Dan Hicks: Another 70's icon gone.

[dddave]

Many of you probably didn't know of "Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks" though some of you will. He came up in San Francisco in the magical late '60's when the psychedelic rock of Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead ruled. Dan's music was very different; incorporating Country, Jazz, R&B and Swing...among others. He never became a monster act but was deeply respected by other musicians and appreciated by many. He died yesterday in California. He was 75

The first time I heard his "I scare Myself" it affected me deeply and stayed with me since. It became his best known number. Some of you Thomas Dolby fans will be more familiar with the cover of it Dolby did in The '80's. Hick's songs are usually light and playful but "I Scare Myself" is a darker, much more inward piece.

This is the original " I Scare Myself"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDvxR7DQCdM

Thomas Dolby covered it in the '80's and did a great job, putting an amazing spin on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc2rPDMnN7w

This is Dan Hicks and Thomas Dolby playing together live...includes a really funny interview beforehand. The opening of "I Scare Myself" is amazing. When the song finishes, let it run...you will be rewarded. Dolby himself posted this video from his private collection yesterday as a tribute to Hicks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyq-Wj0QUpE

[GuestHouse]

A sad loss.

And I agree, Hicks' original "I scare myself" is iconic.

Dolby's a pale immitation.

[Myshkin]

Sad days for the San Francisco music scene of the 60's after the passing of Paul Kantner and Signe Anderson of Jefferson Airplane just a few days ago.

Dan Hicks was a member of the Charlatans together with Mike Wilhelm and others prior to forming the Hot Licks. I never saw Dan performing, but once saw Wilhelm fronting a trio called 'Loose Gravel' in a small bar in North Beach, S.F. in 1976.

Good memories.

[bannork]

Uncanny how Paul Kantner and Signe passed away on the same day, and the same age too.

[dddave]

Sad days for the San Francisco music scene of the 60's after the passing of Paul Kantner and Signe Anderson of Jefferson Airplane just a few days ago.

Dan Hicks was a member of the Charlatans together with Mike Wilhelm and others prior to forming the Hot Licks. I never saw Dan performing, but once saw Wilhelm fronting a trio called 'Loose Gravel' in a small bar in North Beach, S.F. in 1976.

Good memories.

Also interesting was that one of the "Hot Licks" original members was David Laflamme who went on to found with others the amazing group "It's a Beautiful Day", one of San Francisco's most original and creative bands

[JLCrab]

My favorite Dan Hicks song -- saw him once with the original line-up in San Francisco around 1972 -- there is a much speedier version but can't find it.

[Johpa]

Of all the musicians who have passed away recently, Dan Hicks was by far the closest to my heart. I got to hear him once in the early 1970s up in Seattle. All the original Hot Licks albums still hold their own to this day and remain relevant and hip and cool. This is in contrast to some of my favorite albums of that era that no longer seem worth listening to today. Dan Hicks was a true original artist so unlike far too many of today's musicians. Although I must confess that the audience at the live performance some 40 years ago was by far the most stoned out audience I ever encountered. But certainly I will miss him now that he has gone away.