Leon Redbone

Canadian jazz singer and guitarist Leon Redbone, real name Dickran Gobalian (born in Nicosia, Cyprus, August 26, 1949; died in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA, May 30, 2019), made his name playing ragtime, pre-war jazz and blues in Toronto clubs in the 1970s. Very secretive about his biography (some facts about his birth and identity are not known), he opted for the stage name Leon Redbone and caught the attention of Bob Dylan, who discovered him at a folk festival in Mariposa, Ontario (Canada), in 1974, and advertised him in the American magazine Rolling Stone. Signed by Warner Bros., Leon Redbone recorded his first album On the Track (1975, with contributions from Joe Venuti and Don McLean), followed by Double Time (1977), which reached #38 on the Billboard charts, and Champagne Charlie (1978). In the course of his recording career, the musician attracted renowned collaborators such as Dr. John, Ringo Starr, Merle Haggard and others on the albums From Branch to Branch (1981), Red to Blue (1985), Christmas Island (1987), No Regrets (1988) and Sugar (1990). His career, discreetly reserved for jazz and blues fans, continued with the albums Up a Lazy River (1992) and Whistling in the Wind (1994). After a long break, he returned in 2001 with the album Any Time, followed thirteen years later by Flying By (2014). In 2015, he ceased all concert activity due to health problems. The following year, Jack White oversees the release of Long Way from Home: Early Recordings, a compilation of unreleased radio recordings dating from 1972 released on his Third Man Records label. In 2018, the documentary Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone: The Search for Leon Redbone is released. He died of neurological complications at the age of 69.

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