Remembering legendary folk singer/songwriter Tucker Zimmerman
Singer, songwriter, guitarist and cult folk hero Tucker Zimmerman, who released 12 albums over the last six decades, passed away last month at 84.
Zimmerman died alongside his wife Marie-Claire Lambert in a house fire in Belgium. The couple had been married for over 50 years, and had worked on music together, with Lambert’s vocals appearing on Zimmerman’s 2024 album “Dance of Love.” Zimmerman had a resurgence in popularity in recent years, after “Dance of Love” included features from contemporary folk band Big Thief.
Born in San Francisco, Zimmerman was first exposed to music at the age of four through violin lessons on a violin handmade by his grandfather. He later studied music theory at San Francisco State College, after which he was offered a Fulbright scholarship to study composition in Rome. There, he met Lambert, whom he would marry and move to Belgium with shortly after.
The songwriter began his professional career in 1969 with his folk/rock debut album “Ten Songs By Tucker Zimmerman.” The album gained significant attention among Zimmerman’s musical peers (along with creating a cult following within Europe), notably making David Bowie’s 25 favorite albums of all time list. He continued to release folk records throughout the 1970s and early 80s, and a handful more in the early 2000s before a 15-year break from music.
During breaks from his self-produced work, Zimmerman practiced his hand at different forms of storytelling, focusing often on poetry and short stories — a skill that bled into his lyrics. He also wrote for orchestral ensembles and composed film scores during these periods.
Between 2021 and 2025, Zimmerman released four albums with support from independent labels such as 4AD and Big Potato. His final record, “Music by River Words by Ear,” is a unique experimental folk piece originally recorded in 2002, but not officially released until just six months before his death.
Having heard Zimmerman’s 1980 LP “Square Dance,” Adrienne Lenker — the lead singer of Big Thief — encouraged her bandmates to reach out. When the band’s guitarist Buck Meek first got in the studio with Zimmerman in 2024, the two’s chemistry was instant, leading to their collaborative work on “Dance of Love.”
His collaboration with Big Thief on “Dance of Love” was an important moment for the folk community. Featuring lesser-known folk artists such as Twain and Zach Burba (also known as “iji”), the album pieces together decades of music, connecting legends of the past to modern emerging stars.
“It was an extreme honor to make a record with one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Tucker Zimmerman,” Big Thief posted to social media following his death. “We believe in this music with all of our hearts, and we hope it brings you joy.”
“Burial At Sea,” the fifth track on “Dance of Love,” tells the story of an unnamed protagonist floating through the ocean after his death. Throughout the journey, he finds relics of the past in shipwrecked sailors, plundered villages and mermaids. The following lines come from the opening verse of Zimmerman’s “Burial At Sea.”
“Take me out to the edge of the sky / Fill me with laughter and a lopsided smile / Roll back the waves that cloud my eyes / I want to dance with the whales for a while”
Regions: Boston