Jesse Winchester, singer and writer of such songs as Brand New Tennessee Waltz and Yankee Lady, died at his home in Charlottesville, VA on Friday morning. He had been battling cancer of the esophagus since 2011.
The official news comes from both his wife Cindy and his manager, Keith Chase. Earlier this week, a number of sites posted a story of Winchester’s passing prematurely.
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.
Listen to Jesse Winchester radio at iHeartRadio
Read more at VVNMusic.com
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