On October 5, Alaska’s official balladeer, Hobo Jim Varsos passed away.
There was no farewell tour. There was no chance for his fans to say goodbye to the man who brought the joy of song and story to so many.
In a Facebook post on September 18th, Hobo Jim announced he was diagnosed with end stage cancer and had two to six months to live. It ended up being less.
This man is a legend. When I started this blog, one of the first articles I posted was about Hobo Jim. You can find it here.
Hobo Jim came to Alaska in 1972,. My very first encounter with him was in 1985. This is when my college roommate, Don Jamieson, and I spent our spring break in Homer. It started when Don noticed a button on the checkout lady at the grocery store that said “I’m a Hobo Jim Fan”.
Don said, “who’s Hobo Jim?”
The lady said, “you don’t know who Hobo Jim is?”
Just as she finished her sentence, in walks a skinny, bearded man wearing a cowboy hat.
”THAT’S HOBO JIM!”, she screamed.
Well, the rest of the week we would run into Hobo Jim on a daily basis. Whether it was on the streets, a bar, a restaurant, we would see him and sarcastically yell, “Hey, Hobo!” We thought it was fun.
The first couple of times he would acknowledge us, but then it got to the point where he didn’t. I think he thought we were crazed stalkers. I guess I’d think that too.
It was nearly 15 years after our spring break meeting of Hobo Jim that Don and I reunited in Soldotna. We were sitting at Jeff King’s house figuring out what we should do other than fish when Jeff said, “you should go see Hobo Jim at BJ’s Bar.”
“He’s a joke, right?” said the two of us, who had never seen him perform.
Jeff said, “he’s the real deal.”
With nothing to do that evening we decided we should go see Hobo Jim.
Unbelievable.
Within the first couple of minutes of playing, our jaws hit the floor. This man had talent, lots of talent. Not only was it the way he would play a guitar, but it was his ability to tell stories that made him special. An entertainer, through and through.
After that night, any chance that I got, I would go see Hobo Jim perform. I would also tell my fishing customers/cabin guests that their Alaska vacation wouldn’t be complete until they saw Hobo Jim. No one was ever disappointed.
Hobo would welcome people of all ages to his shows. He would start it off by saying, “it’s family hour from 9 until 10. After that, you better get your kids out.”
He wasn’t joking. After 10, the stories and commentary were definitely for the adults.
Speaking of adults, Hobo’s toasts were legendary. “Here’s to the girls of the Great Northwest…” You had to be at a show to know what he said next. I won’t repeat it here. After all, this is a family friendly blog.
Looking through my archive of photos, I smiled when I found this one. Nearly every show, Hobo would jump up on a table and talk about how he broke his leg while performing…twice! Once was at BJ’s in Soldotna, and the other was at the Yukon Bar in Seward.
Hmmm, do you think liquor was involved?
Hobo had written over 600 songs, but he enjoyed covering other artists too. Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr (not Jr, he knew him and didn’t like him), Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Patsy Cline, are just a few.
There was always a point in the show when he would take requests. Two songs I would yell out were “Educated Man”, which he had written, and “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan. He would play one, or the other, or sometimes both. I knew he liked these two songs, and so did I. The lyrics are especially fitting now that he’s passed. Give them a listen.
Alaska….where legends are born.
Thanks, Hobo, for sharing your talent with the world.
That’s a Wrap.