Saturdays in September: Richard Blair
Time & Location
About
Richard Blair, singer-songwriter and Truckee resident for 30+ years has recorded two
CDs (third in the making) about Truckee’s early history in the late 1800’s. The songs
are the “old” stories put to “modern” folk-roots/Americana melodies. In troubadour
style, stories about Truckee and Tahoe are woven between each song to give the listener a
background and a sense of their historic significance. How the names on subdivisions,
developments, streets, mountain peaks and the town of Truckee are brought to light.
Pioneers that settled the area and events that shaped Truckee, like the railroad, are
celebrated in the songs with a humorous twist and relevancy to how we haven’t really
changed that much.
“The Russell Valley studio has been the perfect place to write, record and preserve some
of Truckee’s often overlooked heritage”. Inspiration for the songs come from Truckee’s
unique past and the influence of the gold rush and the westward expansion of the railroad.
“With hundreds of melodies in my head and the unlimited stories about Truckee, it made
the perfect combination for keeping the stories and history of Truckee alive and
remembered. Audiences learn something new about Truckee and leave with a sense of
local pride.
Writing songs about early life in Truckee, and then singing and sharing them with others
in Truckee, is truly “Truckee Home Grown”. Tourists and locals alike all know about
the Donner Party, but names like Shaffer, Judah, Jibboom, Greenwood, Trokay and Boca,
grace local housing developments, reservoirs and streets that are only the names behind
stories and people that shaped Truckee. And of course, there is a song about how
Truckee got its name from Chief Trokay.
These songs are Richard Blair’s effort to celebrate Truckee’s past and keep the area’s
history alive one song at a time.