Bob Neuwirth, a recording artist and mainstay of the New York City folk scene in the 1960s and collaborator with Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, John Cale and Peter Case, among others, died in Santa Monica Wednesday night at the age of 82. The cause of death was heart failure.
“Wednesday evening in Santa Monica, Bob Neuwirth’s big heart surrendered,” his life partner, entertainment executive Paula Bateson, said in a statement. “He was 82 and would have turned 83 in June. Bob was an artist in every cell of his body and loved to encourage others to make art for themselves. He was a painter, songwriter, producer, and recording artist whose work is loved and respected.
For more than 60 years, Bob has been at the center of cultural moments from Woodstock, to Paris, ‘Don’t Look Back’ to Monterey Bob, and ‘Rolling Thunder’ to Nashville and Havana. He was a generous agitator who often produced and made things anonymously. About his identity. Art is what matters to him, not credit. He was an artist, a teacher, and a supporter of many. He will be missed by all who loved him.”
Neuwirth is seen above in a photo taken just two weeks ago Larry Bercow.
Neuwirth was not very prolific on the albums he released, and often preferred to work as an animator, although he has resumed performing in concerts in recent years. In 1994, he and John Cale collaborated on the album “Last Day on Earth”. Prior to that, he released five solo albums, beginning with an effort titled Asylum in 1974 and continuing until 1999 titled “Havana Midnight”.
Being a part of Bob Dylan’s circle led to a certain kind of fame among that artist’s massive army of fans. Seen in Don’t Look Back, Neuwirth poses alongside Allen Ginsberg in the background of the initial “Subterranean Homesick” music video, and he helped assemble the band and perform on the Rolling Thunder Revue tour in the mid-1970s.
“At the time, the money wasn’t paid,” Neuwirth says in Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home. “It was about whether the artist had something to say. Whether it was Bob Dylan or Ornette Coleman, what people would have asked him, ‘Does he have something to say?’
Bob Neuwirth (right) performs with Bob Dylan and Rolling Thunder Revo at a concert for boxer Robin Hurricane Carter, January 1976. Musician Bob Neuwirth, right. (AP Photo)
AP
One of the things that helps make the Neuwirth legend is that he co-wrote one of Janis Joplin’s most famous songs, “Mercedes-Benz” for the singer shortly before her death in 1970. It became a posthumous hit and one of her most iconic – plus To a shower song for millions in its wake. “It’s a campfire song, isn’t it?” Neuwirth told this writer in a 2013 interview. “You don’t need any particular musical skill to sing it, and because it’s an a cappella, everyone can handle it in their own way. But I’m sure Janice would be shocked by the attention that song has garnered over the years. She would just shake her head at disbelief.”
He has rejoined D.A. Pennebaker, director of “Don’t Look Back” to co-produce the documentary “Down From the Mountain”. Filmed at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville with the artists who made the music for the Coen brothers’ “Oh Brother Where Art Thou.” Neuwirth was the musical director on the concert tour that followed.
He was a close partner of T Bone Burnett for many years and co-wrote songs on Peter Case’s early albums that Burnett produced.
Neuwirth also worked with Hal Wellner on Harry Smith’s concerts which are documented in Los Angeles and can be heard on Apple.
Neuwirth is survived by Batson, his niece Kassi Dubicki, and her family
More is coming…
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