Bruce Barthol
November 11, 1947 - February 20, 2023
Bruce Barthol - musician/singer/songwriter, a troubadour for justice, a hater of fascists in any guise, a 60's radical who never caught the Big Chill, died February 20th, 2023 in hospice care near his home in Sebastopol, California with his guitar close by, surrounded by loving friends because he was a good friend to so many. A born collaborator, Bruce learned his trade playing in rock bands and won many awards as a composer-lyricist before receiving his more formal musical education.
He devoted a dramatic portion of his life to commemorating the Spanish Civil War, (1936-39) when a democratic Republic fought heroically alone to stop fascism's advance on the eve of World War II. He was a friend and sage of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He both performed musically and created programs for their functions and wrote haunting and lucid lyrics of songs that will never be forgotten by those that care about that war and experienced those lyrics.
In 1964, as a 16-year-old guitar-playing UC Berkeley freshman, Bruce hung out at the Jabberwock coffeehouse on Telegraph Avenue, hearing many old blues greats, folk musicians, and singer-songwriters. He joined the Free Speech Movement, but to his lasting regret he was spared arrest for occupying Sproul Hall when FSM leaders made juveniles leave. He quit school when his roommates Barry Melton and Joe MacDonald invited him to play electric bass in what became Country Joe and the Fish. They toured cross-country and played in the seminal 1967 Monterey Pop Festival before Bruce quit in 1968 and moved to England to avoid the US draft.
Bruce toured in bands formed with friends from the Jabberwock. First with Phil Greenberg and Gary Petersen in FORMERLY FAT HARRY touring the UK and Europe. Then with Phil Marsh back in the Bay Area in a dance rock band, Energy Crisis. Also, he joined a "political street opera company" the EAST BAY SHARKS, where he met actors from the SAN FRANCISCO MIME TROUPE. He soon began contributing songs and SFMT became his artistic home. His work on some 3 dozen shows, especially FACTWINO AND STEELTOWN, transformed the commedia dell'arte-based company into a fully musical theater and factored in the Troupe winning a 1987 Tony Award. He wrote in every American folk or popular genre. His upbeat songs are still inspirational, his satiric ones slash deep. In 1991, with no college degree, he was honored with an invitation to join NYU's Musical Theater Writing MFA Program, which he received in 1993.
Bruce Barthol was born November 11th in Berkeley, California to Richard and Esther Barthol, a professor of psychology and a counselor, both politically active and involved in theatre. Both predeceased him as did his one older brother, Clark Barthol, a marine surveyor. He is survived by two nieces, Sara (with husband Daniel) and Lora Barthol, and his grandniece niece Billie Blue Sky Shulman, and his companion Joan Keller Selznick.
A memorial concert is being planned, with the date to be announced.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Mar. 19 to Mar. 27, 2023.

Memories and Condolences
for Bruce Barthol

Sponsored by Parent-Sorensen Mortuary - Sebastopol.

7 Entries

Paul

December 19, 2024

Bruce kindly autographed a few things for me over the years; I always dug His part in CJ&TF. His Rise And Fall cd is fantastic. I miss that he´s not around these parts

Paul

August 10, 2024

Hoping to get Bruce to sign the CJ&TF ep i bought his cd The Decline and Fall Of Everything out of obligation !. He kindly signed both and that cd has been a favorite since. Although I never met him it still feels like a personal loss

Barbara

March 2, 2024

Lime Kiln Creek around 1966? The Fish played a small party, amplified outside under the stars. I was there with my Santa Cruz best friend, Patti, who was with Country Joe at the time. Everyone but Bruce and i was paired up. We stayed up under the redwoods talking most of the night. He was wrestling with big questions. I was a kind ear that beautiful night. He wanted to leave the band and marry. I never forgot the earnest, thoughtful young man.

I'm glad to hear all his accomplishments. The Mine Troupe were super stars. RIP, my friend-for-a-night, whom i never forgot.

bruce s kelso

April 10, 2023

my wife just passed away and this is sad to hear. no bruce on bass no country joe and the fish. sad gary chicken has passed

Paula Hollowell

April 1, 2023

I played music with Bruce in Bay Area Progressive Musicians Association (BAPMA) for many years. We played marches (Cesar Chavez called us his official marching band) and sit-down concerts in support of the struggles of many seeking justice. We played often at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley. I am hoping there will be a memorial for Bruce, and perhaps a reunion of BAPMA to commemorate him. In solidarity, Paula ([email protected])

Jack Carrerow

March 23, 2023

We met Bruce when he came to Tahoe with The Country Joe Band. He was engaging funny and we stayed in touch. Later, he appeared on my Internet radio show and told some great stories. He was a talent musically and verbally, a real icon of the 1960's and beyond....RIP Bruce-Jack & Jo

Michael Funke

March 21, 2023

I am so sorry to hear that Bruce has died. I never met him, but was a huge fan of his work with the Fish, the Mime Troupe and Spanish Civil War veterans. I was actually down in Sebastopol a few days before Bruce died. I called his phone number, hoping we could get together, having been invited to do so after I recorded a radio interview with him that was broadcast in February 2021. I am so sorry I missed him. I will post a link to the interview at www.theradicalsongbook.com in April. As Woody Guthrie sang, "All you fascists bound to lose." Let's make that happen in memory of Bruce Barthol.

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