Eric Von Schmidt | en

Eric Von Schmidt (May 28, 1931 - February 2, 2007) was an American singer-songwriter associated with the folk/blues revival of the 1960s and a key part of the East Coast folk music scene included Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and others.

Von Schmidt is probably best known for not being the author of the song Baby, Let Me Follow You Down, which was for years a staple of Dylan's musical catalogue. Dylan's label, Columbia Records, credited Von Schmidt as the composer of the piece. Although he penned a book of the same name, Von Schmidt denied ([3]) the assertion made by the record label.

Four years before his death, Eric von Schmidt painted his last epic masterpiece of American history. The canvas’ subject was of Lewis and Clark's Corp of Discovery honoring its bicentennial. After completing that subject he continued his “Giants of the Blues” series of paintings. Both may be viewed at his official website, vonsworks.com (see links below).

Eric Von Schmidt's father, Harold Von Schmidt, was a painter of western landscapes who worked for The Saturday Evening Post.
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