Chris Daniels on Facebook re Greg Carr: I’ve lost a friend. But he was much, much, much more than that. He was an artist, an award winning set designer, record album art and design wizard, video pioneer, and one of the most fun friends I ever had the joy of knowing. He designed every Chris Daniels and the Kings album from “Louie Louie” to “40: Blues With Horns Volume II” plus albums for Steve Martin, John McEuen, Jim and Salli Ratts, DeVotchKa, Hazel Miller, Mark Oblinger, The Kingston Trio, Andy Sydow, and many more plus all the art and posters for the Lodo festivals, and set designs for plays and musicals and more. Plus he was a real “mensch” in the old Yiddish tradition – a “person of honor and integrity” – and funny as hell. He’d been battling various ailments over the past few years. Nothing that the old Wyoming cowboy couldn’t beat – but those battles took a toll on Greg and his heart gave out on Tuesday [September 16th].
What can I say. I’m usually such an optimist but somehow this sadness is too close to the heart to find any kind of silver lining. I don’t have the right words to tell you all what a remarkable artist and intellect and warm hearted son of a gun Greg was. He was simply the best and I am stunned and sad and silent. I’m sure there will be a service celebrating his life – and his music – yes, he did that, too – but I don’t have any details. To Josh, all the kids and his brother and whole family – all of us that knew and loved Greg – we grieve with you – if there is anything we can do – we are there. The light of this world is a little less tonight. Sleep long and safe, old cowboy. You made this troubled world a much better place. Love and big hugs. ~ CD
Michael St. James: I got the sad news that Greg Carr has passed on. Greg was the ultimate artist and just a very bright light of a soul. He designed so many music festival posters, Shakespeare festival designs, and so much more. He was a teacher and a doting father. You may not know him, but you have definitely seen his work. He was not one for pictures, but just think of a very handsome and smiling Ben Franklin and you’d be close. For a while, he was doing everyone’s album design -Hazel Miller, Chris Daniels, Devotchka, Richie Furay, Runaway Express, Kingston Trio, Steve Martin’s band, and so, so many more. To be in Jim and Sally Ratts’ house and Raven Studio was to be surrounded by Greg’s creations. I went on to record another album there because of it.
He designed the album and graphics package for The SoulThieves – Microphone in the Sugarbowl. I suspect we got a huge discount – he was way out of our league. He was a fan who would turn into a friend and then a business partner. To this day, I am surrounded in my studio by his art and some of the things we created together.
I loved him. I wish his family and close friends peace and healing.
I have a few stories to share – if you have some time:
We had done the The SoulThieves album stuff together which was a huge undertaking – (multiple photoshoots for the cover, font creation, custom printing) and some time had passed. He asked me to his tiny little office on South Broadway. He had a client who needed a jingle. So, I brought a guitar. He showed me the artwork, I wrote the jingle. He was floored, “Just like that?” I said, “Yeah, you do the art, it inspires the music.” We recorded it onto a crappy computer and went and got a beer.
This would lead to many meetings like this. More jingles, more beer on patios. He then introduced me to his secret art community. I would end up playing their private parties and show openings. It was a world I didn’t know and was so grateful to be included in.
Then one scorching summer day, he came by my shitty little apartment on Clarkson. He was so excited. He had created this purple children’s character called Moofus. He had this beautiful portfolio of hand-drawn and color-inked artwork (I still have some of it). He asked if I could write kids music, I told him yes, even though I had not.
We sat there for 10 minutes and came up with the theme song for this character. Again, he was floored. And then hours went by where we made notes and laughed as we created this imaginary world of Moofus. He confided to me that he always wanted to do a children’s music album and at the time he had small children, too. I recorded it onto a 4 track and he took it with him.
A month passed by and he showed up out of the blue – pitched me the idea of what would become GiggleTins. He, and his wife at the time, Heather, had worked on this story and character called The Jiggleworm. He wanted to do Moofus, however this would be the first thing we do, kind of a family affair. But his vision was way beyond just a children’s book. It would be a groundbreaking print design, accordion style on imported Japanese stock, impervious to children’s tearing or ruining it. Custom hand-drawn fonts. It would fit in a baby bag and be protected inside a little tin. It would have a CD of custom music. It would have the narrated story to read along to, and one version with a theme song behind it for parents to read to their kids. It would also be an enhanced CD with a video and animation of the story for computers. Honesty, it was one of the first multimedia audiobooks.
He wanted me to write and executive produce the music. We ended up starting a whole company called Le Book Moderne around it. It included his wife Heather, Sara, and my Mom. In fact, when he gave me the first design package, I was doing a gig and he was on his way to teach at Metro, so we had to meet in a parking lot. It looked like the worst drug deal in history. A manilla envelope, a rolled up poster, hand drawn designs and plans. I exchanged a few demos to him in some portfolio envelopes. Hilarious!
Late nights at their house around the dining table in design meetings, some evenings on my patio on Pennsylvania would follow. There is a book to be written about the creation, writing, recording, and launch of this project. So many amazing musicians at Jim’s studio contributed. I finally got Chris Daniels on one of my albums! Chris Stongle, Butch Hause, Ernie Martinez, Scotty and more. Joyce at Tattered Cover championed us and we did a big launch at my favorite bookstore institution. Everyone trying to run this art project as a business. Sara negotiating with vendors, my mom doing the books.
Some of the proudest moments in my life came from it. Our partnership with Children’s Hospital. We went and performed it everywhere, sold out a Barnes and Nobles tour! A pretty cool media run. I’d played People’s Fair for many years with rock bands, but never in full kids makeup at 2 pm in the sun to hundreds of kids. Sara might still have those cat whisker tan lines. It would result in one of the songs being used on the award-winning Sierra Madre Rose Float “Joy of Reading” during the Rose Parade, being heard by literally billions of people worldwide.
You can hear it here today (or most streamers): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgAQwOzdKElpsOHAXPnCqgw
He would then go on to work on AlphaJazz and so much more.
Years later we discussed pulling out Moofus, but you know, life happened. I may have to go hunt down those manilla folders. I can sing the song from memory right now, “Moofus, Moofus, that’s my name and you can wear it out.”
Greg Carr was truly one of a kind. A gentle spirit, with the fire of a little kid inside, quick with a smile and laughing through it all. The world is a little less bright today, but his work lives on.
Marcia Kent Davis: Thank you for sharing this, Tommy Kaui Nahulu. He was a treasure in this earth. The world is a little less bright today with his passing.
We must go make art, laugh and share music in his honor!
https://www.facebook.com/chrisdanielsdenver
https://www.denverpost.com/2009/10/22/colorado-artists-created-steve-martins-award-winning-crow-cover/
Photo: Greg Carr | From Chris Daniels’ Facebook page
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OTHER NOTABLE MUSICIANS’ DEATHS
From Chuck Morris: Sad news. My old sidekick at Feyline, John Ruby, died last night in his sleep in Denver. Happy that John had moved back here after many years in Los Angeles and we rekindled our friendship.
Nancy May: Scott De Vos called and told me this morning. I am devastated. We were planning lunch next week. John was a guiding light for me since I met him. Sending love to Donna and the rest of his family.
David McKay: Sad, sad news! He was always the voice of reason in that crazy office. Always remember his New Year’s Day open house with great food, lots of kids, and [Barry] Fey watching football. My thoughts are with Donna and the family.
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From Care2 via Jock Bartley on Facebook: Trump shut down our LGBTQ+ suicide and mental health hotline, but CANADA opened a US toll-free number to theirs… so our citizens can get help anytime, at no cost: 1-877-330-6366
Kindness & empathy have no borders.
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Warning Signs of Suicide – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or if you want to discuss, call the old numbers at 800-273-TALK or 800-273-8255 for English and 888-628-9454 for Spanish. Learn the signs of someone who may be contemplating suicide.
If you want to know more about any of the musicians we lost, please check them out at http://www.wikipedia.com
Posting for my Veteran/singer/songwriter/musician friend Troy Hoss: Heavy on my heart so here goes: This is a very real problem … 22 Veterans a day surrender to their demons. #SuicideAwareness | Call Veteran’s Hotline: 988 #1 or 844-647-1354
September 2025
23: Dieter Kaufmann, 84, Austrian composer; Danny Thompson, 86, English bassist (Pentangle, Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated).
22: B-King, 31, Colombian musician; Regio Clown, 35, Colombian musician.
21: Ron Carroll, 57, American DJ, singer and music producer, heart attack; Roland Pidoux, 78, French cellist and conductor.
20: Ivar Bøksle, 78, Norwegian singer and accordionist.
19: Sonny Curtis, 88, American Hall of Fame musician (The Crickets) and songwriter (“I Fought the Law”, “Walk Right Back”), complications from pneumonia; Chris Doheny, 64, Australian musician (Geisha) and vocalist (“More Than a Game”), traffic collision; Zubeen Garg, 52, Indian singer-songwriter and actor (Tumi Mor Matho Mor, Mon Jaai, Rodor Sithi), drowned; Wally Warning, Aruban reggae musician; Mike Wofford, 87, American jazz pianist, hyponatremia.
18: Fausto Amodei, 91, Italian politician and singer, deputy (1968–1972); Brett James, 57, American country singer and songwriter (“Jesus, Take the Wheel”), Grammy winner (2007), plane crash; Diane Martel, 63, American music video director (“Blurred Lines”, “We Can’t Stop”, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”) and choreographer, breast cancer.
17: Michael Sutherland, Australian funk rock drummer (Skunkhour), heart attack.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2025