Dick Rosmini
Encyclopedia
Dick Rosmini was an American
guitarist
, at one time considered the best 12-string guitarist in the world. He was best known for his role in the American "folk revival
" of the 1960s. He died September 9, 1995 of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
at the age of 59.
His album Adventures for 12 string, 6 string, and banjo, predates much of John Fahey
and Leo Kottke
and other American Primitivism
guitarists, which Kottke cited as an early influence. Rosmini was also a noted banjo
player. In 1978 he wrote a booklet on multitrack recording
called TEAC Multitrack Primer.
Rosmini had already appeared as a sideman
with Bob Gibson
at Chicago's Gate of Horn
; with Art Podell & Paul Potash at New York's Cafe Wha?
; as soloist and singer at Los Angele's Ash Grove
; with Barbara Dane
in a concert tour with Bob Newhart
; and in association with Pernell Roberts
in Bonanza
.
Rosmini continued his career in music as a sideman
on numerous folk albums, including Bob Gibson
, Eric Weissberg
, Dave Van Ronk
and others before leaving music to pursue a career in photography.
He subsequently taught recording for over a decade at the University of Southern California and had a hand in the evolution of motion
picture sound into its present day form.
His constant
fight to make audio electronics accessible to musicians led to his development
of many of Tascam
's multitrack and portable multitrack recorders and
mixers.
He was a consultant to JBL
on the monumental musical instrument transducer K-series 120 and 130, whose sound is the sound of popular music itself. He codesigned JBL studio monitors and participated in their integration into Hollywood's top studios.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, at one time considered the best 12-string guitarist in the world. He was best known for his role in the American "folk revival
Roots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...
" of the 1960s. He died September 9, 1995 of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
at the age of 59.
His album Adventures for 12 string, 6 string, and banjo, predates much of John Fahey
John Fahey (musician)
John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...
and Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke
Leo Kottke is an acoustic guitarist. He is widely known for his innovative fingerpicking style, which draws on influences from blues, jazz, and folk music, and his syncopated, polyphonic melodies...
and other American Primitivism
American Primitivism
American Primitivism, also known as American Primitive Guitar, is the music genre started by John Fahey in the late 1950s. Fahey composed and recorded avant-garde/neo-classical compositions using traditional country blues fingerpicking techniques, which had previously been used primarily to...
guitarists, which Kottke cited as an early influence. Rosmini was also a noted banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player. In 1978 he wrote a booklet on multitrack recording
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
called TEAC Multitrack Primer.
Rosmini had already appeared as a sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
with Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
at Chicago's Gate of Horn
Gate of Horn
For writings, including the Greek myth involving a "Gate of horn", see Gates of horn and ivory.The Gate of Horn was a 100-seatfolk music club, located in the basement of the Rice Hotel on the southeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Dearborn Street, on the near north side of Chicago, Illinois, in the...
; with Art Podell & Paul Potash at New York's Cafe Wha?
Cafe Wha?
Cafe Wha? is a club in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, New York City that has been home to various musicians and comedians. Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, The Velvet Underground, Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys, Kool and the Gang, Peter, Paul & Mary, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Joan...
; as soloist and singer at Los Angele's Ash Grove
Ash Grove (music club)
The Ash Grove was a folk music club located at 8162 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, founded in 1958 by Ed Pearl and named after the Welsh folk song, "The Ash Grove."...
; with Barbara Dane
Barbara Dane
Barbara Dane is an American folk, blues, and jazz singer.-Early life:Barbara Dane's parents arrived in Detroit from Arkansas in the 1920s. Out of high school, Dane began to sing regularly at demonstrations for racial equality and economic justice. While still in her teens, she sat in with bands...
in a concert tour with Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
; and in association with Pernell Roberts
Pernell Roberts
Pernell Elvin Roberts, Jr. was an American stage, movie and television actor, as well as a singer. In addition to guest starring in over 60 television series, he was widely known for his roles as Ben Cartwright's eldest son, Adam Cartwright, on the western series Bonanza, a role he played from...
in Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
.
Rosmini continued his career in music as a sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
on numerous folk albums, including Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson (musician)
Samuel Robert Gibson was a folk singer who led a folk music revival in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was known for playing both the banjo and the 12-string guitar. He introduced a then largely unknown Joan Baez at the Newport Folk Festival of 1959. He produced a number of LPs in the decade...
, Eric Weissberg
Eric Weissberg
Eric Weissberg is an American banjo player, best known for the theme from the movie Deliverance.-Biography:Eric Weissberg went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, then the Juilliard School of Music. He joined an early version of the Greenbriar Boys , but left before they made any recordings....
, Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
and others before leaving music to pursue a career in photography.
He subsequently taught recording for over a decade at the University of Southern California and had a hand in the evolution of motion
picture sound into its present day form.
His constant
fight to make audio electronics accessible to musicians led to his development
of many of Tascam
TASCAM
TASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation, headquartered in Montebello, California. Tascam is credited as the inventor of the Portastudio, the first cassette-based multi-track home studio recorders. Tascam also introduced the first low-cost mass produced multitrack recorders...
's multitrack and portable multitrack recorders and
mixers.
He was a consultant to JBL
JBL
JBL is an American audio electronics company currently owned by Harman International. It was founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing. Their primary products are loudspeakers and associated electronics. There are two independent divisions within the company — JBL Consumer and JBL Professional...
on the monumental musical instrument transducer K-series 120 and 130, whose sound is the sound of popular music itself. He codesigned JBL studio monitors and participated in their integration into Hollywood's top studios.
Discography
- 1964: Adventures for 12-String, 6-String and BanjoAdventures for 12-String, 6-String and BanjoAdventures for 12 string, 6 string and banjo is an album by American folk guitarist Dick Rosmini, released in 1964. It is out of print in LP format, appears never to have been released in CD format, and has been available as an MP3 download since October 5, 2010 .-History:Rosmini is best known for...
(ElektraElektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
) - 1969: A Genuine RosminiA Genuine RosminiA Genuine Rosmini is the second album by American folk guitarist Dick Rosmini, released in 1969. It is out of print but in circulation as a second-hand LP....
(Imperial) - 1973: Sessions (JBL)
- 1974: Home Made with Teac
Soundtracks
- 1976: Original Soundtrack Recording from the Paramount Motion Picture LeadbellyLeadbelly (film)Leadbelly is a 1976 film chronicling the life of folk singer Huddie William Ledbetter . The film was directed by Gordon Parks, and starred Roger E. Mosley in the title role...
- 1979: Original Soundtrack Recording from the United Artists Motion Picture The Black StallionThe Black Stallion (film)The Black Stallion is a 1979 American film based on the 1941 classic children's novel The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. It tells the story of Alec Ramsey, who is shipwrecked on a desert island, together with a wild Arabian stallion whom he befriends...
With others
- 1957: I Come For To Sing, Bob Gibson
- 1958: There's a Meetin' Here Tonight, Bob Gibson
- 1960: Songs Of Earth And Sky, Art and Paul
- 1961: Hangin', Drinkin' And Stuff Art and Paul
- 1961: Van Ronk SingsVan Ronk SingsVan Ronk Sings was an album by American folksinger Dave Van Ronk, released in 1961.It was also released on LP as Dave Van Ronk Sings the Blues and Dave Van Ronk Sings Earthy Ballads and Blues...
, Dave Van Ronk - 1963: Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies, Pernell RobertsPernell RobertsPernell Elvin Roberts, Jr. was an American stage, movie and television actor, as well as a singer. In addition to guest starring in over 60 television series, he was widely known for his roles as Ben Cartwright's eldest son, Adam Cartwright, on the western series Bonanza, a role he played from...
- 1964: A Folksinger’s Choice, Theodore BikelTheodore BikelTheodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
- 1964: Changes, Modern Folk QuartetModern Folk QuartetThe Modern Folk Quartet recorded two albums of folk revival music in the early 1960s, with an emphasis on group harmonies, and have subsequently re-formed more than once and made further recordings....
- 1967: Steve Gillette, Steve Gillette
- 1968: Song CycleSong Cycle (album)Song Cycle is a 1967 album by Van Dyke Parks that encompasses a number of genres, including psychedelic, folk, baroque, and experimental rock and pop. The release was Parks' debut album, and was produced by future Dreamworks Records co-founder Lenny Waronker.The album's material explores...
, Van Dyke ParksVan Dyke ParksVan Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile.... - 1969: Greatest Hits, Phil OchsPhil OchsPhilip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
- 1969: Bob Gibson, Bob Gibson
- 1970: To Be Free, Jackie DeShannonJackie DeShannonJackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period.- Life and early career :...
- 1970: California Stop Over, Johnny Darrell
- 1970: Ivan the Ice Cream Man, Ivan UlzIvan UlzIvan Ulz is an American songwriter.-History:After writing and recording his first song, A Letter to Hayley in 1962, Ulz decided to pursue a songwriting career...
- 1971: Sweet Country Suite, Larry Murray
- 1971: Songs, Paul Parrish
- 1971: Cyrus, Cyrus FaryarCyrus FaryarCyrus Faryar is an American folk musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was active in musical, theatrical, and performance events in high school. After graduating from high school and attending college, he became involved in the entertainment industry, opening the first coffee house in...
- 1971: Songs, Jackie DeShannonJackie DeShannonJackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period.- Life and early career :...
- 1972: Let's Spend the Night Together, Claudine LongetClaudine LongetClaudine Georgette Longet is a French singer and recording artist who was popular during the 1960s and 1970s. She is also an actress and a dancer.Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to pop singer Andy Williams from 1961 until 1975...
- 1972: Malvina, Malvina ReynoldsMalvina ReynoldsMalvina Reynolds was an American folk/blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her song-writing, particularly the songs "Little Boxes" and "Morningtown Ride".-Early life:...
- 1973: Duelin' Banjo, Doug Dillard
- 1973: Islands, Cyrus Faryar
- 1974: Digby Richards, Digby Richards
- 1974: Richard Ruskin, Rick Ruskin
- 1974: You Don't Need a Reason to Sing, Doug Dillard
- 1975: Microphone Fever, Rick Ruskin
- 1975: Southbound, Hoyt AxtonHoyt AxtonHoyt Wayne Axton was an American country music singer-songwriter, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting efforts became well...
- 1977: Six String Conspiracy, Rick Ruskin
- 1977: Roadsongs, Hoyt AxtonHoyt AxtonHoyt Wayne Axton was an American country music singer-songwriter, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting efforts became well...
- 1977: More Rod '77, Rod McKuenRod McKuenRod McKuen is an American poet, songwriter, composer, and singer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks, and classical music...