Born Feb 28, 1939 in Takoma Park, Maryland, Fahey was an acoustic guitar pioneer, who has studied folklore and the techniques of the bluesmen.
He is the man who introduced the stream of consciousness into folk music, and turned folk music into classical music, and then made it cross the boundaries of western and eastern music. The spiritual father of the "american primitive guitar", Fahey turned the guitar solo into a metaphysical exercise. Set up his own Takoma Records in 1969, to release not only his own albums, but also Leo Kottke`s "6 & 12 String Guitar" (1971).
A serious disease began affecting his career in 1986 and eventually caused him to retire. City of Refuge (Tim Kerr, 1997) and Womblife (Table Of Elements, 1997) marked John Fahey's return, but it was a mixed blessing. Fahey had abandoned his progressive-folk style and converted to modern technology. He died in february 2001 at 62.