Through eight albums and a decade of obscurity, Greg Brown has chiseled out a reputation as one of America's wisest songwriters, even the "Bob Dylan of the '80s."
The New York Times called him "the greatest living songwriter you've never heard of."It's not a reputation earned through millions of records sold or heavy rotation on Hot 94 FM. Rather, it's a reputation earned through brutally honest recordings, a healthy dose of wit and humor, and the willingness to perform before tiny crowds more committed to substance than a dance beat.
Greg Brown will perform Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Auditorium on the University of Utah campus.
It was probably destiny that Brown would become a songwriter. His dad was a Holy Roller preacher in Iowa and his mom fiddled with the electric guitar. His grandpa played the banjo.
His first singing job? Running hootenannies at the Gerdes Folk City in New York.
A thousand coffeehouses and clubs later, Brown's songwriting - eventually influenced by blues, rock, calypso and jazz - was "discovered" by the likes of Willie Nelson and Carlos Santana. A PBS special highlighted his music in 1983, and a two-year stint on "A Prairie Home Companion" followed.
If the commercial "big time" was knocking at his door, Brown didn't seem to answer. He's stayed true to the visionary content of a folk-rooted musical style that, as the New York Times noted, "has a knowing way with everyday details."
His 1985 album, "In the Dark With You," is on many critics' lists of best albums from the 1980s. Then came "Songs of Innocence and Experience" (the poems of William Blake set to original music), followed by the folk classic "One More Goodnight Kiss."
Saturday's concert is sponsored by the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association. Tickets are $8 in advance and $9 the day of the show, and are available at Acoustic Music, Graywhale CD, Great Salt Lake Guitar Company, Intermountain Guitar and Banjo, NuSound Music, Smokey's Records and SoundOff.
Opening will be Salt Lake's own James Scott. - Jerry Spangler