Music Maker lost one of our dearest friends and supporters in February. Denise and I met John Creech when we first moved to Winston-Salem, NC in 1988. We became fast friends, played a great deal of music together, and he introduced us both to Winston-Salem as only a true insider could. John was around in my early days with Guitar Gabriel and became close friends with Gabe, his wife Dorothy and all the other Winston-Salem musicians: Macavine Hayes, Willa Mae Buckner, Mr. Q, Jahue Rorie, Preston Fulp and Captain Luke. John stood in the commodity cheese lines with me and the artists, ventured out in winter storms to deliver kerosene heaters and oil to them. He was a band member of Guitar Gabriel & Brothers in the Kitchen. He traveled with Guitar Gabriel and I on our first tour of Holland. John remained a loyal friend to Denise and I and many Music Maker artists from those days till his passing. John was a Marine who survived three tours of Vietnam, he was a master furniture maker, a poet, a dedicated 12-string guitarist, a gardener, and a painter. He has two sons, Sol and Jonathan Creech, who are both talented musicians. Sol has worked closely with Music Maker since he was a teenager and remains an active, touring musician today. John’s passing is a tremendous loss to his family and friends. To Denise and I, it is like losing a true brother for we could always count on John to help our musical brethren in Winston-Salem during times of great need for he would venture into places we could not ask anyone else to go. He did it all with a smile, bringing his bright light into the darkest corners. We love you John and your spirit with live on forever through all the wonderful music you were instrumental in documenting and sharing with the world.

— Tim Duffy