Wynn and Andy, circa 1980
In New England back in ’74, when I arrived in Amherst, Wynn Fay was already legendary among country music fans as a singer, guitar picker, country music stylist, and band leader. He lived one town over in Belchertown. When I finally got the chance to hear, meet, and pick with him, I quickly found out why he was so revered. He was the REAL deal: soulful, musical, knowledgeable, kindhearted, and humble. Wynn was also one of the best MC’s I have ever heard, and he presented wonderful fiddle contests and community musical events.
Wynn asked me to join his band, The Ridegerunners, and I performed many a show with him. And, once you were asked to be a Ridgerunner, you were a Ridgerunner for life – and also a member of Wynn’s musical family. Ask other former Ridgerunners like Jim Rooney, Bill Kieth, Jim Heffernan, or Jeff Greenwood (who married Wynn’s daughter Zoe!) or many, many others, and you will hear them all agree. I picked and performed with Wynn whenever I could until I moved from New England in ’87.
“Wynn Fay & the Ridgerunners – Live Recordings” (1995)
In the 90’s, I compiled and produced an audio-cassette release of some of Wynn’s music. All the tracks had been recorded at shows in 1979, 1980, and 1987. Here’s a taste (That’s me on mandolin and harmony vocals on I’ll Just Pretend. Click on the cassette cover to left to see full credits):
I’d love to go back and do an MP3 release of Wynn Fay’s Live Recordings project. Interested? Let me know!
Wynn was a great one and I sorely miss him.
Newspaper articles about Wynn:
The moos give way to the folk music muse. The Record, Jan. 21, 1979.
