Topic: Our friend Jerry Ricks

[Rivers]

From Nancy:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your support and concern for Jerry through this time.
 It's impossible for me to write as personally as I'd like, I can't
keep up, but in the interest to inform those who really do care about
him, here is a summay of his condition this past month...

Jerry had made progress and then a big setback, seemingly at every
stage.  He is still in Hospital, it's three months now, he's been
tranferred back and forth between Rijeka and Susak, depending on the
Department of prioriy at the time.  One month ago he had an epaleptic
seizure for which he remains on a seizure-preventive medicine.  They
say it occurs sometimes after brain surgery.  Some days later his
intestines lost strength again, but he recovered and was eating
regularly again.  He had scan tests which showed everything had cleared
in his brain, so after 57 days of antibiotic treatment for this (4 to 6
weeks is "normal") it was stopped.  A week later scans showed a
recurrence of edema (fluid) in the brain, a few days later he became
non-responsive, a new MRI showed a new abcsess had begun to form, last
Friday they operated to remove this, and the fluid and any other
infected tissue they could find.  There were no complications from the
operation, the surgeon said, I saw Jerry that evening and was suprised
how well he looked.  He was conscious, smiled, tried to talk, then out
to sleep.  The same for the next day, and he sipped some tea.  Sunday
he was "out of it" and Monday he was nonresponsive again.  They
transfered him to ICU for therapy.  He got blood for anemia again,
oxygen, has sepsus infection, hypoxia, and low cell production and he's
in a "light coma".  At midday today the Doctor said he had been "half
conscious", opened his eyes and clenched his hand, he said this was
very good, but Jerry was "out" when I saw him at visiting time this
afternoon.  They're watching him so closely, it's a very controlled
environment now.

We hope and pray for his recovery...
Peace,
Nancy

[Rivers]

Two messages from Larry today, the first was pretty depressing. Here's the second. God please give Jerry the strength to pull through this.

11/29 2:24 PM
Just in from Nancy:

"Dear Larry,

Just a quick note here to let you know that Jerry opened his eyes A LOT
today, I was shocked!!  And he moved his eyebrows once for the first
time!  They did a procedure today, they cut a hole in his neck and put
in a tube for air, so he can breath on his own.  (He wasn't able to do
this without the mask...)  They'll leave it in for maybe 15 days, until
he can manage on his own.  So, there's a big change for today!  Just
wanted to let you know.

Much Love,
Nancy"

I will continue to keep you updated and..
>>
>> Remember! Please send donations to:
>>
>> \\The "Philadelphia" Jerry Ricks Assistance Fund
>>>>>         Bank of America
>>>>          100 Federal Street
>>>>          Boston, Ma 02110
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Larry Hoffman
>>
>> http://www.myspace.com/lawrencehoffman

[Stefan Wirz]

just got an e-mail as follows - - - Real sad news:

Dear Mr. Wirz,
This e-mail to let you know that blues legend "Philadelphia" Jerry Ricks passed away this morning at 10 am in Rijeka, Croatia.
Sadly yours,
Jean Ghislain
December 10, 2007

[BluesSlave]

Rest in peace.

[lindy]

I have a 12-year-old guitar student. Last Friday I taught him how to play "Turn Your Money Green," which I learned from Jerry Ricks in the schoolhouse at PT. I don't know this for a fact, but I will nevertheless believe that he learned it from Furry Lewis back in his Philly coffee house booking days. I'll ask my student to pass the song down to another player when he grows up.

Thank you, Jerry.

[Bunker Hill]

R.I.P

Thankfully, there's a fairly substantial recorded legacy. Perhaps those long out of catalogue will eventually see CD reissue:

http://www.wirz.de/music/ricksfrm.htm

[Johnm]

I'm very sorry to hear of Jerry's passing.  He was truly one of a kind.  My condolences and best wishes go out to Nancy and his family.
Johnm

[Rivers]

This is so sad. Rest in peace Jerry, I so wanted to meet up with you again in this life. Jerry kind of took me under his wing at Port T in 1997, inviting me over to Cephas's house on Monday night to pick with him and a very nice gentleman named John Miller  . After the shock had worn off I ran and got my guitar, cutting my left index finger badly in the process on broken glass. Well actually it was a wine bottle I'd dropped in my haste... I made a crude bandage which stopped me bleeding over everything, and found the house. We sat and played and talked, played some more, laughed a lot, drank a little wine.

This was pre-weenie, but sure enough several of the future weenies searched us out and so began one of those humongous musical house parties, and there were several more that week. At the end of the week in the cafeteria over breakfast I asked Jerry if he could help me with I Will Turn Your Money Green as I didn't get the timing. He borrowed a guitar and we went next door and he took me through it. Suffice to say about a dozen people turned up, I nailed the song, and Jerry held court telling outrageous stories for two hours. 

Here is Larry's email this morning, apologies for not posting from work:

From: Nancy Klein
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:25:09 -0800 (PST)
To: larry
Subject: Jerry Ricks, Rest In Peace

It is with great sadness I tell you of the passing of our beloved Jerry
Ricks, 10:05 this morning in hospital, Rijeka, Croatia.  He will be
missed tremendously by all those who loved him, and for the joy he
brought to so many around the world through his own style of Blues.

With Love,
Nancy


ps: Larry, of all times, now I'm having internet signal problems (it
doesn't work sometimes), I'll try again soon to access my yahoo address
book for more mailings.  Try to get the news out please, thanks so
much...

From Rivers: Here's a shot I took outside 204 before we went to Cephas's house:

[uncle bud]

Very sad news. My last memory of Jerry is much as he is in the great photo Rivers posted above: t-shirt, jacket, hat and a big smile. He was standing outside the Bricks building at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, glass of wine in hand, telling stories, cracking jokes and sharing some tall-sounding tales. He was a hoot, a mentor to many and will be missed.

[waxwing]

So sad.

Jerry was my first teacher at PT. I remember on the second day a fellow had dropped in and the class was going through a progression Jerry had taught the day before. One fellow who had dropped in that day went to a V7 turnaround and Jerry said, "Uh uhh! Not in the Delta!" cracking everybody up.

Thanks Jerry.

John C.

[frankie]

Here's a link to an article in the Philadelphia Enquirer:

He brought the Delta blues to players, audiences here

I didn't know Jerry very well - Ari knew him much better.  We went once to see him at a little music store in Jenkintown maybe about 10 years ago.  Jerry showed up - "Oh...  am I playing a gig?"  He played beautifully and told great stories.  Except for meeting him at Port Townsend a couple of years later, I never saw him again.  Nevertheless, this is extremely sad news to me.  Rest easy, Jerry.

[dj]

I never met Jerry, and unfortunately am not too familiar with his music.  Ninety percent of what I know of him, I've learned from the quotes that show up at the tops of the various Weenie pages.  But I love those quotes!  I can't help but feel that I would have really liked Jerry, had  met him.
   

[Rivers]

We're all feeling pretty sad around weenie mansions right now. But it's leavened by memories of Jerry effortlessly inspiring, guiding, influencing, educating, making us think and laugh until we hurt. There can be no doubt Jerry was and will remain a unique force. Please continue to post your remembrances of our friend.

The fact is, if you had asked me a few short months ago who I thought would be the least likely person to be taken from us so suddenly Jerry would have been right up there. Jerry exuded life, I think because he had lived through so much, probably much more than I know, and yet somehow came out enjoying it so much.

After a few days of subconsciously studying Jerry I took on board that his reaction to just about anything was never really predictable. There would be some new angle, something I hadn't seen or didn't really understand, and often with a humorous twist.

After his set at Port T in 97 I ambled up to him outside the balloon hanger and congratulated him on his performance. He said "Was it OK?" I said "You nailed it man". I asked him if he'd been nervous playing to such a large venue. He said something like: "Nah. I just imagine I'm playing in my living room, and all these people are my invited guests. If they don't like it they can always leave", and chuckled in that good natured way he had. This advice has stood me in good stead ever since!

[RobBob]

Thought I'd pass this along:

Blues Guitarist Jerry Ricks Dies
Mon Dec 10, 4:07 PM EST

ZAGREB, Croatia ?

American blues guitarist "Philadelphia" Jerry Ricks, who mastered the sound of the 1930s' Delta Blues, died in a clinic in Croatia on Monday. He was 67.

Ricks learned from and performed with blues greats such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Lightnin' Hopkins.

He and his wife, Nancy, moved to Croatia this year after performing a concert in the country. His death was announced by the Croatian Music Union, which said he had been hospitalized in August after a stroke.

Ricks was born in Philadelphia and began playing guitar in the coffee house where he washed dishes.

He played throughout Europe in the 1970s and 1980s, recording albums in Germany, Hungary and Yugoslavia. In the 1990s, he returned to the United States to live in the Mississippi Delta, before deciding this year to move to Kastav, Croatia.

Funeral arrangements were not immediately made public.

[uncle bud]

Here's some video of Jerry from Rijeka, Croatia:





And here's a nice long clip with two songs recorded in Hungary: