Karen Dalton

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Karen Dalton (Enid, Oklahoma 1938 - ? 1993) was an American folk singer and banjo player associated with the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene, particularly with Fred Neil and the Holy Modal Rounders as well as Bob Dylan.

Her bluesy, world-weary voice is often compared to that of iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday. She sang blues, folk, country, pop, Motown -- making over each song in her own style. She played the twelve string Gibson guitar and a long neck banjo. Her second album, In My Own Time (1971), was recorded at Bearsville studios, produced by Bob Dylan's former bass player Harvey Brooks, with liner notes by Fred Neil, originally released on Michael Lang's (Woodstock promoter) label, Just Sunshine. The cover photos were taken by Elliot Landy, and piano player Richard Bell guested on the album. Less common is her first album for Capitol, It's So Hard to Tell Who's Going to Love You the Best (1969), re-released by Koch Records in 1996.

Known as "the folk singer's answer to Billie Holiday" and "Sweet Mother K.D.", it is said that the Richard Manuel song "Katie's Been Gone", from The Band's The Basement Tapes, was written about her. She struggled with drugs and alcohol for many years and died in 1993 after an eight-year battle with AIDS.[1]

Both Dalton's albums were re-released in November 2006: It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best, on the French Megaphone-Music label, included a bonus DVD featuring rare performance footage of Dalton. In My Own Time was re-released on CD and LP on November 7, 2006 by Light In The Attic Records.

[edit] Discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Austin Chronicle: Music: In Her Own Time: The return of Karen Dalton

[edit] External links


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