Pop Idol turned Ragtime Legend Ian Whitcomb has Died at 78

Ian Whitcomb, a consummate entertainer and storyteller who shared his gift in song, on the screen, on the page, and on the radio died on April 19th, he was 78. He had suffered a stroke in 2012 which kept him partially out of the action in recent years but he still made appearances and shared his deep love and knowledge of music wherever he could. A natural entertainer he started his first band as an eight year old in boarding school playing a comb pressed to tissue paper à la Red Mckenzie. By the late fifties he formed skiffle and rock bands as those trends developed in the UK, but he was already very interested in ragtime and early popular song. In 1961 he formed a band called The Ragtime Suwanee Six, which included his brother on drums. His big break came with a Dublin based Rhythm and Blues band called Bluesville that he helped found while at Trinity College. They released a series of singles, the second charting in the US and the third, "You Turn Me On" becoming a top ten hit.  That summer he toured the US with British Invasion bands including The Rolling Stones and The Kinks, returning to school in the fall to complete his degree in history. That interest in history immediately started presenting itself in his music. While he could have pursued a pop career he instead began to brin