Folk Singer Mary McCaslin Dies at 75
Folk singer Mary McCaslin died Oct. 2, five years after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, her husband said.
McCaslin was 75.
“We greatly appreciate all the well wishes and prayers from old friends and new throughout the world,” Greg Arrufat said on social media. “Many consider her a national treasure … thanks again to everyone for keeping her music alive and in your hearts.”
Lucy Kaplansky was 17 when she first saw McCaslin perform and “had never heard anyone sing that way.” That gig has stuck with her since 1977.
“I imitated her style and there is no question in my mind that part of the way I sing today is due to Mary's influence,” she wrote on Facebook. “RIP.”
McCaslin released 10 LPs during her recording career and her concert recordings from the Cherry Tree in Philadelphia are in the Library of Congress.
“Her beautiful music completely caught the essence of the prairie, the Great Plains,” George Winston wrote on Facebook. “And she was a wonderful interpreter on other composers’ songs and traditional songs.”
10/8/22