Jimmie David Post (October 28, 1939 – September 14, 2022) was an American folk singer-songwriter, composer, and playwright. In 1968, his pop song "Reach out of the Darkness" charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks, peaking at number 10.
Life and career Jim Post was born in Houston, Texas. He performed and recorded in the 1960s as the duo Friend and Lover with his then wife, Cathy Conn Post. He worked as a solo singer-songwriter in Chicago and throughout the Midwest in the 1970s and 1980s. Post was a regular performer at the Earl of Old Town and other Chicago folk music bars, and was a contemporary of notable singer-songwriters Steve Goodman, John Prine, Fred Holstein, and Bonnie Koloc, and a frequent collaborator with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mick Scott and Tom Dundee. In 1971, he produced and played on an album of Chicago folk musicians, Gathering at the Earl of Old Town, that included the first recording of Goodman's "City of New Orleans". Starting in 1985, he hosted the Flea Market folk show played on WBEZ live at Navy Pier. During the 1990s and 2000s, he focused on performing the character of Mark Twain in one-man shows in a style similar to that of Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain Tonight and Mike Randall's Mark Twain Live. Post has also recorded an album of children's songs.
Post lived in Galena, Illinois. He was a guest on Ellen in a segment titled "Awesome Album Covers", where the talk-show host teased him about his album I Love My Life.
Post died from congestive heart failure on September 14, 2022, at the age of 82."Jim Post, Singer-Songwriter Who Scored ’68 Hit With ‘Reach Out of the Darkness,’ Dies", Best Classic Bands, September 17, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022
Discography Year Title Label Number Notes1968Reach Out of the DarknessVerve ForecastFTS 3055As Friend and Lover1972Slow to 20Fantasy94081973Colorado ExileFantasy9401RattlesnakeFantasy94251976Looks Good to MeFantasy94511977Back on the Street AgainMountain Railroad52778Live1978I Love My LifeMountain Railroad527841979Magic: In ConcertFlying FishFF-216Live1980Ship ShapeFlying FishFF-240Live1984The Crooner from Outer SpaceFreckle19051987Jim Post & FriendsFlying FishFF-4191987Galena Roseself releasedCD1989The Heart of ChristmasChicago Master Works1263CD1996Mark Twain and the Laughing RiverWoodside Avenue WA-006-2CD2000Frog in the Kitchen SinkCD, children's songs
References
External links Official website Discography at FolkLib Index