Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Heavy Mental


In case you missed it, the latest issue of the state magazine Oklahoma Today, has a terrific article, by Enid News & Eagle reporter Scott Fitzgerald, about the life of Enid native and "heavy mental" New Age guitarist Michael Hedges, one of my all-time favorite Okies and artists.

Hedges received worldwide acclaim for his albums "Aerial Boundaries," "Taproot" and others, in the 1980's and 1990's. I personally became a fan when I helped run a program in college at John Brown University called "Reflections," on KLRC. Hedges' beautiful acoustic music was a staple on the program.
Tragically, Hedges died in the fall of 1997 - nearly 10 years ago - in an auto accident in California. During this same period, several other great singer-songwriters - Rich Mullins and John Denver - died in accidents involving forms of transportation. Denver in an experimental plane and Mullins in a car. Very sad time.
But Hedges left behind a great collection of music which is widely available via the terrific Windham Hill record label.

And on this subject, check out Enid Buzz's blog post "A Moment in Time," which is about Hedges' home in Enid and a recent gathering of some of the Hedges family.


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