man" was the lead track of his own ''Nice Baby and the Angel'' album, re-issued on CD, with the entire David Blue catalogue, in 2007 on

Wounded Bird Records Wounded Bird Records is an American compact disc only re-issue record label that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from popular and lesser known artists. Most of the Wounded Bird catalogue is licen ...

. Blue joined Dylan's

Rolling Thunder Revue The Rolling Thunder Revue was a 1975–76 concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan with numerous musicians and collaborators. The purpose of the tour was to allow Dylan, who was a major recording artist and concert performer, to play ...

in 1975 and appeared in ''

Renaldo and Clara ''Renaldo and Clara'' is a 1978 American film directed by Bob Dylan and starring Bob Dylan, Sara Dylan and Joan Baez. Written by Dylan and Sam Shepard, the film incorporates three distinct film genres: concert footage, documentary interviews, a ...

'', the 1978 movie that was filmed during that tour. Blue acted in other films including, ''

The American Friend ''The American Friend'' () is a 1977 neo-noir film written and directed by Wim Wenders, adapted from the 1974 novel '' Ripley's Game'' by Patricia Highsmith. It stars Dennis Hopper as career-criminal Tom Ripley and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Zimmerman ...

'' (1977), directed by

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

, ''The Ordeal of Patty Hearst'' (a 1979 TV movie) and ''

Human Highway ''Human Highway'' is a 1982 American comedy film starring and co-directed by Neil Young in his film and directional debut under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey. Dean Stockwell co-directed the film and acted along with Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, ...

'' (1982) by

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

. ''Human Highway'' premiered in 1983 after Blue's death. Blue also performed onstage in

Stephen Poliakoff Stephen Poliakoff (born 1 December 1952) is a British playwright, Film director, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of ''The Independent'' described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" and that he had "inherited Dennis Po ...

's play ''American Days'' at

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Lynne Meadow has been the company’s Artistic Director and visionary since 1972. Barry Grove joined the company in 19 ...

in New York City, in December 1980, directed by

Jacques Levy Jacques Levy (July 29, 1935 – September 30, 2004) was an American songwriter, theatre director and clinical psychologist. Early life and education Levy was born in New York City in 1935 and graduated from the City College of New York in 19 ...

Death

Blue died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in December 1982 at the age of 41 while jogging in

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department o ...

in New York City."David Blue, Singer-Actor, 41, Was Part of 60's Folk Revival"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' December 7, 1982.

Discography

* ''Singer Songwriter Project'' ( Elektra, 1965) (Blue, who is credited as David Cohen, contributes three tracks and is one of four artists; the others are

Richard Fariña Richard George Fariña (; March 8, 1937 – April 30, 1966) was an American Folk music, folksinger, songwriter, poet and novelist. Early years and education Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of an Irish mother, Ther ...

Patrick Sky Patrick Sky (born Patrick Linch; October 2, 1940May 26, 2021) was an American musician, folk singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was of Irish and Native American ancestry, and played Irish traditional music and uilleann pipes in the ...

and Bruce Murdoch) * '' David Blue'' (Elektra, 1966) * ''These 23 Days in September'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

, 1968) * ''Me'' (Reprise, 1970) (released under the name S. David Cohen) * ''Stories'' (

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

, 1972) * '' Nice Baby and the Angel'', (Asylum, 1973) * ''Com'n Back for More'' (Asylum, 1975) * ''Cupid's Arrow'' (Asylum, 1976) * ''The Lost 1967 Elektra Recordings & More (David Blue & the American Patrol)'' (Mapache Records, 2023)

Filmography

References

External links

Further information about David Blue
*

David Blue MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue, David 1941 births 1982 deaths Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island American folk singers American male singer-songwriters Musicians from Manhattan People from Greenwich Village Elektra Records artists 20th-century American singer-songwriters American male actors American folk guitarists American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Rhode Island American people of French-Canadian descent American people of Jewish descent American people of Irish descent 20th-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Singer-songwriters from Rhode Island