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Arts & Entertainment

Leon Redbone

One of the most enjoyable Tin Pan Alley revivalists
we’ve ever come across, Leon Redbone also turned Bob Dylan’s head in the early
‘70s, about a year before he had a record deal. This led Rolling Stone to
feature him, and call his 1920s jazz and blues “so authentic, you can hear the
surface noise [of an old record].” His singing voice is a sort of old-timey
Southern voice, reminiscent of old blues tunes and vaudeville performers and his
character is unforgettable. Frequently seen on The Tonight Show with Johnny
Carson and Saturday Night Live, Redbone was launched onto the scene, earning a
giant following and recording more than 15 albums in his career. Known for his
mustache and vaudevillian get-up, Redbone has also been rumored to be an
alternative identity for Andy Kaufman or Frank Zappa, adding to the natural
mystique that already surrounds this travelling minstrel.

“Redbone
doesn't just dig up the past, he embodies it.” New York Times

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