David Rea, the guitarist for such Canadian music legends as Gordon Lightfoot, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, and Joni Mitchell, has died at age 65.
"David passed away Thursday afternoon, October 27th, 2011," reads a note on his website. "He had turned 65 the previous day."
Rea was born in Akron, Ohio, but moved to Toronto when he was 17 to join the city's acclaimed acoustic-music scene.
Rea worked with Lightfoot to create the filigree guitar style on the latter's debut album, Lightfoot! Rea also appeared with some of the biggest artists of the 1960s, including Mitchell, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Richie Havens, Judy Collins and Tom Rush. At this time, David also played with many old-time bluesmen, such as Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, Roosevelt Sykes, Lonnie Johnson, Skip James and Son House.
Rea's complex guitar style was heard again on the landmark Ian & Sylvia albums, Nashville, Lovin' Sound, So Much For Dreaming, and Full Circle.
Printed from the official Joni Mitchell website. Permanent link: https://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2446
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