IN THE NEWS THIS ISSUE

• Roy Bailey Awarded MBE
• Tarika Signed Worldwide to Wicklow/BMG
• Ed Miller's Lowlander
• Cathal McConnell Solo Recording Reunites Richard and Linda (Sort of)
• Flatlanders Hit the Road
• Greg Brown Guitars Stolen in Iowa
• Anniversaries: Larmans' Show 30, Golden Bough 20,No Masters 10
• Vanguard Reissues from Buffy Sainte-Marie, Odetta, Tom Rush, Big Mama Thornton
• Gottle O'Geer Goes Digital for 21st Century

IN MEMORIAM

John Morris Rankin, member of the Canadian family band The Rankins (formerly the Rankin Family), died January 17th when a car he was driving ran off the road into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He was 40. John Morris was the eldest of the family and was noted as a fine fiddler and keyboard player. The Rankin Family began playing together in the late 80s and released a number of bestselling recordings in Canada. The group disbanded late last year, with the various members pursuing solo careers.

Peggy Jordan, one of the mainstays of the traditional music scene in Dublin in the late 1950s and 1960s, died recently. Jordan organized the concerts in the Grafton Cinema that were instrumental in giving The Dubliners their first public appearances. Others who appeared in these concerts were Joe Heaney, Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, Sweeney's Men, and the musicians who were later to become the Chieftains.

Al Sealy, half of the long running English Music Hall duo Cosmotheka, died of pneumonia in England last December.

Joe Higgs, a reggae singer best known for fostering the career of Bob Marley, died of cancer in December at the age of 59. When Bunny Wailer quit Bob Marley and the Wailers, Higgs joined the group on their first major American tour. He later toured with Jimmy Cliff and co-wrote Peter Tosh's signature song, "Stepping Razor."

Rick Danko, bassist and singer with The Band, died December 12th in his sleep at his home near Woodstock, New York. He was 56. He was 17 when he joined Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, which would evolve into The Band. The group backed Bob Dylan in the 60s, recorded a number of classic albums, like Music From Big Pink and The Band, and collaborated on Dylan's The Basement Tapes. The Band broke up in 1976 (documented in the movie The Last Waltz), and Danko began a solo career. The group re-formed in 1983, without its guitarist Robbie Robertson, and toured in various incarnations throughout the 80s and 90s. Danko released a live recording in 1997 and another last September. His last recording with The Band was Jubilation, released by River North Records in 1998.