The Mayor of MacDougal Street: A Memoir

The Mayor of MacDougal Street: A Memoir
by Dave Van Ronk, Elijah Wald

The Mayor of MacDougal Street: A Memoir
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Book Summary Information

Author: Dave Van Ronk, Elijah Wald
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-03-06
ISBN: 030681479X
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Da Capo Press

Book Reviews of The Mayor of MacDougal Street: A Memoir

Book Review: A Thoroughly Interesting Memoir
Summary: 5 Stars

This book is very interesting due to its subject- the witty yet unschooled, tremendously talented, left-leaning, Mayor of MacDougal Street, Dave Van Ronk. Elijah Wald did an excellent job with this, though this read is not as compelling as Elijah's biography of Josh White, which is one of the best Blues-related books I've ever read, along with "Escaping The Delta", another of Elijah's works, which centers on the birth of the Blues, the "Race Records" industry, and the legend of Robert Johnson. There are many interesting and colorful stories in this book, some of them dealing with cross-country trips and free hamburgers and smuggling illegal substances into the United States. This book also allows us to see that there were players on the Greenwich Village scene before Bob Dylan, and in many cases, these men and women were a lot more talented than young Bob, at least in terms of proficiency on the guitar. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Dave Van Ronk, the Country Blues revival, the popular "Folk" music of the 1960s, and the aforementioned decade in general.

Summary of The Mayor of MacDougal Street: A Memoir

"Van Ronk's wonderful memoir...is mandatory reading.... His anecdotes of rumrunners, mountebanks, and beatniks are often hilarious...[its] charm lies in its unvarnished simplicity." (Douglas Brinkley, Boston Globe)

"A genial and picaresque ramble." (New York Times Book Review)

"In Greenwich Village, Van Ronk was king of the street, he reigned supreme." (Bob Dylan)

Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) was one of the founding figures of the 1960s folk revival, but he was far more than that. A pioneer of modern acoustic blues, a fine songwriter and arranger, a powerful singer, and one of the most influential guitarists of the '60s, he was also a marvelous storyteller, a peerless musical historian, and one of the most quotable figures on the Village scene.

The Mayor of MacDougal Street is a first-hand account by a major player in the social and musical history of the '50s and '60s. It features encounters with young stars-to-be like Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and Joni Mitchell, as well as older luminaries like Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Odetta.

Colorful, hilarious, and engaging, The Mayor of MacDougal Street is a feast for anyone interested in the music, politics, and spirit of a revolutionary period in American culture.

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