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Van Ronk could howl and whisper, turn blues into ballads and ballads into blues. I loved his style. He was what the city was all about. In Greenwich Village, Van Ronk was king of the street, he reigned supreme.
~Bob Dylan (Chronicles vol.1)

He was gruff, a mass of bristling hair, don’t give a damn attitude, a confident hunter.
~Bob Dylan (Chronicles vol.1)

Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and native New Yorker Dave Van Ronk inspired, aided, and promoted the careers of numerous singer/songwriters who came up in the blues tradition. Most notable of the many musicians he helped over the years was Bob Dylan, whom Van Ronk got to know shortly after Dylan moved to New York in 1961 to pursue a life as a folk/blues singer. Van Ronk’s recorded output was healthy, but he was never as prolific a songwriter as some of his friends from that era, like Dylan or Tom Paxton. Instead, Van Ronk’s genius was derived from his flawless execution and rearranging of classic acoustic blues tunes.
~Richard Skelly (allmusic.com)

“Green Green Rocky Road” (from the DVD “Dave Van Ronk Memories”)

Wikipedia:

Born	June 30, 1936 Brooklyn, New York
Died	February 10, 2002 (aged 65)
Genres	Folk, ragtime, blues, country blues
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1959-2002
Labels	Folkways

David Kenneth Ritz “Dave” Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the “Mayor of MacDougal Street”.

He was an important figure in the acoustic folk revival of the 1960s. His work ranged from old English ballads to blues,gospel, rock, New Orleans jazz, and swing. He was also known for performing instrumental ragtime guitar music, especially his transcription of “St. Louis Tickle” and Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag”.

Van Ronk was a widely admired avuncular figure in “the Village”, presiding over the coffeehouse folk culture and acting as a friend to many up-and-coming artists by inspiring, assisting, and promoting them. Folk performers whom he befriended include Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Patrick Sky, Phil Ochs, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Guthrie Thomas, and Joni Mitchell.

Bob Dylan recorded Van Ronk’s arrangement of the traditional song “House of the Rising Sun” on Dylan’s first album. A few years later the Animals had a No. 1 hit single with a rock version of the Van Ronk arrangement of the song, a hit which helped to inaugurate the folk-rock movement.

Van Ronk received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in December 1997. He died in a New York hospital of cardiopulmonary failure while undergoing postoperative treatment for colon cancer.

“Stackerlee” (from the DVD “Dave Van Ronk Memories”)

Check out:

• Van Ronk’s Top 10 – Great post in Sing Out!
• Meet the Folk Singer Who Inspired ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ (rollingstone.com)
• Top 10 Dave Van Ronk Songs (wonderingsounds)

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Album of the day:

Folkways Years (1959-1961)

-Egil