About Dave Van Ronk

Dave Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 - February 10, 2002) was a folk singer born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York City, and was nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street." He was best known as a pioneer of the acoustic blues revival, but his work ranged from old English ballads to Bertolt Brecht, rock, New Orleans jazz, and swing. He was a pioneer of instrumental ragtime guitar, as well as an early supporter of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, among many others. Van Ronk was very influential on the music scene in New York City in the 1960s. His musical career started when he moved from Brooklyn to Queens in 1951 and started to sing in a barbershop quartet. Van Ronk died of colorectal cancer (colon cancer) in 2002.