Bob Neuwirth | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert John Neuwirth |
| Born | (1939-06-20)June 20, 1939 Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | May 18, 2022(2022-05-18) (aged 82) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar,banjo |
| Years active | 1960s–2022 |
| Labels | Asylum Gold Castle Watermelon Dreamsville |
| Website | www |
Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939 – May 18, 2022) was an Americanfolk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being theroad manager and associate ofBob Dylan, as well as the co-writer ofJanis Joplin's hit song "Mercedes Benz".
Neuwirth was portrayed byWill Harrison in the 2024 filmA Complete Unknown.
Neuwirth was born inAkron, Ohio, on June 20, 1939.[1][2] His father, Robert, was employed as an engineer; his mother, Clara Irene (Fischer), worked as a design engineer.[1] Neuwirth first started painting when he was seven years old.[3] He initially studied atOhio University,[2] before moving toBoston in 1959 when he was awarded an arts scholarship to study at theSchool of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts.[1][2] Afterdropping out of college, he briefly relocated toParis and took up thebanjo, guitar, andharmonica during this time.[3] This eventually paved the way to thefolk scene of the early 1960s inCambridge, Massachusetts.[2] He also wentbusking withRamblin' Jack Elliott during his sojourn in the French capital.[3] Neuwirth later went back to Boston and was employed at an art supply store.[2]
Neuwirth first metBob Dylan in 1961,[1] at the inauguralIndian Neck Folk Festival held inBranford, Connecticut.[3][4] He soon became Dylan's friend and associate,[1][5] as well as hisroad manager.[3] Neuwirth consequently accompanied Dylan on hisEngland tour in 1965,[1][3] theNewport Folk Festival that same year that saw theElectric Dylan controversy,[4] and featured alongside him inD. A. Pennebaker's documentaryDont Look Back (1967).[1][3] Neuwirth pulled back from Dylan's circle after the latter's motorcycle accident in 1966 and subsequent withdrawal from public life.[4] However, he returned in time to help assemble the backing band for theRolling Thunder Revue tour ten years later.[1][3] He also appeared in Dylan's own self-referential romantic fantasy/tour filmRenaldo and Clara (1978).[1] The lower half of him appears behind Dylan in Daniel Kramer's front cover photo for the albumHighway 61 Revisited.[4] He also intended to do a film withEdie Sedgwick, whom he introduced to Dylan in 1965,[4] before her death in 1971.[3]
WithJanis Joplin and poetMichael McClure, Neuwirth co-wrote the song "Mercedes Benz" in August 1970, while improvising during adrinking session at a bar inPort Chester, New York.[1][3][4] He scribbled the lyrics onto a napkin, which Joplin sang at herCapitol Theatre show that same night and then recordeda cappella just three days before she died.[1][3] Neuwirth also introducedKris Kristofferson to Joplin, who would have a major posthumous hit single with Kristofferson's song "Me and Bobby McGee", which Neuwirth first played for Joplin.[4][5]Colin Irwin wrote:
Painter, road manager, sidekick, confidante, henchman, poet, underground cult hero, womanizer, party organizer, self-appointed king of cool, and baiter-in-chief ofBaez,Donovan, and any other unfortunate who wound up in the line of fire of his sledgehammer jibes, Neuwirth went on to become a film-maker and a credible singer-songwriter in his own right, co-writing the wonderful "Mercedes Benz" with his friend Janis Joplin.[6]
After relocating toLos Angeles during the 1970s, Neuwirth released his debut albumBob Neuwirth (1974) withAsylum Records.[2] Although it included guest artists such asKris Kristofferson,Booker T. Jones,Rita Coolidge,Chris Hillman,Cass Elliot,Dusty Springfield,Don Everly,Richie Furay, andIain Matthews,[7] it was not commercially successful,[5] in part because he declined to publicize it extensively.[3] The album eventually became a cult favorite and a proposal to reissue it was in place at the time of Neuwirth's death.[2] Fourteen years later, he released his second album,Back to the Front,[5] which was received more positively by critics.[3] His following album, a collaboration withJohn Cale titledLast Day on Earth (1994),[1][5] was described byThe Daily Telegraph as "ambitious, experimental and doom-laden".[3] While embarking on a national tour of the U.S., he recorded his next solo album,Look Up (1996), at the residences of friends such asPatti Smith,Bernie Leadon, andElliott Murphy.[5] He subsequently travelled toHavana to collaborate withJosé María Vitier onHavana Midnight (1999),[5][8] which was characterized as a wholehearted effort at fusion betweenfolk andblues withCuban music.[3]
Neuwirth was involved in concerts at a church inBrooklyn and theRoyal Festival Hall in 1999, which were organized byHal Willner as a tribute to theAnthology of American Folk Music released almost 50 years before.[4] A year later, Neuwirth produced the documentaryDown from the Mountain, with Pennebaker as one of the directors and highlighting artists whose music was included inO Brother, Where Art Thou? by theCoen brothers.[1][4] He also took part in music projects involving various artists at the turn of the millennium, namelyPor Vida: A Tribute to the Songs ofAlejandro Escovedo andRogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys.[5] He was interviewed byMartin Scorsese forNo Direction Home (2005),[4] and featured inRolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese fourteen years later.[1]
Neuwirth was in a domestic partnership with Paula Batson until his death.[1][2] He resided inSanta Monica, California, during his later years.[1] He carried on painting throughout this time at a studio in theMeatpacking District in New York,[4] and identifiedJackson Pollock as his main inspiration that guided Neuwirth's colourful and abstract style.[3] His artwork was displayed atTrack 16 Gallery in a 2011 exhibition titled "Overs & Unders: Paintings by Bob Neuwirth, 1964–2009".[1]
Neuwirth died on the evening of May 18, 2022, in Santa Monica. He was 82, and hadheart failure prior to his death.[1][2]
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