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"'''Spider'''" '''John Koerner''' (August 31, 1938 – May 18, 2024)<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1397}}</ref> was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as a guitarist and vocalist in the blues trio [[Koerner, Ray & Glover]], with [[Dave "Snaker" Ray|Dave Ray]] and [[Tony Glover]]. He also made albums as a solo performer and with [[Willie Murphy (musician)|Willie Murphy]].
"'''Spider'''" '''John Koerner''' (August 31, 1938 – May 18, 2024)<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1397}}</ref> was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as a guitarist and vocalist in the blues trio [[Koerner, Ray & Glover]], with [[Dave "Snaker" Ray|Dave Ray]] and [[Tony Glover]]. He also made albums as a solo performer and with [[Willie Murphy (musician)|Willie Murphy]].

In a profile of Koerner for the magazine ''[[fRoots]]'' in 2010, Ian Anderson wrote that "Spider John Koerner is an American national treasure, a genuine folk blues hero. Bizarrely, most of his fellow countrypersons remain blissfully unaware of this, in spite of his being one of the key figures of the 1960s folk boom."<ref name="fRoots325">{{cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Ian |date=July 2010 |title= |url=https://www.ianaanderson.com/spider-john-koerner/ |magazine=[[fRoots]] |volume= |issue=325 |location= |publisher= |access-date= 2024-05-17}}</ref>


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==

Revision as of 20:24, 19 May 2024

For the Canadian artist, see John Koerner (artist).

John Koerner
Koerner in 1993
Koerner in 1993
Background information
Birth nameJohn Koerner
Also known as"Spider" John Koerner
Born(1938-08-31)August 31, 1938
Rochester, New York, U.S.
OriginSt. Paul, Minnesota
DiedMay 18, 2024(2024-05-18) (aged 85)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
GenresBlues
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • guitarist
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • harmonica
Years active1963–2024
Labels
Formerly ofKoerner, Ray & Glover
WebsiteOfficial web site

"Spider" John Koerner (August 31, 1938 – May 18, 2024)[1] was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as a guitarist and vocalist in the blues trio Koerner, Ray & Glover, with Dave Ray and Tony Glover. He also made albums as a solo performer and with Willie Murphy.

In a profile of Koerner for the magazine fRoots in 2010, Ian Anderson wrote that "Spider John Koerner is an American national treasure, a genuine folk blues hero. Bizarrely, most of his fellow countrypersons remain blissfully unaware of this, in spite of his being one of the key figures of the 1960s folk boom."[2]

Early life and education

Koerner was born on August 31, 1938, in Rochester, New York, to Marion and Allan Koerner.[3] He worked at an automobile shop and gained the nickname "Spider" because he would climb up shelves to reach parts.[4] In 1956 he began attending the University of Minnesota, majoring in aeronautical engineering.[1] He started playing guitar in his second year and left college to tour the United States. He lived in Los Angeles and later enlisted in the Marines.[4][3]

Music career

Koerner returned to Minnesota and became involved in the Minneapolis music scene, where he met Dave Ray and Tony Glover. They formed a loose-knit trio, releasing albums under the name Koerner, Ray & Glover.[1] The group gained notice with their first album, Blues, Rags and Hollers, originally released by Audiophile in 1963 and re-released by Elektra Records later that year.[5][6]

Koerner was an early influence on Bob Dylan, who mentioned Koerner in his autobiography, Chronicles. Speaking of the early 1960s, Koerner later said, "We were all goofy, you know. We were thinkers and drinkers and artists and players, and Dylan was one of us. He was another guy."[7] Koerner was the first musician that Dylan met in Minneapolis, at the Ten O’Clock Scholar coffeehouse. He wrote in Chronicles that "Koerner was tall and thin with a look of perpetual amusement on his face. We hit it off right away." Koerner was a few years more experienced as a musician, and took Dylan under his wing to teach him folk and blues songs. "When he spoke he was soft-spoken, but when he sang he became a field holler shouter. Koerner was an exciting singer, and we began playing a lot together", Dylan wrote. They performed often as a duo, but each also played frequently on his own.[8]

In 1965, Koerner recorded his first solo album, Spider Blues, for Elektra and appeared at the Newport Folk Festival accompanied by Glover. He continued playing on the folk circuit and joined with Willie Murphy to record Running, Jumping, Standing Still in 1969. (One song, "I Ain't Blue", was later covered by Bonnie Raitt on her debut album.)[9] The duo split up in the early 1970s. Koerner pursued an unsuccessful career in filmmaking, retiring from music and moving to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he made the black-and-white film The Secret of Sleep.[10][11]

He later moved back to Minneapolis and returned to performing music in the traditional folk genre. After more than a decade, he released a new album, Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Been on Red House Records in 1986. He continued to perform and release new albums from time to time, including 1992's Raised by Humans, 1996's StarGeezer, and his final album, What's Left of Spider John in 2013.[5][11] Koerner also appeared with the Koerner, Ray & Glover trio on the 1996 set One Foot in the Groove, chronicling a performance at Minneapolis theater Bryant-Lake Bowl,[12] and with Glover on the concert album Live @ The 400 Bar in 2009. A retrospective album capturing a solo live performance and radio interview recorded on the same day as a studio session for Blues, Rags and Hollers, March 1963, was released in 2010.[13]

Koerner performed at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island in 2012. He played his final shows at the Cedar Cultural Center in 2017 and 2019.[11]

Koerner was a frequent performer and fixture at the West Bank bar Palmer's. When he officially retired in 2023, Koerner donated one of his guitars, a 12-string Epiphone, to the bar, where it is on display in a glass case.[11] Koerner also gave his 12-string Gretsch guitar to his friend Charlie Parr, a fellow blues musician, requesting that Parr continue using it on stage.[11]

Legacy

In an interview with the magazine Record Collector in 2013, music writer Elijah Wald said that “Koerner was in some ways the most exciting artist in the folk-blues revival. He was the only young white artist who shaped a unique, personal style rather than trying to sound like older black performers. He made up his own songs, developed not only his own guitar style but a seven-string guitar, and had an incredible sense of rhythm. I’ve talked with many of the other players of that period, and all thought of him as particularly innovative and talented."[14]

Awards

Koerner, Ray & Glover's star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue

In 1983 the Minnesota Music Academy named Koerner, Ray and Glover "Best Folk Group" and in 1985 inducted them into the MMA Hall of Fame.[15]

In 2008, Koerner, Ray & Glover were inducted into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame under the category Blues Recordings for Blues, Rags and Hollers.[16]

Koerner, Ray & Glover were honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue,[17] recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.[18] Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis," according to journalist Steve Marsh.[19]

Personal life and death

Koerner was married three times, to Jeannie Buranen, Lisbet Gerlach Madsen, and Laura Cavanaugh.[3] He had two sons and a daughter, as well as several grandchildren. He lived in Minneapolis until the end of his life and died of bile duct cancer there on May 18, 2024.[11][20]

Discography

Science fiction writer Spider Robinson adopted his nickname out of admiration for Koerner and his music.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1397. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. ^ Anderson, Ian (July 2010). fRoots. No. 325 https://www.ianaanderson.com/spider-john-koerner/. Retrieved May 17, 2024. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e Denselow, Robin (May 19, 2024). "John Koerner obituary". The Guardian.
  4. ^ a b "Koerner 'Spider' John". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. 2006. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  5. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "'Spider' John Koerner: Biography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  6. ^ Harrison, Mark (September 2009). "Spider John Koerner at The Green Note Cafe". Blues in London. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  7. ^ Sokol, Brett (January 28, 2000). "Ensnared in Spider's Blues". Miami NewTimes. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  8. ^ Dylan, Bob (July 7, 2011). "Chapter 5: River of Ice". Chronicles, Volume One. London: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-85720-958-0.
  9. ^ AllMusic, Release particulars of Running, Jumping, Standing Still Archived June 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  10. ^ Blues, Rags and Hollers: The Koerner, Ray & Glover Story (video documentary). 1995. Latch Lake.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Riemenschneider, Chris (May 18, 2024). "Minnesota music legend Spider John Koerner, who influenced Dylan and Raitt, dies at 85". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  12. ^ Trehus, Mark (1996). One Foot In The Groove (Media notes). Koerner, Ray & Glover.
  13. ^ a b c Roberts, Chris (July 9, 2010). "Old 'treasured' recordings of Spider John Koerner released". MPR News.
  14. ^ Cartwright, Garth (May 21, 2013). "Folk Of Ages". Record Collector. No. 415. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  15. ^ "Tony Glover official web site". Mwt.net. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  16. ^ "Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame 2008". Gtcbms.org. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  17. ^ "The Stars". First Avenue & 7th Street Entry. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  18. ^ Bream, Jon (May 3, 2019). "10 things you'll learn about First Avenue in new Minnesota History Center show". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  19. ^ Marsh, Steve (May 1, 2019). "First Avenue's Star Wall". Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  20. ^ Kerr, Euan (May 18, 2024). "Minneapolis musician Spider John Koerner remembered for fresh approaches to traditional music". MPR News.
  21. ^ Dickinson, Tim (July–August 1999). "Review: The Return of Koerner, Ray & Glover". Mother Jones (24): 82.
  22. ^ Lentz III, Harris M. (2020). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2019. McFarland. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-4766-7978-5.
  23. ^ a b c d Krampert, Peter (2016). The Encyclopedia of the Harmonica. Mel Bay Publications. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-61911-577-4.
  24. ^ Riemenschneider, Chris (June 11, 2009). "From three to two to 400". Star Tribune.
  25. ^ Robinson, Spider (July 13, 2006). "Spider's Diary: The Best Music Festival I Know". Spider Robinson: Online Diary.
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