The writer of the e-mail below, Mary Katherine (Aldin) has been a moving force in the blues and folk worlds since the early 1960’s, and currently is responsible for distributing composer royalties to the estates of The late Rev. Gary Davis (gospel blues 12-string force of the universe!), among others. She has also been a prolific CD compliation specialist & an assiduous, accurate liner note writer and fellow blues historian for decades. I admire her tremendously.
You may also wish to include this note from me (Atomic Mama):
For those who may not know, Jim O’Neal was my spouse from 1970 through 1987. To quote from Jim’s Introduction to The Voice of The Blues: Classic Interviews from Living Blues Magazine (Routledge: New York and London, 2002 – available through Amazon): "Amy van Singel and I did many of the interviews and most of the editorial and production work … Amy already had a portable reel-to-reel take deck and live tapes of Muddy Waters and James Cotton when I met her at Northwestern University in 1968, and soon we were interviewing blues artists together – how’s that for a '60s romance? … By the second issue of Living Blues we were married. Rather than have children, we chose to birth a magazine every two or three months … "
Mary Katherine Aldin wrote:
Friends:
I do not usually do this, but a circumstance has arisen which is important
enough to me that I will go public in asking for your assistance.
My very close friend of over 35 years, Jim O’Neal, is fighting cancer and is
in financial straits. Details are in the Facebook post by Janice Monti which
I am copying and pasting below. Jim, as we all know, is the Founding Editor
of Living Blues Magazine, and without his pioneering work many of us would
not be where we are today. Jim is a single parent with two young children
and has been unable to work since the surgery and chemotherapy. Even if the
shows listed are not local for you, if it is possible for you to make a
donation in any amount, the instructions for mailing a check, sending PayPal
and whatnot are at the end of the post below. Thank you,
Mary Katherine
THE JIM O’NEAL BENEFIT CONCERT SERIES Living Blues founding editor Jim
O’Neal has been diagnosed with lymph cancer and is currently undergoing
treatment. Like many in the blues world, Jim has no health insurance. A
series of benefit concerts is being pulled together to raise money to assist
in paying the mounting bills.
OCT. 28: KNUCKLEHEADS, KANSAS CITY, KANSAS Kenny Neal, Memphis Gold and
others
NOV 30: BUDDY GUY’S LEGENDS, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Kenny
Neal, Memphis Gold, Eddie Clearwater, Eddie Shaw, Billy Branch, Elmore James
Jr., Nora Jean Bruso and others
For anyone wanting to make a direct contribution to assist Jim and his
family, a fund has been set up at Commerce Bank in Kansas City. Checks may
be sent to: Jim O’Neal Blues Fund, P.O. Box 10334, Kansas City, MO 64171.
You can also donate at www.paypal.com to the account onealbluesfund@ aol.com
For further details and confirmations of time and artists, please check www.Stackhouse- Bluesoterica. blogspot. com
Atomic Mama reiterates: Jim O’Neal’s situation is as dire as any ghetto musician’s: No medical insurance, no steady day job, single parent, etc. etc. I am SO SICK of so-called blues fans not putting their money where their mouth is … “Oooooooooh, I love the blues!” and then won’t even buy a souvenir CD.
Mods: If this is inappropriate, just shut it down. I am NOT benefiting from any of this. Jim owes me no alimony or any crap like that.