Bob Dylan Acknowledges his New York Father before a packed house at MSG in 1975
Bob Dylan was busy in the Summer and Fall of 1975. He was spending a lot of time in Greenwich Village and surrounds.
🎼He was recording the Desire album and assembling the troops for the Rolling Thunder tour. This is a snippet of the Gerde's Folk City doc pointing just how important Mike Porco was to Bob Dylan.The first leg of the Rolling Thunder Tour culminated in a benefit concert for framed-boxer Reuben 'Hurricane' Carter at the World's Most Famous Arena. Mike was there to the delight of Dylan.
They had both come a long way from Dylan's first weeks in NYC in 1961 when Mike sponsored Dylan's Union and Cabaret cards as his PARENTAL GUARDIAN. AND Mike gave Bobby a little red wine and roast beef. Not a bad deal.
The Italian immigrant found himself on the stage at Madison Square Garden with all of his famous friends.
🚨The GerdesFolkCityDoc is a SUBSCRIPTION ONLY VIDEO.🚨 Subscribe for free to get free content. Pay for a subscription to get access to the Folk City documentary.
Help me gain 600 new subscribers so the unbelievable tale of Mike Porco can be told🎥🏆🍿🎼🍿🏆🌎🤌🏼 This link will take you directly to the post with the GerdesFolkCityDoc🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼👇🏽 🙏 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 https://bobporco86.substack.com/p/documentary-on-mike-porcos-folk-music
My brother, Hank Blair, knew Michael Mann and spent a lot of time with him. Hank wrote about Mann in his journal. He mentioned what a great guitar player Michael Mann was. Like Mann, my brother also played the Greenwich Village scene but arrived a little later in 1965 - 66. Hank was a very troubled individual. He drank excessively and wandered the Village... once in central park, screaming songs all night into the morning hours, on guitar and harmonica. Hank wrote songs also. He was a very good artist. He came to his own as a visual artist moreso than with music. He made a record in one of the area indie companies. Judging from Hank's writings, he and Mann hung out together and jammed a lot. Hank also met Bob Dylan. In Hank's journal, he wrote about a time when he was having an episode of hearing voices and having paranoid delusions. Bob drove him to the hospital, which was a very kind thing for him to do, especially during his busy career and rise to fame at that time. Anyway, that's only part of the story. There's much about Michael Mann and Hank Blair that I'll never know, because much detail was left out. Hank wrote a lot more in his journal about the many people he met and hung out with. Hank also went by several monikers, such as "Richard Dean", "Byrdman", and "Wizard Hank". My brother ran away and disappeared many times in his life to escape the pressures of his tormented mind. Right now, I'm trying to find out what happened to Hank. The last time he was seen was in Kalamazoo Michigan, 1977. My parents never filed a missing person's report on Hank. I assumed they did because of all the worry and effort all the adults in my family put into locating him. Last year, (2024 August) I filed a missing person's report w/ the state police of Michigan and gave them a DNA sample to match for any possible remains that could be found on Hank. I've also written a book about my life and times, and it comprises the story of my brother and my time with him.
ReplyDeleteWe were very close, but our time was cut short by the circumstances I describe. I think my father may have murdered Hank. In my father's mind it was a mercy kill, and indeed Hank suffered tremendously from schizophrenia. My father also had PTSD. It's a very involved very strange story of abuse and trauma. There's much more to my story in my personal life as well, with my conversion and life experiences, soon to be published in my book. If anyone ever met my brother, please let me know. My email is blairs67@yahoo.com. Thanks and God bless! - Kevin
Here is a link posted to inform the public of Hank's dissappearence:
https://websleuths.com/threads/mi-henry-stirling-blair-iii-32-kalamazoo-12-august-1977.733871/ Also type in Hank Blair NAMUS. It will lead to other links. I'm also a musician and artist inspired by the music and art of that period. If one is interested, here is a link to my rumble and YouTube sites: https://rumble.com/register/Hooldans761 /
https://youtube.com/@thespanky007?si=ysqzoA51JTLpNNy3 / https://rumble.com/c/PsychoBlossomFalloutShelter / https://rumble.com/v33ffgx-double-blind-sea-change-deception-by-kevin-blair.html.
Out In this sea of mass robotic ai strangeness, I'm searching to connect with any surviving like-minds and hearts who love the Good Lord! Kevin.
PS. Does anyone know of any recordings or phonograph records of Hank Blair or Mike Mann? Or maybe both in a band?