Spencer Ward Bohren (April 5, 1950 – June 8, 2019) was an American roots musician, singer, songwriter, teacher, and visual artist. He played guitar,
lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...
,
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
, and percussion, and utilized the roots of American traditional music to write songs in blues, country, gospel and folk styles. He has released fourteen albums since 1984.
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is ni ...
, he grew up in a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...
family in Wyoming and spent time in Denver and Boulder, Colorado, southern Oregon, and Seattle, Washington in the early part of his career. In 1976 he began raising a family with his wife, Marilyn, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Bohren performed throughout the United States as well as in Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Mexico, and Japan. He has performed on the ''
A Prairie Home Companion
''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed '' Live from ...
'' radio program and at the
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...
. He has also taught at the
Fur Peace Ranch Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch is located in Meigs County, Ohio, United States, near Pomeroy. The 126-acre ranch hosts weekend workshops for guitarists. Among the distinguished staff members are Larry Campbell, Warren Haynes, and Tommy Emmanuel
...
. In the late 1970s and early 1980s he hosted a weekly Monday-night jam session at the
Tipitina's
Tipitina's is a music venue located at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
History
Local music enthusiasts opened the venue on January 14, 1977.Funston Brothers, the Eagle-Ridin' Papa,
Butterfat
Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain.
Composition
Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. But ...
Judy Roderick
Judith Allen Roderick (December 14, 1942 – January 22, 1992) was an American folk and blues singer and songwriter, described by Allmusic as: "One of the finest white folk/blues singers of the early to mid-'60s."
Biography
She was born in W ...
, diesel-billy guitarist
Bill Kirchen
William Knight Kirchen (born June 29, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen from 1967 to the mid-1970s and later worked with Nick Lowe. ''Guitar Player'' magazine de ...
Dr. John
Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B.
Active as a session musician from ...
, the
Blind Boys of Alabama
Blind may refer to:
* The state of blindness, being unable to see
* A window blind, a covering for a window
Blind may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop
* ''Blind ...
, and the vocal duo The Tremors.
In the academic world, Bohren presented a musical overview of American roots music, a lecture-performance entitled ''Down the Dirt Road Blues'', which traces the journey of a single song, "Dirt Road Blues," from Africa to the days of slavery in the
American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, through the modern age. He used appropriate vintage instruments to orchestrate the story as the song evolves from a simple vocal melody to a blues song, a dance number, a hillbilly banjo piece, a country hit, and into the age of rock 'n' roll.
His CD ''Carry the Word'' was named "Best CD of the Year 2000 by a Louisiana Artist" by ''
The Times-Picayune
''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...
'' of New Orleans, and he has won the New Orleans ''
Gambit Weekly
''Gambit'' (formerly ''Gambit Weekly'') is a New Orleans, Louisiana-based free alternative weekly newspaper established in 1981.
''Gambit'' features reporting about local politics, news, food and drink, arts, music, film, events, environmental ...
s "Big Easy Award for Best Folk Artist" several times.
He recorded for the
Virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
, Sony/France, Valve, Zephyr, Public Road, Last Call, Loft, Alpha, Great Southern, and New Blues labels.
Also a visual artist, Bohren created artworks that he calls "Reliquaries" and shares his philosophy and techniques with interested students of all ages.
Spencer Bohren and his wife Marilyn lived in New Orleans and home-schooled their four children. The family home suffered significant damage during Hurricane Katrina and Bohren wrote the song "Long Black Line" about the experience.
He appears in television drama HBO's " Treme" in 2012.
He died on June 8, 2019.
Discography
As leader
*1984 - ''Born in a Biscayne'' (New Blues)
*1986 – ''Down in Mississippi'' (New Blues)
*1989 – ''Live in New Orleans'' (Great Southern)
*1989 - ''Totta & Hot 'n' Tots featuring Spencer Bohren''
*1991 - ''Full Moon'' (Loft Records)
*1994 – ''Vintage'' (Zephyr Artists)
*1994 - ''Present Tense'' (Sony/France)
*1997 – ''Dirt Roads'' (Zephyr Artists; rereleased in 1998 by Last Call)
*2000 – ''Carry the Word'' (Zephyr Artists)
*2002 – ''Solitaire'' (Valve)
*2004 – ''Southern Cross'' (Valve)
*2005 – ''Down the Dirt Road Blues'' (Zephyr)
*2006 – ''The Long Black Line'' (Valve)
*2008 – ''Live at the Tube Temple'' (Valve)
*2010 – ''The Blues according to Hank Williams''(Valve #2987)
*2011 – ''Blackwater Music'' (Threadhead Records and Valve #4487)
*2012 – ''Born in a Biscayne'' (Valve #3487)
*2013 - ''Tempered Steel''
*2015 - ''Seven Birds''
*2018 - ''Makin' it Home To You'' (with The Whippersnappers)(Valve #7887)
Allmusic entry
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the datab ...