Dan Hicks

[Greg Rappleye]

Originally Posted by riverrummed

I last got to see Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks about three or four years ago at a summer concert in Mt. Crested Butte, Colorado. He, and they, were (still) great. He was the epitome of musical acceptance of those long ago times. One minute you'd be listening to Led Zeppelin, then it would be CSN, then someone would put on the Moody Blues, then it would be Commander Cody and The Lost Planet Airmen and then maybe Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks just for grins. How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away? Well, now we can miss him. Rest in peace Dan and thanks for all the great music.

Did we go to college together? This was almost exactly my experience as well.

Rest in Peace, Dan Hicks. You will be missed.

Greg Rappleye

[StephenHD35]

I saw him a couple of times back in the 70's. Always entertaining, and always musically interesting, I thought. RIP.

[Tone Monster]

I still drink my coffee black and am waiting for the last train to Hickville.

RIP Dan

[Don W]

One of my favorites ...another one gone...RIP

[riverrummed]

Greg Rappleye-Not unless you were in Gunnison, CO. I scare myself.

[nedray]

In Feb 1972 I was hitchhiking from Alexandria, MN to Estes Park, CO, and had spent the second night of the trip walking around Cheyenne WY because it was illegal to hitchhike in CO. Our friend coming from Estes Park to pick us up got lost and the two of us hikers ended up wandering in and out of a local western-themed diner all night long. The proprietors were more patient than we would have expected in tolerating a couple of longhairs with little money taking up space in their establishment.

Our friend finally found us about 6 in the morning and, as we rode in his pickup truck through the Rocky Mountain foothills, the stereo in his truck was playing Dan Hicks, John Hartford's AreoPlain and Dyan's Nashville Skyline album. I'd never heard any of them and my ears and mind were opened to all the fabulous stuff we didn't hear on top 40 radio, or even the late night "underground" FM station out of Little Rock that we had discovered in the recent years.

I became a lifelong fan of Dan Hicks, though I never knew a lot about him. A quirky performer for his time, he also seemed to be a troubled soul who struggled with alcohol and drugs, and was capable of spreading dissension around him. His output seemed to peak around the mid 70s and he wasn't much heard from until about the mid-90s when he released "Beatin the Heat," which was great in its own right. He seemed to mellow and become more productive in his later years, but apparently the damage was done.

Anyway, Dan was a smallish, but important part of my life soundtrack. Another one gone--RIP. He's moving' down the river...

[jaymarsch]

I also have fond memories of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. Having lived in the SF Bay Area for over 40 years, I have heard him play live on any number of occasions. Always a great show. He will be missed.

Best,
Jayne

[drive-south]

My old roommate turned me on to Dan Hicks back in the late 70s. I've been a fan ever since. I've covered Cowboys Dream #19, Payday, and Walking 1 & only.

[Taylorplayer]

My brother Bern turned me to to him and his group in the early 70's... He had a unique style... So many good ones are now gone.

[Old9600]

What a talented guy with a great sense of humor! I have played in two acoustic bands in my life and both did Hicks tunes