Mimi Farina was Joan Baez’s sister. Richard was quite a character – a complete rebel. He’d gone off to Cuba to fight for the revolution. He first married Carolyn Hester then divorced her and married the seventeen year old Mimi.
Richard was a hard living man. He played Appalachian dulcimer and wrote songs. He also wrote a novel – Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me – which is quite good. Mimi and Richard played together in Greenwich Village, were signed to Vanguard and released three albums (one posthumously). They were good friends with the emerging Dylan and had the potential to be massive.
Unfortunately Richard was killed in a motorbike accident just days after the release of his book. So much potential. Mimi and Richard created such a unique sound. I loved them.
So today I will play Richard and Mimi and think about what might have been