Sue Draheim facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sue Draheim
Draheim in San Francisco, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Susan Ann Draheim
Born	(1949-08-17)August 17, 1949 Oakland, California, U.S.
Died	April 11, 2013(2013-04-11) (aged 63) Berea, Kentucky, U.S.
Genres	Folk rock, Celtic, Old Time, Cajun, Zydeco, Classical
Occupation(s)	Fiddler, singer, composer
Instruments	Fiddle, violin, viola, voice
Years active	1967–2013
Labels	Arhoolie, Transatlantic, Island, etc.

Sue Draheim (pronounced DRAW-hyme; August 17, 1949 – April 11, 2013) was an American musician. She was famous for playing the fiddle and violin. Sue had a long music career, lasting over 40 years, in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Sue grew up in North Oakland, California. She started learning the violin at age eight in public school. By age eleven, she began private lessons. She graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1967. Even though she first trained in classical music, Sue later explored many other styles. She recorded albums with groups playing Cajun, Old Time, country, Zydeco, folk jazz, and Irish and British folk music. Early in her career, Celtic fiddle became her main focus.

Sue was mainly a fiddler, but she always remembered her classical training. She played in the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic. She was also part of UC Berkeley's University Chamber Chorus. Sue even performed in the first US show of Frank Zappa's special orchestral piece, A Zappa Affair. A fellow musician called her a "fiddler extraordinaire," meaning she was an amazing fiddler.

Becoming a Fiddler in the US (1960s-1970s)

In the late 1960s, Sue Draheim moved to a house in North Oakland known as "Colby Street." This move was very important for her music career. It was here that she changed from a "violinist" to a "fiddler." In 1970, Sue wrote about this change:

I've lived around the Bay Area most of my life. There wasn't much money at home. I had to talk my parents into letting me take fiddle lessons. I started that when I was eight years old. This was public school instruction. After three years of that, I began private lessons. I stopped when I was fourteen, and didn't touch the violin until I was 19. I moved to Colby Street when I was eighteen years old. It was there that I met Jim Bamford. He taught me my first fiddle tunes (as opposed to the classical violin music I'd learned). This was in 1967.

Sue quickly got involved in American mountain string band music. In 1967, she formed a group called the "Diesel Duck Revue." They played at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage in 1968.

Around the same time, she played with another Colby Street group. They called themselves "Dr. Humbead's New Tranquility String Band and Medicine Show" when they played at the Sky River Rock Festival in 1968 and 1969. Later, for the Berkeley Farms album in 1970, they shortened their name to "The New Tranquility String Band." Sue's photo even appeared on the poster for the 1968 Berkeley Folk Music Festival.

Colby Street was home to other bands too, like the "Golden Toad." In 1970, Joe Cooley, a famous Irish button accordion player, visited the house. This meeting started Sue's lifelong love for Irish music. She and others joined Cooley to play at the Harrington Bar in San Francisco, forming a band called "Gráinneog Céilidh." Years later, people would say Sue could play Irish folk music so well that she sounded like a "real-deal Sligo fiddler."

In 1970, Sue also played with musicians at Sweets Mill Music Camp. There, she performed with the legendary Delta blues guitarist Sam Chatmon in a group called the "California Sheiks." Some of their recordings from that time still exist today.

Sue's Time in the UK (1970s)

From late 1970 to early 1977, Sue Draheim lived in England. Her fiddle playing became very well known there. One music writer even called her one of the best musicians in the English folk-rock scene. She brought her knowledge of American folk music, which mixed well with the British folk-rock style.

In 1971, Sue started working with John Renbourn. She joined the John Renbourn Group and recorded the album Faro Annie in 1972. John Renbourn was very impressed by Sue's old West Clare style of playing, which she learned from Joe Cooley. He said he learned more about Irish music from Sue than he could have imagined. That same year, she also played on Henry the Human Fly, an album by Richard Thompson. She also helped produce Wizz Jones's album Right Now and recorded with Scottish folksinger Marc Ellington.

In 1972, Sue played her first live show with the then-new Albion Country Band. This band was known for mixing traditional British folk music with electric sounds. They appeared on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show, which helped new musicians get noticed. Sue also recorded with the Albion Country Band for the BBC radio show Top Gear. Another member of Albion, Steve Ashley, later called Sue "the great American fiddle player."

Sue didn't just stick to folk rock. In 1973, she recorded the album Solid Air with John Martyn. He was known for blending folk, jazz, rock, and blues. In 1973-1974, Sue played with the Albion Country Band again, backing up Steve Ashley on his first album Stroll On. Just before returning to the US in 1977, Sue recorded one more album with John Renbourn, called A Maid in Bedlam.

Back in the US (Late 1970s-1980s)

In late 1977, Sue returned to Oakland. She joined an all-women group called Any Old Time String Band. They recorded two albums, Any Old Time String Band and Ladies Choice. Both albums were later re-released together on one CD.

Sue was known for playing many different types of music. In the early 1980s, she recorded with various artists. These included Gwydion Pendderwen, who played pagan/wiccan music, the traditional Cajun and country group Delta Sisters, and Rory McNamara, who mixed Irish and American music.

Music in the 1990s

In 1995, Sue Draheim joined Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin, and Kathy Kallick on Kallick's album Use a Napkin (Not Your Mom). This album featured Appalachian-style songs for children.

In 1998, Sue worked with John Cohen, David Grisman, and Jody Stecher on songs for Stories the Crow Told Me. This was John Cohen's only album released without his band, The New Lost City Ramblers.

During the 1990s, many older recordings featuring Sue Draheim were re-released. These included several albums with John Renbourn from the 1970s.

Sue's Later Years (2000s)

In 1999, Sue joined Golden Bough, a group from Northern California that plays traditional Celtic folk music. She recorded two albums with them in 2000 and 2002. She left the group in 2001 but still played with them sometimes. In 2002, she also released an album with Craicmore, a modern Celtic band.

Sue then formed a duo called "Caliban" with mandolin player Lief Sorbye. This led to her joining the Oakland-based Celtic rock band Tempest, which Lief had started. She recorded two albums with Tempest. People praised Sue's work with Tempest, saying her fiddle playing added a "deeper" and "more relaxed dimension" to their sound. They said her "ultra-fluid fiddle lines" and "soft harmony vocals" brought balance. One reviewer said her fiddle playing was "exuberantly wild or exquisitely controlled" and that she made melodies "come alive."

In 2004, Sue and others founded a group called "Stuart Rosh and the Geniuses." They released the album Accept No Imitations. The group was led by Stuart Rojstaczer, a scientist, writer, and musician. He said Sue's "flowing fiddle lines and backup vocals" would lead to "musical bliss."

Later in 2004, Sue worked with young singer Michael Bannett. They made an album of songs from the British Isles from the 17th to early 20th centuries. Sue also reunited with Golden Bough in 2006 for a 25th anniversary concert, which resulted in another album. In 2009, Sue joined Hiss Golden Messenger, a band described as "alternative country" and "country rock," to record an album. Her last new recording was in 2011, a live album with blues singer Wayde Blair.

In her later years, Sue Draheim lived in Berea, Kentucky, with her partner Wayde Blair. She quickly became involved in the local music scene. She performed at Berea's Center for the Arts and with a contra dance group called "Sea Change."

When Sue was diagnosed with cancer in March 2013, Freight & Salvage in Berkeley held a special concert to honor her. Many musicians performed, including those she had played with throughout her career. Sue Draheim passed away on April 11, 2013, in Berea, Kentucky, at age 63.

Discography

• 1970     Blue Ridge Mountain Field Trip, (one track with Mac Benford & Buddy Pendleton), Leader LEA 4012 LP
• 1972     Berkeley Farms, (two tracks with Dr. Humbead's New Tranquility String Band), Folkways FA2436 LP
• 1972     Faro Annie, John Renbourn, Transatlantic MS2082 LP
• 1972     Henry The Human Fly, Richard Thompson, Carthage CGLP405 LP
• 1972     Right Now, Wizz Jones, CBS 64809 LP; Columbia 493337 CD
• 1972     Restoration, Marc Ellington, Philips 6308143 LP
• 1973     Solid Air, John Martyn, Island ILPS 9226 LP; reissued 2009 Universal Island Records IMCD 274/548147-2
• 1974     Stroll On, Steve Ashley, (one track recorded in November 1972 with The Albion Country Band), Gull GU1003 LP (UK); Gull GU6-401S1 LP (US, 1975)
• 1977     A Maid In Bedlam, John Renbourn Group, Transatlantic 0064.007 LP (1977); Shanachie 79004 LP (1987); Castle Music CMRCD991 CD (2004)
• 1978     Any Old Time String Band, Arhoolie 4009 LP
• 1980     Ladies Choice, Any Old Time, Bay 217 LP
• 1981     The Faerie Shaman, Gwydion (aka Gwydion Pendderwen), Nemeton NEM102 LP
• 1981     Music From The Old Timey Hotel, The Delta Sisters, Rooster 111 LP; Ubik UB24 CD
• 1984     Still Got That Look In His Eye, Rory McNamara, Kicking Mule KM323 LP
• 1993     Watching The Dark, Richard Thompson, Hannibal 5303 CD
• 1994     The Young Fogies, with Dr. Humbead’s New Tranquility String Band, Rounder Select 319 CD (original 1985 Heritage Records 056 LP)
• 1994     The Guv'nor Vol. 1, (playing with Albion), HTD Records HTDCD23 CD; Castle Music America CMACD519 CD; Transatlantic Records TRACD323 CD
• 1995     Use A Napkin (Not Your Mom), Kathy Kallick, Sugar Hill Records 3833 CD
• 1995     Sweet Little Mysteries: The Island Anthology, John Martyn, PolyGram Records 522245 CD
• 1995     The Guv'nor Vol. 2, (playing with Albion), HTD Records HTDCD29 CD; Castle Music America CMACD546 CD (1996)
• 1996     John Barleycorn, John Renbourn, Edsel Records EDCD472 CD
• 1996     I Bid You Goodnight, Any Old Time String Band, Arhoolie 433 CD
• 1996     Lost Sessions, John Renbourn, Edsel Records UK ED490 CD
• 1997     So Clear, John Renbourn, Recall SMD CD 152 CD
• 1998     Stories The Crow Told Me, John Cohen, Acoustic Disc 34 CD
• 1999     Stroll On Revisited, Steve Ashley, Market Square 104 CD
• 1999     Sam Chatmon 1970-1974, Sam Chatmon, Flyright Records FLY CD 63 CD
• 2000     Acoustic Disc 100% Handmade Music Vol. 5, with Jody Stecher & John Cohen, Acoustic Disc 40 CD
• 2000     The Best Of Richard And Linda Thompson: The Island Record Years, Richard Thompson, Island IMCD 270/542456-2
• 2000     Winters Dance, Golden Bough, Arc Music EUCD 1046 CD
• 2002     Songs Of Scotland, Golden Bough, Arc Music GB221 CD
• 2002     Too Bad For Heaven, Too Good For Hell, Craicmore, Kilts On Productions KOPC002 CD
• 2003     Shapeshifter, Tempest, Magna Carta MA-9066-2 CD
• 2004     Accept No Imitations, Stuart Rosh and The Geniuses, Winged Flight 1001 CD
• 2004     15th Anniversary Collection, Tempest, Magna Carta MA-1503-0 CD
• 2004     Journey Through The British Isles, Michael Bannett, Crescendo Music Productions 5637216606 CD
• 2006     Golden Bough Live: 25th Anniversary Reunion Concert, Golden Bough, Arc Music EUCD 2008 CD
• 2007     Lief's Birthday Bash, Tempest, Golden Bough, Caliban, Magna Carta MA-9093-2 CD
• 2008     Prime Cuts, Tempest, Magna Carta MA-1014-2 CD / DVD
• 2008     Berkeley In The 1960s, Dr. Humbead's New Tranquility String Band, Field Recorders Collective FRC609 CD(recorded 1970)
• 2009     50 Years: Where Do You Come From, Where Do You Go?, The New Lost City Ramblers, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings SFW40180 CD
• 2009     Country Hai East Cotton, Hiss Golden Messenger, Heaven & Earth Magic Recording Co
• 2009     So Far So Good, Rory McNamara, CD Baby 356607 CD
• 2009     Walking On A Wire 1968-2009, Richard Thompson, Shout! Factory 826663-11087 CD
• 2009     Meet On The Ledge: An Island Records Folk-Rock Anthology, John Martyn, Island 531 834-1 CD
• 2009     Old Time Music Collection, Volume 1, (with John Cohen & Jody Stecher), Acoustic Disc ACD-AO-50011 CD
• 2011     Live At The Art House, Wayde Blair, CD Baby 195982
• 2013     They Played For Us: Arhoolie Records 50th Anniversary Celebration, Arhoolie 540 CD