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AADL Talks To: Fred LaBour, former writer for The Michigan Daily and member of the musical group Riders in the Sky

Fred LaBour
Fred "Too Slim" LaBour (Photo courtesy of Riders in the Sky)

In this episode, AADL Talks to "Too Slim" Fred LaBour. Fred is a member of Riders in the Sky, an American Country and Western music and comedy quartet that has performed together since 1977. From '67 to '71, Fred was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan where he covered sports and wrote music reviews for The Michigan Daily. Fred discusses the campus culture that shaped his career and he walks us through a day in the life of a too-slim "wise ass" English major whose satirical review of the Beatles’ "Abbey Road" album propelled the “Paul McCartney is Dead” urban legend that took the country by storm.

Read Fred's October 14, 1969 "Paul is Dead" article in The Michigan Daily.

Check out Riders in the Sky in the AADL catalog. The group is also featured on the following CDs: Toy Story Favorites, Toy Story 2, Disney Pixar All Time Favorites, and Woody's Roundup.

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AADL Talks To: Dave and Linda Siglin, Founders of The Ark

Dave and Linda Siglin
Dave and Linda Siglin celebrate the Ark's 20th anniversary with their dog, Sophie, September 1985.

In this episode, Dave and Linda Siglin talk about the history of Ann Arbor's beloved folk venue, The Ark, from its humble origins in a house on Hill Street to its thriving location at 316 S. Main Street. Dave and Linda reminisce about some of the famous national and regional talent that has played the venue; the evolution of the business; changes within the folk music industry; and the Ark's signature fundraising event, the Ann Arbor Folk Festival. 

Read historical articles about The Ark and the Siglins and the Ann Arbor Folk Festival.

Folklorist Marc Silber

Day
22
Month
September
Year
2015

I got a chance to spend about five days with my old friend Marc Silber. I had not seen him in fifty years, but I had heard about him here and there over that time. Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Marc and I were a part of the folk revival, a group of us that included folks like Marc and I, but also a young Bob Dylan and my friend Jim Greenberg. What drew us together was the University of Michigan Folklore Society, founded by Al Young and Bill McAdoo. Al Young today is a Poet Laureate of California.

Searching for Roots: Discovering Electric Blues in White America

My Time with Bob Dylan in Ann Arbor

Joan Baez and Bob Dylan
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. 

With an introduction to legendary guitar player Perry Lederman.

The Folk Music Revival in Ann Arbor (Late 1950s - Early 1960s)

In 1957 freshman student Al Young and Bill McAdoo founded the University of Michigan Folklore Society. Al Young went on to become the Poet Laureate of California.

Pete Seeger at the Michigan Theater, March 1981 Photographer: Robert Chase

Pete Seeger at the Michigan Theater, March 1981 image
Year:
1981
Published In:
Ann Arbor News, March 22, 1981
Caption:
VINTAGE SEEGER -- Folk singer Pete Seeger charmed the audience at the Michigan Theatre Saturday afternoon, and very few in the sellout crowd left with frowns on their faces, or without songs in their hearts, or without feeling a little more hopeful about it all than they had a couple of hours before. A review of Seeger's benefit performance for the Ark by Jeff Mortimer will appear in Monday's Ann Arbor News