Singer-Songwriter Leon Redbone Dead at 69
Leon Redbone has died. The enigmatic singer-songwriter, whose calling card was his appreciation for music of bygone eras (blues, ragtime, the Tin Pan Alley classics of the early 20th century) passed away earlier today, as The New York Times reports. He was 69 years old. (However, in a characteristically playful manner, a note posted on Redbone’s official website listed his age as 127 years old.)
An elusive figure throughout his life, Redbone was (likely) born Dickran Gobalian in Cyprus in 1949. He came into the public eye in the 1970s, when he won praise from Bob Dylan in the pages of Rolling Stone. Redbone’s quaint musical style paired with his consistent image—the sunglasses, the fedora, the mustache—won him fans, even as the decades rolled on. With a trademark vocal style that almost sounded as if it was parodying the timbre of singers past, he contributed to the theme songs of TV programs like “Mr. Belvedere” and dueted alongside Zooey Deschanel for the soundtrack to the now-beloved Christmas movie Elf.
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
