Yesterday, April 3, 2025, Michael Hurley known as the "Godfather of Freak Rock" died at the age of 83 years old.
He played his last concert less than a week earlier and never had ambitions for a big musical career, but was an enormous influence in the folk, rock, and bluegrass world. He said he just liked to goof around and his humor and crazy lyrics and wonderful, lyrical cartoon-like drawings were like none other. When my husband made his first film "Troubled Waters" about a Long Island clam fisherman facing the death of the clamming industry, he contacted Michael to do the music. Michael Hurley agreed. The payment for this service? That he buy the original cover art for Hurley's album Blue Navigator.
This wonderful painting is now on the wall of our son's apartment. He is equally inspired by Hurley's music and artwork. Michael Hurley was one of the original members of the band The Holy Modal Rounders whose members also included fiddler Peter Stampfel and actor Sam Shephard who played drums. They were founded in Greenwich Village in NYC in 1963 and were very influential as an underground rock band, that to this day has a cult following. Music critic Richie Unterberger wrote that they had" twisted weathered folk standards with wobbly vocals, exuberantly strange arrangements, and interpretations that were liberal, to say the least."
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| Michael Hurley in the middle with the striped shirt. |
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