Singer-songwriter Leon Redbone, who specialized in old-school vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley-style music, died earlier today, his family confirmed. Although his website death notice siad he was 127, he was really 69.
A post on his website reads, with a deadpan tone and humor characteristic of his music:
"It is with heavy hearts we announce that early this morning, May 30th 2019, Leon Redbone crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127. He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover, and a simple tip of his hat. He's interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett, and Jelly Roll have been up to in his absence, and has plans for a rousing sing along number with Sari Barabas. An eternity of pouring through texts in the Library of Ashurbanipal will be a welcome repose, perhaps followed by a shot or two of whiskey with Lee Morse, and some long overdue discussions with his favorite Uncle, Suppiluliuma I of the Hittites. To his fans, friends, and loving family who have already been missing him so in this realm he says, 'Oh behave yourselves. Thank you.... and good evening everybody.'"
Redbone retired from performing in 2015 for unspecified health reasons.
He revealed little about himself or his origins during his career, saying "very little of my life goes into my music."
He was born Dickran Gobalian in Cyprus and reinvented himself as Leon Redbone after moving to Canada in the mid-1960s, The Toronto Star reported.
He had an improbable career performing old-style, out-of-fashion pop, that saw the release of 16 full-length albums beginning with "On the Track," his 1975 debut on Warner Bros.
usic and Rounder, with his most recent new release, 2014's "Flying By" was issued through his August Records imprint (distributed by Rounder) as have all of his recordings dating back to the mid-1980s.
A compilation of his earliest recordings titled "Long Way From Home" was released in 2016 by Third Man Records, run by a contemporary fan, Jack White of White Stripes fame.
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