Nearly a year ago, I began the series The Unaccompanied Guitar (Soli, Raga, and Beyond) – dedicated to my passion for sounds which fall under these banners, efforts by folk guitarist who approach their instruments as the conductor of an orchestra might. Time has gotten the better of me. I had planned to offer a regular series until it naturally exhausted itself. I managed the first – entirely dedicated to man who began it all – John Fahey, and then found myself consumed by other tasks. In an effort to reignite it – to see the project through (by calling myself out), I figured it might be nice to share some images of Fahey ephemera that I’ve come across over the years. A stepping stone to the next installment, which addresses the artists and innovators who followed immediately in his wake.
Given that I wrote about Fahey extensively in the aforementioned piece, I’ll spare you my rambling. If I haven’t said it enough, my passion for his work is long standing and deep. I grew up with the sounds of his guitar creeping from the turntables of nearly every member of my family – my parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, but it wasn’t until the mid 90’s, when I entered his practice through collaborations with Jim O’Rourke, that my love affair truly blossomed. I own nearly every album he ever released, and the few that I don’t, nag at my heart.
The ephemera below offers hazy lens into the highs and lows of the career of one of America’s most important guitarist / composers. Apologies for the varied quality. They were gathered online, and the best I could do. Stay tuned for the next installment of The Unaccompanied Guitar (Soli, Raga, and Beyond). With luck, it won’t be long.
-Bradford Bailey
The Hum Blog 