Wow - must’ve been an incredible show. 2 great artists, both of whom I first saw as a teen on late-night TV. That kinda shit really warps your musical tastes lifelong!
Champagne Charlie’s my name…
I saw him twice when he opened for Leo Kottke in 1982. He was certainly a singular performer. I remember smiling and laughing throughout at the way he would phrase songs and throw in odd vocal gymnastics, and his guitar playing involved funny little flourishes.
The Beatles may have written Sheik of Araby, but Redbone delivered it.
The world is a duller place without him.
I saw him on that same tour, opening for Tom Waits at Alex Cooley’s Electric Ballroom in Atanta. Did the same thing with the Polaroid camera. This was in ‘78 or ‘79.
Saw him again in the early 80’s at Chastain Park in Atlanta opening for Jerry Jeff Walker. Again, took a Polaroid of the audience.
He was so talented and so cool!
RIP
Very sad news. I’ve been a fan since his appearances in the first season of Saturday Night Live in 1976. I own all of his albums and have seen him in person more often than any other performer, perhaps a dozen times.
I’ve spoken to some of musicians he performed with, and they all said he was no different off stage than he was on. People who have met him in real life, for instance, at the Martin guitar factory near his home in Pennsylvania, say the same thing. Was that really him, or was he the greatest performance artist of all time, making his whole life (at least outside the privacy of his own home) a work of art? We’ll never know, and clearly that’s how he wanted it. A true one-of-a-kind, and much missed. The world’s a less happy place without Leon Redbone.
Riddle Films made a short film about him last year, and they’ve just put it online. They are also working on a longer version.
Now that Leon is gone, won’t someone please tell me what Diddie Wa Diddie means?
Now that he’s gone, no one will *ever *know. 
I rode with him back to his hotel one night after a gig at a college venue in Pittsburgh. He stayed in character the whole time. Fascinating guy.
When I broke this news to my gf she teared up a bit, a rarity for her (her heart is cold and black, as she was born without the gene for empathy).
Nah. Safest bet is always I’m just stupid.
I didn’t know the Beatles had ever done it, so thanks for that!
(I prefer Leon’s version.)
Will his death make it easier to learn who he was before he became Leon Redbone? I’ve always been curious to know where and how such a talent came to be.
ETA: Is the wikipedia entry on him credible? It sounds convincing, but wikipedia.
It’s as credible as we could make it about someone who worked very hard to hide any and all information about himself. I took the photo that is currently on the page, by the way.
Megan Pugh wrote an excellent profile of him for the Oxford American that is about as authoritative on him as anything will ever be.
RIP Leon. I saw him in concert 25 years ago and thought that he must be at least 60, so it’s a surprise to hear that he was only 69.
I hope his family gets dna before Redbones burial. His children and future descendants need his family history for health screening.
That family information should be kept private out of respect of Redbones wishes.
The NY Times obituary reports that he was born in Israel.
I also couldn’t believe that he was only 69, because I remembered that he played in George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh, which happened in 1971, when he was only 21.
Then I realized that was Leon Russell.
I’m glad you clarified, since I was at that concert, and if I hadn’t remembered Leon Redbone being in it it would mean I had lost a lot more brain cells than I thought.:eek:
I’m amazed that he would have been about 27 when I first saw him on Saturday Night Live around 1976. He always seemed like he was in his 50s, no matter how old he was.