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RIP Spaceman. So many guitarists cited your fretboard technique.

Kiss Guitarist Ace Frehley Has Passed Away At 74 After Recently Being Put On Life Support Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley has passed away at 74 after being put on life support, according to a statement from his family.

On December 6, 1948 we lost musical giant Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly

One night, Ledbetter was at a party where he heard Irish singer Sam Kennedy perform a song about a milk cow called “Drimmin Down,” (Also known as "An droimfhionn donn dilís.”) Now, the American was unable to understand the Gaelic lyrics (to be fair, few can) Leadbetter asked the singer to write down an English translation.

Lead Belly used the notes to create a new melody on his 12-string guitar. Eventually, the song became “If It Wasn't for Dicky.” Later on, The Weavers (Pete Seeger and Lee Hays) put their spin on it. The result became the folk standard “Kisses Sweeter than Wine,” but keeping Lead Belly's melody.

"The transformation from a traditional Irish folk song to an American folk standard illustrates how musical traditions can evolve," writes Grammy winner Lance Ledbetter. For this and other discussions about our musical heritage please head over to Dust-to-Digital

Or check out their substack: https://substack.com/

[Photo Credit - Lead Belly with his dog, from the John Reynolds Collection at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.] Garrett Haines

It's that time again. Unless you have plastic or metal instruments, this is important.

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