http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2014/04 ... -2014.html

Passings: Jesse Winchester (1944 - 2014)

Although it has not been confirmed yet by his family, there are reports that singer/songwriter Jesse Winchester has passed away.

Yesterday, Winchester's official Facebook page held the message:

The studio has been quiet - deafeningly so - as Jesse is receiving hospice care, in home and with family. It is a difficult time, but as always and in his own special way, he has something to teach us about grace and beauty.

That was followed on Sunday evening by the following post by Janis Ian:

RIP Jesse Winchester. As underrated a singer as Chet Baker. As underrated a guitarist as Willie Nelson. A man who held the audience in the palm of his hand without moving an inch. One of the best songwriters on earth. Damn damn damn.

Winchester had been battling cancer of the esophagus since 2011.

Jesse was a scholar as a teen, graduating from Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, TN as a Merit finalist, national honor society member and class Salutatorian. Unfortunately, just after his college graduation, he received his draft notice and, instead of serving, moving to Montreal, Canada.

Although he dabbled with music in high school, he didn't go full into the profession until he got to Montreal, joining the band Les Astronautes. Eventually, he started playing in coffeehouses around eastern Canada.

The band's Robbie Robertson took notice of Winchester and helped him get his first record contract, issuing his self-titled debut album in 1970. While he continued to record through the decade, he was unable to tour outside of Canada and became better known for his songs then for his own performances. Artists picked up and recorded a number of his songs including Brand New Tennessee Waltz, Yankee Lady, A Showman's Life and Biloxi.

In 1976, Jimmy Carter granted amnesty to draft evaders and allowed special amnesty for Winchester who had become a Canadian citizen, opening up the U.S. market to Winchester as a touring artist. He didn't move back to the U.S. until 2002.

Between 1970 and 1981, Winchester released seven studio albums before taking a break from the business, living off of his song royalties. He returned in 1988 with Humour Me followed by an even longer eleven year break before 1999's Gentleman of Leisure. Jesse released his tenth and final studio album, Love Filling Station, in 2009.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/musi ... l/7414733/

Songwriter/performer Jesse Winchester is gravely ill

Contrary to various accounts, songwriter and performer Jesse Winchester is not dead — but he is gravely ill.

After several reports leaked that Winchester, 69, who has penned songs recorded by numerous country and pop artists, had passed away, his booking agent, Keith Case, confirmed that "Jesse is not dead," but is "very ill and remains at home," in Charlottesville, Va. (Case did not specify the illness.)

Winchester drew critical acclaim for his songs, which included his own 1981 hit Say What as well as tunes covered by the Everly Brothers, Joan Baez, Jimmy Buffett, Emmylou Harris and Elvis Costello. Winchester also earned attention by moving to Canada in the 1960s, to avoid being drafted for the Vietnam War.

Another Winchester song, Mississippi, You're on My Mind, was a top-20 country hit for Stoney Edwards in 1975. And Winchester's A Showman's Life has been recorded by George Strait, Gary Allan and Buddy Miller, among others.

One of several premature appreciations of Winchester was penned by fellow artist Janis Ian, who wrote on her Facebook page: "RIP Jesse Winchester. As underrated a singer as Chet Baker. As underrated a guitarist as Willie Nelson. A man who held the audience in the palm of his hand without moving an inch. One of the best songwriters on earth."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... ester-dies

Singer-Songwriter Jesse Winchester Dies

Jesse Winchester, whose "blend of folk, blues and country ... embodies the spirit of American music," has died.
His manager, Keith Case, tells NPR's Jacob Ganz that Winchester died Friday morning in Charlottesville, Va., where he lived. He was 69 and had been battling cancer.

Winchester spent many of his early years in Memphis, and the Commercial Appeal offers a long appreciation of him. He was, the newspaper says, "one of music's sweetest voices and most incisive songwriters." It adds that:

"The mellifluous-voiced author of 'The Brand New Tennessee Waltz,' 'Mississippi, You're on My Mind' and 'Biloxi,' the Memphis-raised Winchester had long been a favorite of critics and fellow musicians, covered by a wide array of artists from Wilson Pickett to the Everly Brothers, Jerry Garcia to Reba McEntire. Bob Dylan was famously quoted as saying of Mr. Winchester: 'You can't talk about the best songwriters and not include him.' In 2007, Mr. Winchester was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from performing rights organization ASCAP for his body of work."

The Commercial Appeal reports it learned of Winchester's death from the singer-songwriter's wife, Cindy Winchester.
Last November, NPR Music posted a Mountain Stage performance by Winchester. That page includes this background:
"Winchester ranks among the elite group of singer-songwriters who can captivate an audience with just his words, his voice and an acoustic guitar.

"The musician is revered by everyone from James Taylor and Lyle Lovett to Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris. Winchester even famously brought a tear to Neko Case's eye after performing 'Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding' on Elvis Costello's Spectacle program, which he also performs in this set."
Winchester's career was dramatically affected by his decision to leave the U.S. rather than face the draft during the Vietnam War. As World Cafe has written:

"Winchester was on track for a successful performing career, but his status as a Vietnam War draft-evader prevented him from touring and gaining a footing in the U.S. He opted to move north to Montreal in 1967, and developed a strong Canadian following while touring there. Winchester released seven albums in the 1970s and early '80s, culminating with the Top 40 hit 'Say What' in 1981."
Winchester, like hundreds of thousands of other anti-war protesters who left the country or otherwise avoided the draft, was able to return to the U.S. after President Carter granted them unconditional pardons on his first day in office — Jan. 21, 1977.