The Mayor of MacDougal Street

A Memoir

By: Dave Van Ronk, Elijah Wald

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Hear the memoir that served as inspiration for a major motion picture written and directed by the Coen brothers.

Dave Van Ronk was one of the founding figures of the 1960s folk revival, but he was far more than that. A pioneer of modern acoustic blues, a fine songwriter and arranger, a powerful singer, and one of the most influential guitarists of the ’60s, he was also a marvelous storyteller, a peerless musical historian, and one of the most quotable figures on the Village scene.

The Mayor of MacDougal Street is a firsthand account by a major player in the social and musical history of the ’50s and ’60s. It features encounters with young stars-to-be like Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and Joni Mitchell, as well as older luminaries like the Reverend Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Odetta. Colorful, hilarious, and engaging, The Mayor of MacDougal Street is a feast for anyone interested in the music, politics, and spirit of a revolutionary period in American culture.

©2005 Elijah Wald and Andrea Vuocolo (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“In Greenwich Village, Van Ronk was king of the street, he reigned supreme.” (Bob Dylan)

“A wise and very funny book.” ( The New Yorker)

“A hulking raconteur and iconoclast, [Van Ronk] fondly captures the spirit of the times.” ( Q)

The Era that I Missed

Even though there were two authors, it gave me an excellent insight into the folk song era of Greenwich Village through the eyes of the Mayor of McDougal St.

Dave

The first time I heard Dave was on a Phoenix underground radio station in 1971. I loved folk music then as now. The first impression was that this guy is the real thing and have, over the years, collected every piece of his that I could find. And I saw the movie. This book validates my original conclusion.

Informative and entertaining, surprisingly funny

Van Ronk had a bitingly sharp wit, and this collaborstive auto-biography is a great read.

Classic tale from the American Music Scene

Van Ronk is a critical piece in the tapestry of American Music. He was a student of American forms and a curator and caretaker of it at one of the inflection points in the history of American Music. He deserves to be celebrated and remembered. He is the primary inspiration for the Cohen Brothers’ film “Inside Llewyn Davis” and they did their job so well that hardly anyone knows that the film is even named after the album “Inside Dave Van Ronk.” His story is the story of the 99.9999% of people who have devoted their lives to perfecting their craft:

Little known, hardly remembered, small successes and no fame or fortune to speak of, but part of the “invisible college” of people who have vouchsafed our creative heritage to us. He would hate my nod to Carl Jung. Which is why I hope it would make him laugh the way his wit makes me laugh.

If I had wings like Noah’s dove….fare the well, Dave.

Overview of NYC folk music scene of '50's & 60's.

If you like folk music of the mid- to late 20th century, you'll probably enjoy this memoir, an insider's perspective of the folk music scene, mostly around Greenwich Village. Mention Dave Van Ronk to someone today and you are likely to get a blank stare. Van Ronk never was a superstar but was well known, especially among other folk singers. The narrative is first person, but this is more like an autobiography of his professional life than his personal life. For example, we learn that he was married twice, but you learn little more about his wives than their names. Wald has done a brilliant job editing the material left by Dave Van Ronk. In an epilogue by Wald, you can tell this was a labor of love.
Although the book was the inspiration for the Coen Brothers film "Inside Llewyn Davis," van Ronk differed in important ways from the character in the film. For example, Dave's first love was jazz, and he never abandoned it. Although he hitched a ride to Chicago and back once in hopes of playing at The Gate of Horn, there was never involved a jazz musician resembling Roland Turner nor the Kerouac-like driver/beat poet Johnny Five.