Mark Fosson

Songwriter and guitarist Mark Fosson grew up in Kentucky, where he began writing songs while he was still in his early teens. In the late '70s he sent some song demos to <a href="spotify:artist:4js8BDiQwnHLlDmT1shPH7">John Fahey</a>'s West Coast-based <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Takoma+Records%22">Takoma Records</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:4js8BDiQwnHLlDmT1shPH7">Fahey</a>, impressed with what he heard, offered Fosson a recording deal. Fosson lost no time in relocating to Los Angeles and began recording with <a href="spotify:artist:4js8BDiQwnHLlDmT1shPH7">Fahey</a>, but as bad luck would have it, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Takoma%22">Takoma</a> was in some difficulty, and the label soon folded. <a href="spotify:artist:4js8BDiQwnHLlDmT1shPH7">Fahey</a> allowed Fosson to retain the master tapes of the sessions, however. Located on the West Coast, Fosson met fellow songwriter Edward Tree, and the two began working together, eventually forming <a href="spotify:artist:2Wfjtm8YblHi7tJNzBPqxy">the Bum Steers</a>, a country-tinged group, in the late '80s. Fosson material appeared on several soundtracks throughout the '90s. In 2001 he began collaborating with singer/songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:7dJHaBYSrdSujAvterJnO4">Lisa O'Kane</a>, who recorded several of his songs, and he began recording a solo project, Jesus on a Greyhound, which was eventually released on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Big+Otis+Records%22">Big Otis Records</a> in 2005. The record drew positive reviews and Fosson was frequently compared to Americana artists like <a href="spotify:artist:6iuM8yp1x2N0l6SONhyq4b">Ramblin' Jack Elliott</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:388Y4nUQbYSyonhNlBEypT">Joe Ely</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0nJUwPwC9Ti4vvuJ0q3MfT">John Prine</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0Ekfvspc0hlcxdfJJVjcnq">Guy Clark</a>. The <a href="spotify:artist:4js8BDiQwnHLlDmT1shPH7">Fahey</a> material finally saw the light of day as The Lost Takoma Sessions from <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Drag+City+Records%22">Drag City Records</a> in 2006. Mark Fosson died after a bout with cancer on November 2, 2018. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi