The pioneering member of the Greenwich Village folk scene has passed away in a hospice facility at the age of 80 following struggle with prostate and bone cancer.
- June 1, 2021
AceShowbiz - Folk musician Patrick Sky has died.
The star, a pioneering member of the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s, passed away in a hospice in Asheville, North Carolina, reported Rolling Stone.
His wife, fellow musician and novelist Cathy Larson Sky, confirmed Sky's cause of death was prostate and bone cancer. He was 80.
The musician had previously been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2017.
Eric Andersen was among those who paid tribute to Sky - a contemporary of Bob Dylan and close friend of Buffy Sainte-Marie and Peter La Farge - in a post praising his "brilliant mind and insightful soul."
"Well, today's a big, big sad day for me personally and for all of us songwriter music lovers. The dark? Well, he finally got there…," he wrote in a statement on Facebook.
"Patrick Sky the songwriter, singer, and Irish Uilleann bagpipe luthier has left this world into the light from a hospice in Ashville, North Carolina, but didn't leave us for good. Songs are spirits and always remain behind."
Referencing Sky's enduring impact, Andersen also confirmed a long-held rumour, writing, "Heard the rumor just confirmed by your son Liam. Joni Mitchell's song 'Last Time I Saw Richard' on her album 'Blue' was of course about you."
Andersen also reminisced his time with the late musician, "Last time we were together was when we did a small concert together at a university and were interviewed by Jeff Place from the Smithsonian Institution. Afterwards, we retired to Pat and [his wife] Cathy's comfy mobile home and sat in the dark drinking beers wondering what happened with who and where did so and so go? Am still planning to record your great song 'Nectar of God.' "
