keurspel (Leon Rossouw) 
Mike Dickman – Mary-Jane blues
Michael Colin Dickman was born in Johannesburg on 24 November 1947 and attended Rosebank Primary School and Hyde Park High in Johannesburg, as well as St Patrick’s Christian Brothers’ College in Kimberley where he sang in the choir and as a soloist at a Pontifical High Mass. From a young age he set his mind on being a musician and started studying guitar from the age of 12. His father taught him barré chords as well as music theory and about scales, and he also studied with the classical guitar master, Fritz Buss, for a couple of weeks. Everything else he taught himself by ear by listening to his favourite guitarists. Initially he played as a pick-up member in a few groups, notably with Gavin Carson, and at the age of 13/14 discovered the blues, which he took to instantly. His first folk concert was at the age of 15/16 and was one arranged by SAFMA, which finally convinced him that the guitar and singing would be his career. He also started writing his own material soon afterwards.
After school he started performing as a solo Blues singer/guitarist at various venues in Johannesburg, including the Downstairs Club in Hillbrow, the Troubadour in Fordsburg, Nitebeat in Hillbrow and Mangles in Braamfontein. While performing in one of these clubs, Mike was noticed by Bill Rudrum, a member of Keith Blundell’s folk group “The Balladeers”, who then arranged for him to record his first album, “Blues & Bluegrass”, in 1968. It was issued by SAFMA (the South African Folk Music Association) and was recorded on a reel-to-reel tape. His second, and last, album, “Yesterday’s Papers”, was the first double album to be released in South Africa, and was also issued by SAFMA, in 1970. He released at least one 7” single that I’m aware of, “Denver Idleman / Johnny’s Gun”, in 1969 on the ARM label.
Mike performed at the Cambridge Folk Festival in England in 1967/68, which he deems as the highlight of his career as musician, and although he briefly became a member of the bands Abstract Truth and The Flood in the early to middle 1970s, he soon after returned to a solo career of writing songs, playing guitar, and singing. He made a deep study of Indian and Japanese music and knows a little about Chinese and Arabic music as well. Being a Tibetan Buddhist, he has spent quite a lot of time with its liturgical music.
Mike Dickman (although he prefers that his name be written in lower case) has lived in Paris, France, since 1981 where he initially taught English and t’ai chi ch’uan, but since he retired translates Tibetan liturgical and philosophical texts, old French texts on alchemy, French poetry and academic material and Afrikaans poetry. He also loves cooking for his wife and cat.
This song is from the album “Blues & Bluegrass”, released in 1968.
