You want to play like John Hurt or Dr. John?
He would show you how.
He was the cornerstone of this folk community in Woodstock but in the larger picure as well.
Happy TraumDion Ogust
His contributions to the American music scene are hard to quantify.
1(which also included two tracks by Blind Boy Grunt, a.k.a.
(Artiedied of liver cancerin 2008.)
There, Traum witnessed the birth of what became Dylan and the BandsBasement Tapes.
Which was also mind-bending.
We didnt even know what we were listening to.
It was startlingly original and heart-wrenching.
They werent called theBasement Tapesback then.
It was just, Heres what we are working on.'
(A young Patti Smith was among their opening acts.)
But rock-level fame didnt interest Traum as much as keeping alive the traditions of his hero, Pete Seeger.
Happy had this wonderful guitar style but he also had what Pete had, says Sebastian.
He would just walk on a stage and you were ready to sing along.
On hiswebsite, Traum reflected on the day Dylan randomly called him up to work on 1971sGreatest Hits Vol.
II, when he wanted to re-record someBasement Tapesmaterial.
He called and said, Come on down and bring a bass, banjo and guitar, Traum recalled.
It was just the two of us and an engineer.
They were basically songs from theBasement Tapesand he wanted to put his stamp on them.
Bob was trying hard to be anonymous then.
10 of Dylans Bootleg Series, 2013sAnother Self Portrait (19691971).
His final solo album was 2015sJust for the Love of It.
Folk music should be considered a thing of the past, Traum wrote.
