Well, damn it. I just learned of the passing of Happy Traum. And yes, some of the first things I learned were out of Happy's column in Frets or from his fingerpicking book, the one with Sam Chatmon on the cover.
And one of my favorite tracks on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Volume II, the second LP I ever bought with my own money, had Happy playing and singing harmony on
it.
But I also spent time with Happy – not a lot, and not more than a handful of times, but enough to know what a lovely, kind, funny and self-effacing man he was. And talented – more than capable of being remembered for his performing abilities alone.
Finally, as I'm writing this, I'm away on a trip with my family, and yet my lesson materials continue to be available to my guitar students – and to many more students than I could ever manage to
meet with in a given week, even if they all lived nearby enough for private lessons, which of course they don't.
As far as I can tell, Happy and his wife Jane invented that idea, and even if they didn't, they perfected it. So I also have Happy to thank for making my present livelihood possible.
The last time I spoke with him was maybe a couple of years ago. I think I hit his number in my phone by mistake and hung up, a little mortified. But then,
seeing my number come up, he called me back, and we had a delightful time catching up, mostly about what our various kids were up to; I don't think music or guitars even really came up.
What a mensch. I'll truly miss him.