RIP Bruce Langhorne

[Straw Man]

You might not know the name, but if you've heard any of Bob Dylan's early albums, you've heard Bruce Langhorne. He's all over the early records, especially Bringing It All Back Home. And not only did he play lead guitar on "Mr. Tambourine Man," he was Mr. Tambourine Man. It's a name Dylan coined when Langhorne showed up at a recording session with a huge hand drum:



He worked with just about everybody in the folk scene, including Dylan, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Gordon Lightfoot, Odetta, Peter, Paul & Mary, the Clancy Brothers, Buffy Ste. Marie ... the list goes on and on.

Here he is with Carolyn Hester, Dylan, and Bill Lee (Spike's father):



One of my favorites is the sinuous guitar line he played on Tom Rush's version of Joni Mitchell's "Urge For Going."

Another good one gone. RIP, Mr. Tambourine Man.