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On Wednesday, a trusted friend notified me that Rick Daly had died. I have waited to write this until Rick’s wife gave me permission. For those of you who don’t know the name, Rick provided a Forum Board for posting folk music news; he collected video and audio recordings of all things folk; he collected musical instruments; he collected friends. I first met Rick approximately forty years ago and remained in contact with him via email and phone, and would occasionally see him while performing in the Connecticut area. He once loaned me a guitar to use in concert so that I would be free of that additional baggage on an arduous tour. We would often laugh about some of the intimate Kingston Trio or Folk Legacy Trio details he would discover which I errantly emailed to him instead of Rick Dougherty, the result of a quick finger hitting “send” after the autofill feature took “rick…" and ran with it! In his career as a policeman Rick once performed CPR and saved the life of a gentleman, Dr. Eric Butterworh, whose books and tapes have helped guide and shape my Spiritual life.
Rick was a man of exceptional warmth, friendship, knowledge and kindness. He will be missed because he was one of the few go-to guys for folk music information. He will be missed because of his quick wit and laugh. He will be missed because of his willingness to research his vast library to discover an insignificant detail. He will be missed because he was a father and husband. But for me, he will be missed because he was, quite simply, Rick Daly.