Kid Ric's Last Picks

I didn't know Kid Ric well. I met him at Merlin’s Tavern a few times over beers. Ric introduced me to Blogger there. We talked about music and old friends.

Robert Johnson "...was among the most famous of Delta blues musicians. His landmark recordings from 1936–1937 display a remarkable combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced generations of musicians.... ...Considered by some to be the "Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll", his vocal phrasing, original songs, and guitar style have influenced a broad range of musicians, including Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck, Jack White and Eric Clapton…”

Add Kid Ric to that list.

Robert Johnson’s Graves , the final post on Kid Ric's Blog appeared on July 6th, 2007. I have reproduced it below.

A small tribute to The great Robert Johnson.
Not just another Taurus genius.

YouTube - Robert Johnson's Graves

Peace, love and light,
Ric

The YouTube video(which opens in a new window)and its background music are hauntingly prophetic yet eerily appropriate and it certainly feels like Ric was indeed saying goodbye.

But less than an hour after posting, Ric added Purple is the color by Milow to his internet radio stream at Kid Ric’s Picks and had this to say:

“This one is a mover. Drums are hot. Love the vocals and the interesting way they play off each other. Great instrumentation. Nice mix. Way to go Milow!”

The song, full of life and energy is quite different from the video. Both are fitting for the Kid Ric that I met.

Ric continued adding songs to his radio stream through early September. By the end of the month he was off to California. He never made it back.

On Nov 25th, 2007 this comment appeared on Kid Ric’s Blog:

It's with great regret that I must tell everyone that Kid Ric (Ric Grove) of Hagerstown, MD did pass away from his short battle with cancer on 11/14/07. He went to California on September 26th to try some alternative treatment, but unfortunately never returned. He was a very good friend of ours and will be missed. Ric & I knew each other for over thirty years, played music together in several projects. Ric was a very talented individual as an artist and a musician, and also a very good hearted guy. He also did web design on the side and won many awards for his web designs. Recently he designed and built my band's web site http://www.thephatkatz.com/, as well as taught me how to maintain it. I'm very sorry to give all of you the bad news, but I think Ric would've wanted you to know what happened to him. He often spoke of his good friends on the blogs.

-Tom Taylor

Fair well my friend. Good tunes! Your music lives on.



Clicking on my self portrait on the left will play Kid Ric's Internet Radio Stream in a new window.




While we are reminiscing, remember also friends Alan Reischer and Nelson Carpenter.

It was Alan who introduced me to Tom Robbin's novels while listening to The Bama on WPFW on Saturday mornings. He is missed (and so is The Bama). Shepherdstown and the Meklenburg Inn are not the same without him.




Nelson, I hardly knew you. It looks like you were fading away even in this picture from 1972.









Stop by Merlin's and lift a pint to Ric, Alan or Nelson. Cheers my friends.