The Jackdaw of the 70s was the creation of singer songwriter Wayne Drury, and included
Rob Anderson and Randall Crawford, periodically supported by Rob Mabee on fiddle and the odd nomadic musician passing through town.
Jackdaw was a regular fixture throughout a string of regional clubs and coffeehouses in those days, playing a variety of acoustic guitar-based songs, focusing on Wayne's collection of
original material.
THEN
From Barb Gifford, Wayne’s sister
In the early 1970s, three friends, Wayne Drury, Rob Anderson, and Randall Crawford
came together in Eugene, Oregon as the band Jackdaw. Their repertoire included
songs written by Wayne. He had no professional music training, but he created
wonderful melodies held together with stories of people and places: The Last Cowboy in Paris, Gas Station Girl, trainmen riding on the New York Central Line ...
In 1974, at 27, Wayne was diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis. Over time, it became increasingly difficult
for him to play or sing.
From Barb again
Some 35 years later in London, Rob unearthed old
Jackdaw tapes, was struck by how great the songs
still were and felt something should be done to save
them.With the help of several special musicians he
created The Wayne Drury Project – a complicated
labor of love – to perform and save Wayne’s music.
Wayne now lives in a nursing center, and although
he lost many precious things along the way, he
always keeps his tattered blue song folder within
arm's reach, labelled "Touch this an' you die."
(From a guy who probably never harmed an insect).
THE WAYNE DRURY PROJECT
Working with Wayne from afield, Rob and musicians
from London and the state of Washington performed four concerts as The Wayne Drury Project in London, September 2011 and a CD, 'Songs from The Saddlebag' was recorded. There were nine musicians contributing to the Project for the early London concerts. At the time it was imagined as a ‘one-off’ collaboration.
But the songs refused to fade away. Demand and enthusiasm has meant the core of the original Project continues to perform in the UK, and subsequently a sister Project was formed in the US.
With an initial complement of 22 musicians of all ages, The Wayne Drury Project USA sprang to life
with three sold out concerts in Oregon in November 2012 and continues to broadcast Wayne’s story
and music in the Northwest. Some of the London group were there and Wayne joined the band
onstage to sing several of his songs.
