J.P. Pickens

Picture
"Walking out across the fields;
Winds blowing through the grey day;
Clouds heavy, waiting for a chance to rain;
Dawn;
Mist off the canal, waters now still.
Will I find you there down among the reeds?
Are you waiting for me there in the still waters?
Are you glad to see me?
Sit down here beside me.
Let’s just listen to the music of the morning,
For soon we must be on our way."
                                                                           -October, 1962
Picture
J.P. and Mary Ann are at peace together, at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.
Picture
The Coffee Gallery, in San Francisco's North Beach, circa 1963
Picture
Topanga Canyon, CA, making music with friends, 1961
 Picture
Click here to read Cheryl Lynne's blog

Read about the miracles and gifts J.P. continues to give his daughters!

" J.P. was blessed with the inspiration, creativity and musical chops to seize conventional banjo music, infuse it with new traditions and influences and transform it into new musical forms that still exist today among his musical heirs, which include Bela Fleck, Mumford and Sons, and many more...."
In 2007, The Serpent Power was named number 28 of 40 Essential Albums of 1967 by Rolling Stone Magazine in a special Summer of Love issue (honoring the 40th anniversary of the founding of the magazine) with a special mention of the song J.P. plays on, "Endless Tunnel."

Mary Ann Pickens - May 16, 1937 - July 11, 2014
Picture
Mary Ann, J.P.'s beloved wife, died on July 11, 2014, after a short, but intense, battle with lung cancer. 

Mary Ann passed peacefully at home in the loving arms of her treasured daughters, KayAnne Pickens Solem and Cheryl Lynne Pickens Rubbo. 

Click here to read more.
Picture
Hand-built banjo, by J.P. Pickens, 1963