Beloved singer-songwriter Malcolm Holcombe has left us at age 68 from respiratory failure and ongoing health issues. Holcombe was singular in every sense of the word whether it was his quirky, oft irreverent lyrics, his one-of-kind blues guitar riffing, and a weathered from another age voice unlike any. Holcombe had long battled health issues and had just had a recent operation. “It is with a broken and heavy heart that I share the news that Malcolm Holcombe passed away today from respiratory failure,” his wife Cyndi Holcombe said. “He had been in a great deal of pain for a long time, and his spirit is now free from all that and he is singing with the angels.
Holcombe had a special way about him, alone with his guitar perched on a wooden chair. He was riveting in his focused, almost hypnotic zone while rocking back and forth in his chair oft threatening to just go over altogether, the chair creaks in perfect cadence to his strumming and tapping foot. It’s an indelible image that will remain always. Few artists were more intense.
Tributes have been pouring in, this from Darrell Scott, – “an angel being from another world, he was – great writer and in the moment performer.”
Mary Gauthier – “He was a genius. A channel. A giver. A master, a maestro, one of my greatest teachers, saintly in spirit…and truly touched by God and the angels.”
Rod Picott – “Malcolm Holcombe was one of these elemental songwriters, too raw, authentic, and unpolished for the spotlight, but was a spellbinding influence on many who gladly stepped into it.
Gurf Morlix – “A shining example of what the human race can be, with a little love and empathy. One in a billion.
RB Morris – “My heart is full of love and loss.”
Steve Earle – “I was saddened to learn of the passing of Malcolm Holcombe, for me one of the greatest. I’m going to listen to his latest album “Bits & Pieces” again, one of my favorites of 2023.”
Holcombe’s kindness was legendary. He and his wife Cyndi opened their home to those who had no relatives or family to share Thanksgiving with. Picott shares this story. “Many years ago I was touring the Netherlands at the same time as Malcom and we were staying with friend and agent Joanna Serraris. After a wonderful dinner, Malcolm quietly got up and started doing the dishes. I’d watched him mesmerized, ripping, and howling his brilliant songs the night before. You couldn’t imagine a more dichotomous vision. Malcolm was a rock star to me. Washing dishes. “He likes to help…” Joanna said with a shrug when I looked at her. Malcolm washed all the dishes. Be at peace. You earned it Malcolm.
Thankfully we still have his music, 15 full-length LPs and one EP, nary a dud among them. Spring is almost here, and those nasty weeds await. Weeding will commence only with headphones on playing Malcolm’s “Damn Weeds” from Pretty Little Troubles. Malcolm will long be in our hearts and with us in our gardens too.
4 Responses
Like the characters that writer Flannery O’Connor created, Malcolm exhibited eccentricity, as well humility, that sometimes masked his deep knowledge of both his chosen art and the wider world around him. He is part of my DNA now and will always be present in my life.
What a wonderful tribute. You have captured the essence of the artist. Thank you.
Last words I spoke to Malcolm was ” NO Malcolm I love you”
l was lucky to see Malcolm perform a few times.it was the same kind of awe l had when l saw Bob Dylan. Malcolm was a unique one of a kind singer/songwriter and we wont see his kind again. goodbye Malcolm.