Bob Dylan and Jean Redpath
Eileen Dahill/Minnesota
In the after glow of Moville’s Dylan Fest I read that Jean Redpath of Scotland had died of cancer in a hospice in Arizona, USA.
Jean Redpath for over a dozen years was a guest of a weekly show radio show in Minnesota called The Prairie Home Companion. It is still hosted by Garrisson Keilor. She was on so frequently that I did not know she not part of the permanent cast from 1974-1987 until I read it in one of the obituaries. She was very witty and the perfect foil for the Minnesota host.
This morning I read about her many honorary degrees from Glasgow, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. I read on about her painstakingly recording almost 200 songs written by Robert Burns. I read about her recordings, travels, and the MBE bestowed upon her by the British Empire. But almost every article quickly mentioned her relationship with Bob Dylan.
It was said that Jean Redpath was introduced to Bob Dylan within the hour of arriving in Greenwich Village, New York via Philadelphia with some friends. They shared an apartment with other artists and headlined at the same venues.
Goodbye Jean Redpath. Thank you for your lovely mezzo-soprano voice and recording the cultural treasured songs of Scotland. I can’t help thinking how you might of influenced the young Bob Dylan back in the day.