John Renbourn: Our Complete 1978 “Guitar Player” Interview (Audio)
The Esteemed British Guitarist on His Solo Albums, Pentangle, Technique...
Ever since I first heard John’s magnificent Sir John Alot of Merrie Englandes Musyk Thyng and ye Grene Knyghte album back when I was in high school, he’s been among my Top-10 favorite guitarists. To this day, scarcely a week goes by when I don’t listen to at least one or two of his songs.
A contemporary of Bert Jansch and Davey Graham, John began his acoustic guitar journey in the early 1960s. His superlative technique and unique stylistic fusion of British folk music, medieval and Renaissance fare, jazz, ragtime, skiffle, classical, and American country blues led to his becoming one of Great Britain’s foremost fingerstyle guitarists. His solo albums of medieval-style contrapuntal playing, his duets with Bert Jansch and Stefan Grossman, and his work with Pentangle all share the same characteristic: innovative, lyrical playing executed with a finesse that makes his style instantly recognizable. What an extraordinary player!
I’d been an editor for Guitar Player magazine less than a month when offered the opportunity to interview John in person. I instantly accepted the assignment, and John became my first in-first person interview for the magazine. We met in the Berkeley, California, home of ED Denson, co-founder of Kicking Mule Records, on the morning of June 1, 1978. Before we got started, John, in his typically gracious way, cooked me breakfast. Here’s the audio of the conversation that followed.
John and I stayed in touch during the ensuing decades. On occasion he’d send me handwritten transcriptions of his own music and copies of old parlor guitar sheet music he’d found that traced the origins of Spanish and Fandango open tunings back to the era of the American Civil War. The last time I heard from him, he sent me an email saying he was warming himself by the fire at his home in Hawick in the Scottish Borders. A performer until his final days, John passed away a few weeks later on March 25, 2015.
For more on John Renbourn and British fingerstyle guitar:
Blues Guitar: The Origins of Spanish and Vestapol Tunings
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