Musician Leon Redbone dies at 69; family jokes that he was 127, page 1

Leon Redbone crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127. He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover, and a simple tip of his hat.”

-Family announcement of his death

Leon Redbone, the acclaimed singer and guitarist who performed jazz, ragtime and Tin Pan Alley-style songs, died Thursday, according to a statement released by his family. He was 69.

No details about his death were provided.

He released his debut album, “On the Track,” in 1975, and dropped 16 albums throughout his career.

Most often dressed in a white suit with a string tie, wearing glasses and a panama hat, Redbone performed twice on “Saturday Night Live” in its first season (1975-1976) and was a frequent guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

He voiced Leon the Snowman in the 2003 Christmas comedy “Elf,” starring Will Ferrell, and sang “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” a duet with Zooey Deschanel, for the film.

Redbone also sang the theme song for the TV series “Mr. Belvedere” and “Harry and the Hendersons.”

A 16-minute documentary about his life aptly titled “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone” was released last year.

Chicago-Suntimes.com, May 30, 2019 - Musician Leon Redbone dies at 69; family jokes that he was 127.

I watched SNL when it first came out. I remember wondering, "who heck that dude in the suit is... he is really good!" Being a blues fan has its moments! Like knowing who Robert Johnson is, or that Midnight Special was not written by Creedence Clearwater Revival but was a common song about a train (always about a train! hehe) basically "shining a light at the end of the tunnel" to prisoners as it did the midnight run in Texas (to Houston, I think), these little historical notes marks one as more than just a casual listener.

You could tell this guy was a master.

And as they said, his talent passed through very similar styles of music from the early 20th Century. Always a pleasure to listen to and will be missed!

RIP Leon Redbone.

YouTube - Leon Redbone on Johnny Carson, Some Of These Days

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PS - Hope this works. UTube being blocked through normal browser access. I guess I can only watch State Sponsored Media now!