Talk:Jesse Winchester

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Canada/Amnesty[edit]

I attended Jesse Winchester's concert in Montreal last night (12/9/2006). Wonderful concert, but reading this article afterward I updated a few things. I changed the reference to him moving to CA "to protest the Vietnam war" and I removed him from the "war protester" catalog. In the concert Jesse referred to himself as "a draft dodger." and when a few audience members applauded this said "no, no, please don't," which would indicate to me that he wasn't exactly protesting the war.

I also added references to his having lived in Montreal, in the Eastern Townships, and (currently) in Virginia.

Did Jesse make use of the amnesty for persons avoiding the draft in order to come back to the US? 6/11/2008(TB)

Hmmm....good question, though a bit hard to know the answer. I think I recall some kind of reference to this either from some of his concert patter or in a review of one of his concerts, but can't remember the specifics. This would have been the amnesty declared by Gerald Ford (see "pardon of Nixon" section in Gerald Ford)) and finalized by Jimmy Carter

Here's a little research I just did. In summary, sounds like the amnesty allowed him to tour in the US, and he only decided to move there a few decades later.

There's this, from an interview he did with Bankrate.com (odd place for an interview with Jesses, don't you think?)

...Success was limited for Winchester, who was prevented from performing in the United States until President Jimmy Carter signed amnesty legislation in 1977. He made up for lost time by touring extensively throughout the 1980s until officially retiring from the stage in 1990.
In 1999 Winchester returned to the stage with a new album, "Gentleman of Leisure," and a rekindled love of performing. Three years later, he remarried and, for the first time in 36 years, returned to the United States to live. He and wife Cindy now reside in Charlottesville, Va.

Then there's this, from the Ticketmaster web site, which also calls him "The music world's most prominent Vietnam War draft-evader":

...he made a series of impressive albums -- Third Down, 110 to Go (August 1972), Learn to Love It (August 1974), Let the Rough Side Drag (June 1976), and Nothing but a Breeze (March 1977) -- before President Jimmy Carter instituted an amnesty that finally allowed him to play in his homeland."

Then there's this this tantalizing tidbit from the Toronto Star in 1999:

Although U.S. president JIMMY CARTER granted amnesty for draft dodgers in 1976, Winchester, who became a Canadian citizen in 1972, says he's reluctant to relocate.
"When I came to Canada, the bargain was that I'd avoid the war in Vietnam as long as I never came back," says Winchester. "So I said, okay, it's a deal. With that attitude, I was going to become a Canadian. When the amnesty happened, I had already had ten years of being a Canadian, raising a Canadian family. My life was in Montreal."
Today the twice-divorced father of three lives in Quebec's Eastern Townships, 120 km from Montreal.
"I like it where I am," he admits. "I'm not happy with our political situation, but I'm not sure if I'd be happy with the political situation anywhere.
"I like Quebec. I like speaking French. Speaking French makes me feel smart and creative."

All this plus the bio at the Encyclopedia of Music In Canada lead me to believe that JW was able to start touring in the US after the amnesty, but he didn't relocate for several decades.

--Russell (talk) 13:12, 14 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Name[edit]

I thought I should query the name "James Ridout Winchester" as I thought that was his father's name (see the dedication to 'Let the Rough Side Drag'. Is Jesse then actually James Ridout Winchester II? Ventadorn 23:07, 16 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In response to the James Ridout Winchester question, The Winchesters seem to have a family tradition of naming the firstborn son James Ridout and use Sr./Jr. as the designator .. so He is actually James Ridot Winchester Sr. given that his son has the same name (but he is called Jamie by friends and family). I also added the references to the Argonautes, Albert Grossman and Butch McDade along with some other minor updates including the road tour of Canada (In mid-winter, with the band stuffed into a Winnebago .. a story in itself). I'd also like to make the observation that there are sections of this Bio that simply reek of amateur psychoanalysis and doubt that it is called for in this venue. A little known fact: Although all the albums released by Jesse do give credits to the musicians who performed on them, there seems to be only one album (A Touch On The Rainy Side) that actually credits the ubiquitous background vocalists Calvin and Edward Fusty who have contributed to virtually every album he has released. There is quite a bit of additional information I can supply having known Jesse since the 60s and will get it in in the future. Sparqy 02:56, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Reports of his death[edit]

Nothing official yet, but Janis Ian has reported that Jesse Winchester has died on her Facebook page, and his is filled with condolence messages. Also, this article on Vintage Vinyl News.K8 fan (talk) 03:01, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Toronto Star has an article "Jesse Winchester clinging to life, despite reports of his death: booking agent". This is vivid proof of exactly why Twitter and Facebook are not considered reliable sources. Please, wait until information is confirmed by reliable media. K8 fan (talk) 14:38, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

albums and songs[edit]

Sad that WP has no details about Jesse Winchester albums and songs, such as "That's What Makes You Strong"!-96.233.20.34 (talk) 16:11, 2 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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Mississippi You're On My Mind[edit]

The second intro paragraph starts with "Winchester was best known as a songwriter. His works were recorded by many notable artists, including", and many good examples are listed." But I can't get over the omission of Jerry Jeff Walker's version of Winchester's Mississippi You're On My Mind. To me, that song makes the list as much as anything, and the song is never mentioned. In fact, no writing credits are shown, just his recordings. Jesse was prolific enough a writer that I think we should display a chart of covered songs and who covered them. Pb8bije6a7b6a3w (talk) 12:15, 27 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]