Noted political
cartoonist George Fisher (d. 2003) who drew for a well-respected
southern paper (The now-defunct Arkansas Gazette) was also an avid
folklorist, musician and singer. He had been close friends with
songwriter Jimmie Driftwood till Driftwood's death in 1998. In the
early 60's the two of them formed a folk music club called the Rackensack
Folklore Society which was originally based in Mountain View, but
later moved to Little Rock. By the way, "Rackensack" is
a pioneer-era bastardization of the word Arkansas.
George and Jimmie ca. 1963
During its formative years in the early 90's, the
Old School Bluegrass Band (also based in the Little Rock area) played
for the Rackensack Society several times at their meetings and concerts.
They were well-liked, especially by George who decided to take the
band under his wing. Over the next decade he helped the band all
he could, including concerts at his parties (his Christmas and July
4th gatherings were legendary for attracting noted local and state
politicians) and a series of concerts in Washington D.C. during
the first Clinton inaugural week in 1993. Venues that week included
not only the bookstore where George was holding a book release party
(his main reason for sponsoring the trip), but a couple of Irish
pubs, a Gay Bar, a Governors' banquet and Old Ebbitt's Grill on
Inauguration Day. That week cemented the relationship between George
and the Old School Bluegrass Band. He and the four bandmembers would
remain best friends until George's death in December 2003. They
had the honor of playing two songs at his funeral in his hometown
of Beebe, Ark.
George
and OSBB at a July 4th bash
George never actually
"hired" the band for his events. They simply had a mutual
understanding that George would hold and event at such-and-such
a time, and the band would be there to play. Sometimes he would
actually pay the band money. Sometimes he would pay the band in
artwork, as in his cartoon
of the band and his portraits of the members.
One key moment was in July 2000 when George appeared on stage as
part of the OSBB's show at the popular Little Rock venue The Acoustic
Sounds Cafe. He spent about 20 minutes talking about American folk
music, its ties to the British Isles (his late wife, nicknamed Snooky,
was British) and its ties to today's music. He cracked jokes and
sang parts of several songs as well. His wry humor, used to such
good effect during his decades as a cartoonist, was also evident
on stage.
After George's death, the band decided to honor their friend and
mentor with a new CD. Titled "It's
The Old School Bluegrass Band, By George!" the CD contains
parts of George's live appearance with the band as well as the band's
recordings of some of the songs that George talked about and sang
during that evening in 2000. George's memory as a political cartoonist
will live on indefinitely because of all of his published works
and archives. The Old School Bluegrass Band hopes through this project
to help preserve George's memory as a folklorist, musician and music
lover. |
