Even if you don’t recognize her name, you’ve probably heard the works of the incomparable Karen Dalton. She was an important figure in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s, and she is often associated with acts like Bob Dylan, The Holy Modal Rounders, and Fred Neil. Her voice is one of the most haunting ones to come out of the 1960s folk world, and she should be celebrated.
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The Life of Karen Dalton
Born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, Karen Dalton wasn’t your typical bohemian, starry-eyed folk musician in New York. She had a very rough life. She was divorced twice by the time she turned 21, and she moved to New York to make it in the folk scene with only her children, guitar, and banjo in tow. Dalton famously didn’t have several teeth due to breaking up a fight between two of her lovers.
She was a complicated woman. Nonetheless, she became a mainstay of the Greenwich Village scene. She played with some of the biggest names known today, from Bob Dylan to Tim Hardin. Dylan famously said that she had a “voice like Billie Holiday and played guitar like Jimmy Reed.”
Sadly, her internal battles got in the way of her fame. She hated performing her own songs and opted for covers, and she struggled with alcohol and heroin use. The latter made it almost impossible for her to tour.
The Music of Karen Dalton
Karen Dalton was so much more than a standard folk songstress. She was a talented banjo player with musical roots in country blues and jazz.
Her debut album It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best was released in 1969 as an accident of sorts. Because she hated being recorded, Fred Neil and Nick Venet had to trick her into thinking the tapes weren’t rolling. It was a rude ruse, but I’m glad they did it; this is one of the most hauntingly beautiful records to come out of that era.
The second effort, In My Own Time, was an easier venture, as Dalton had gotten used to recording and brought her children and dog along to feel more at ease. Unfortunately, that 1971 record was a commercial failure. Coupled with her struggles with substance abuse and estrangement from her children, Dalton never released another studio album. She died from AIDS in 1993 at only 55 years of age.
Like many of the greatest musicians of her time, Dalton was severely underrated while she was alive. She didn’t have much commercial success. Though her music has since gained a pretty huge cult following in the last few decades, her voice remains a haunting one that belongs to a woman who deserved more when she was alive.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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