Bonnie Dobson
{{Short description|Canadian folk music songwriter, singer, and guitarist (born 1940)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Bonnie Dobson
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| birth_name = Bonnie Dobson
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|11|13}}
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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| genre = Contemporary folk music
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| instrument = Vocals, guitar
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| label = Hornbeam
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Bonnie Dobson (born November 13, 1940, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada){{Cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bonnie-dobson-emc/|title=Bonnie Dobson|year=2007|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|publisher=Historica|access-date=November 30, 2016}}[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bonnie-dobson-mn0000072029/biography "Bonnie Dobson"]. AllMusic Biography by Richie Unterberger is a Canadian folk music songwriter, singer, and guitarist, most known in the 1960s for composing the songs "I'm Your Woman" and "Morning Dew". The latter, augmented by Tim Rose (with a controversial co-writing credit), became a melancholy folk rock standard that has been covered by numerous artists over the years.
Early life
Dobson was born in Toronto.Dick Weissman. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BZdXMAA4x78C&pg=PA100 Which Side Are You On?: An Inside History of the Folk Music Revival in America]. A&C Black; January 1, 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-8264-1914-9}}. p. 100–. Her father was a union organizer and opera lover. Her early music influences included Paul Robeson{{cite web|url=http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/etcetera/music/folk_revival_star_bonnie_dobson_on_taking_tea_with_bob_dylan_and_returning_to_the_stage_1_4484700|title=Folk revival star Bonnie Dobson on taking tea with Bob Dylan and returning to the stage|first=Liz|last=Thomson|website=Hamhigh.co.uk|access-date=December 14, 2017|archive-date=February 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210045734/http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/etcetera/music/folk_revival_star_bonnie_dobson_on_taking_tea_with_bob_dylan_and_returning_to_the_stage_1_4484700|url-status=dead}} and The Weavers.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/etcetera/music/folk_revival_star_bonnie_dobson_on_taking_tea_with_bob_dylan_and_returning_to_the_stage_1_4484700|title=Folk revival star Bonnie Dobson on taking tea with Bob Dylan and returning to the stage|last=Thomson|first=Liz|date=April 8, 2016|website=Hamhigh.co.uk|access-date=December 1, 2016|archive-date=February 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210045734/http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/etcetera/music/folk_revival_star_bonnie_dobson_on_taking_tea_with_bob_dylan_and_returning_to_the_stage_1_4484700|url-status=dead}}
Career
Dobson became part of the active folk-revival scene in Toronto, performing in local coffee houses and at the Mariposa Folk Festival. She later moved to the United States where she performed in coffee houses across the country[https://rhythms.com.au/bonnie-dobson-interview-iain-patience/ " Bonnie Dobson Interview"]. Rhythms, by Iain Patience, June 10, 2016 and recorded several albums, including 1962's Bonnie Dobson at Folk City, which contained her well-known song "Morning Dew".Jason Schneider. [https://books.google.com/books?id=c--zNXu1v74C&pg=RA1-PT150 Whispering Pines: The Northern Roots of American Music... from Hank Snow to the Band]. ECW Press; December 15, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-55490-552-2}}. p. 1–.
Dobson has consistently questioned Tim Rose's right to a co-writing credit for "Morning Dew" (stating that Rose first heard it as sung by Fred Neil), whose version appeared on his 1964 album Tear Down The Walls with Dobson credited as the composer.
After returning to Toronto in 1967 she continued to perform locally in coffee houses as well programs on the CBC. She married, and in 1969 moved to London, England, where she took up university studies and later became an administrator of the Philosophy Department at Birkbeck College, part of the University of London.
After retiring in the 1980s, Dobson returned to perform in 2007 in London with Jarvis Cocker; she released a new album in 2013 with the Hornbeam label and that year launched a number of concert dates.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jul/09/bonnie-dobson-review|title=Bonnie Dobson – review|last=Denselow|first=Robin|date=August 9, 2013|work=The Guardian|access-date=November 30, 2016}}
She performed with Combined Services Entertainment, and was one of the last performers at RAF Salalah, Oman.
Cover versions of "Morning Dew"
According to the website SecondHandSongs, "Morning Dew" has been covered by more than 70 artists, including several versions as recently as the early 2020's. Among those who have recorded the song are Fred Neil, Ralph McTell, Lulu, Nazareth, Grateful Dead, Jeff Beck Group, Robert Plant, Long John Baldry, DEVO, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Gregg Allman, Duane Allman, and Butch Trucks (of The Allman Brothers Band).
Discography
- 1961: Bonnie Dobson Sings 'She's Like a Swallow' and Other Folk Songs (Prestige International 13021; Prestige/Folklore Records 14015 [1963])
- 1962: Dear Companion (Prestige International 13031; Prestige/Folklore Records 14007 [1963])
- 1962: Bonnie Dobson at Folk City [live] (Prestige International 13057; Prestige/Folklore Records 14018 [1963]) (featuring "Morning Dew")
- 1964: Bonnie Dobson Sings a Merry-Go-Round of Children's Songs (Prestige International 13064)
- 1964: Hootenanny with Bonnie Dobson (Prestige Folklore 14018)
- 1964: For the Love of Him (Mercury MG-20987/SR-60987)
- 1969: Bonnie Dobson (RCA Victor LSP-4219) (I Got Stung #82 CanPop / #7 CanCon - August 1969)
- 1970: Good Morning Rain (RCA Victor LSP-4277) (Good Morning Rain - recommended CanCon May 1970)
- 1972: Bonnie Dobson (Argo [UK] Records ZFB 79) (featuring "Land of the Silver Birch")
- 1976: Morning Dew (Polydor [UK] Records 2383 400)
- 2014: Take Me for a Walk in the Morning Dew (Hornbeam [UK] Records HBR 0003)
References
{{Reflist}}
External Links
- [https://canadianbands.com/bonnie-dobson/ CanConRox entry]
- {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p38434|label=Bonnie Dobson}}
- {{Discogs artist|Bonnie Dobson}}
- [http://www.wirz.de/music/dobson.htm Illustrated Bonnie Dobson discography]
- [http://www.bonniedobson.net/ Bonnie Dobson's official website]
- [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bonnie-dobson-emc Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca]
- {{imdb name|1366808}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Bonnie}}
Category:Canadian expatriates in the United States
Category:Canadian women singer-songwriters
Category:Canadian folk guitarists
Category:Canadian folk singer-songwriters