Tim Krekel Passes Away
Louisville’s beloved Tim Krekel passed away at his home in Louisville, KY on June 24, 2009 at the age of 58 after a short bout with cancer. His website stated that his health had taken a drastic turn for the worse in those last few weeks, but that he died at home under the care of his loving family and hospice. A dear friend to all of us at WFPK and the entire Louisville music community, Tim will be missed, but described in his final stages what he had as “a most wonderful life!” We encourage you to leave condolences and fond memories here.
Tim’s family has set up a memorial fund called “The Krek Fund.” Checks can be made out to that name and dropped off at Ear-xTacy where John Timmons is collecting. Or mailed to The KREK fund, c/o ear X-tacy Records, 1534 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40205.
Read a wonderful biography of Tim’s life at his website.
Words? Tim you mastered them, I can’t seem to find them. Paul said ” The only thing that counts is Faith expressing itself through Love” your blessing of Love remains. Peace
Tim received the gift of discovering his bliss very early in life, and then the wisdom to stay the course in spite of the usual financial and peripheral challenges that come with the territory. Tim knew what was priceless. He was a rich man indeed.
I had the blessing of working with Tim in the studio on two of his albums. His heart was always open, nothing creative ever wasted. He had not a single pretense. In other words, he achieved true mastery. It occurs to me that for someone we loved to listen to so much, what a great listener he was. For me, a conversation with Tim was always engaging.
I believe that in his all too brief fifty-eight years he saw far more than a glimpse of paradise, and he certainly showed it to us as well.
Anyone who experienced Tim’s creative spirit knows that he always left an open window, a view that always told of the good in others. A spirit I profoundly miss. He really did love everybody, and I most certainly loved him.
that contagious smile, the pure open honesty, the love he had for sharing, caring, trusting, and all that was transformed into his music. tim was one of those special souls, bright as sunshine, clean as rain…he will be sorely missed…..john howard from e-town
Well it sure ain’t Happy Town, but the World Keeps Turnin. I Can’t Help Myself, I’m as Blue as Blue can Get. Now were all Casualities. I guess I’ll Come Around. But I can’t Help Myself I keep stopping to Cry on the Shoulder of the Road. Tim’s songs Won’t Leave You Alone and it turns out he was the Best Thing I Never Had. Its a New Day but I’m Still at a Loss to Explain how he could Stir Me Up Inside everytime. I try to act like It Don’t Bother me but I Just Can’t Cry Anymore. All we have to do to Be With You is Love One Another. I know you won’t Come Back Baby after seeing a Glimpse of Paradise and getting your Angel’s Share. Now I’m Turning Away so Just Let Me Be. Your message was I Love Everybody and that truly is Good Stuff.
Wow! You said it “BEST!!!” I’m quite certain Tim would LOVE this!!
I only met Tim a few times, but as a music writer in this here river town, I know his music and legend well. What I knew from my limited experience with was a musical gentleman with a heart of gold. Correct me if I’m wrong … but I don’t think I am.
I know that what I’m about to say will sound presumptuous,
but why not?
In behalf of the other 2000 or so people that almost wrote
but couldn’t quite do it because, well, they just couldn’t;
Tim and his ongoing work will be greatly and profoundly missed.
I and others will remember Tim’s generosity, his quiet competence,
and the effortless way the words and music flowed through him.
All the comments about Tim’s generous spirit ring true.
He was inclusive and wise and floated above the usual
posturing that gets in the way of human interaction.
His musical sharing seemed to be a metaphor for something
else that he understood.
Thank you Jim for finding the words I could not.
Because of my father, MC Watson, I was privileged to know Tim since I was born.
For 40 years he’s played the “soundtrack of my life”.
Some of my childhood memories are so amazing that I’ve had to confirm with family that what I remember actually happened and wasn’t just a dream.
From Key Largo to Kentucky and well beyond our loss is immeasurable.
Words can’t express what an honor it was loving Tim.
My sincerest sympathies to the thousands of souls he touched.
Infinite peace & love one another,
Kelly
part of me will always be at ky bbq co. listening to tim. it made me happy to see him, then he would sing and play, yeah… does anybody want to hear the west end song? flaget braves are hard to beat! i love you man. missed isn’t even the word. thank you, tim.
Wow, you could see him everywhere, almost every night………
There’s a star in the sky where Tim now lives, that’s for sure.
We just got home from the incredible celebration today of Tim’s life. Hundreds of people marching and dancing down Frankfort Avenue to the Vernon Club. A great party. Great music.
The memory came to me of talking with Tim years ago about Van Morrison. When we discussed the song “Have I told you lately…(that I love you)” being at the same time a deeply spiritual song and a great love song, Tim’s comment was “all songs are love songs.” Since love and hate are just different sides of the same coin, and since the true opposite of love is indifference, I think that Tim meant that even the most non-loving song lyric, that you might hear as angry or hateful, was actually an attempt at love, an attempt at caring, an attempt to reach the spirit of the other. From our discussion, I also understood Tim to mean that all songs are therefore deeply spiritual songs. In Tim’s case, I believe that to be true. Tim touched our heart, our soul, our spirit.
From here ever after, may we all have love and laughter.
My name is Roz Tate. I am a local singer/songwriter/guitarist, born in Louisville and living in New Albany. Meeting Tim was one of the highlights of my life. I had loved his music and his playing for years and when we met, I was a little star-struck! I regarded him as highly as any “big name” anywhere.
He put me at ease right away…he was so gracious. We knew some of the same folks in Nashville and we talked about the guitar and he was just great. He was a a gem of a human being and the world has suffered a loss, for sure.
I was fortunate enough to get to record one of Tim’s songs called “How I Miss You” before he died. I am told he liked the version and that means the world to me. I will treasure that thought.
R.I.P. Tim.
I am grateful to Tim for the song “Sunshine Baby”. Whenever he played it I felt like he was describing Jeanine so that became my name for her. (and our sailboat!) We will miss him every Thursday night at the BBC.
I have been following local musicians/bands for many years. I have been fortunate enough to have seen some greats come and go. Tim Krekel was a great musician, songwriter, and just a really nice guy. Louisville was (and is) so fortunate to have (had) so many talented people we can call our own. They don’t make them like Tim anymore and he will be missed.
Tim’s music breathed life back into my soul and my heart 8 years ago after my husband, Mike passed away. When I first heard Tim sing, I felt love. Every chance that I could, I went to hear him sing and be with my new friends. I met my dear friend Alfred through Tim’s music and Jen V. I remember when Tim and Debbie first started dating. There was love in the air and it was contagious. I am blessed to have been apart of the love and music we all share.
Thank you Tim for the love you have given.
And to Tim’s bride, Deborah, you will always be his bride. Love is always best!
With all my heart, I love you.
Tim was and always will be a huge part of our family (Howe Family). He was part of the glue in our family as we all loved him. I grew up on Tim’s music and would (at 19 and older) meet my parents and sister (along with the Watson family and their girls) before, after or in lieu of my friends, to hear Tim. I dare to say that we probably had more fun with the “Krekies”. All of us girls would always drag along our friends or boyfriends because it was always a guaranteed good time! You could always count on a dance with Bobby Watson (whew, that was a workout!) I spent my 21st birthday with my friends and family on April 16, 1998 at Jim Porter’s because Tim was playing with Bo Diddley. It was perfect. Couldn’t have asked for anything more. When Haley was born at 26 weeks, our montra became “Everything’s gonna be alright” and it was as she eventually danced her way to the dance park” (a.k.a Cherokee triangle) . Thank you for that, Tim. Tim was more special than most. He was a wonderful soul. I will miss those nights, dancing til 4 and feeling so carefree. I will miss Tim. I am not alone, We will all carry on his music and I am just so happy to have that to hold on to. All of these posts are so amazing. I just hope someone makes a book of them for our coffee tables so we can remember the times we shared and daydream of what it would have been like to be there too. He was loved by many and deserved it all. We love you, Tim and will remember you always as someone who was taken from us way too soon.
The last couple of weeks have been filled with feelings of happiness, hope, anguish,fear, and sadness ,but most of all, love. I think Tim’s message , “love everybody” was heard loud and clear. His spirit and music live on but Tim Krekel, the man, the brother, the husband, the father and friend will be sorely missed. My love and prayers go out to Debbie, Jason, Amy, Nathan, Katie, Anna, and Angela.
Anna Christina McCall wrote this song on the sunday of the Tim Krekel’s Wake.
When you left I would listen to the rainfall
And I would sit and i would cry
As i would wish for you to be here
Every night as the stars fell around me
I would dream of you to be here
You had no idea how i felt about you
I had no idea how I felt about you
Until you were gone
For good
As of now, I still sit by my window
wishing for you to be here
And the stars they still fall around me
But I don’t dream for you to be here
Because I know that you are gone forever
You had no idea how I felt about you
I had no idea how if felt about you
Until you were gone
For good
6/28/09
The Second Anmual Celebration “KrekelFest II” a tributer Tim Krekel’s Life and Love and Music will be held on the last sunday on June 27 in 2010 @ The Vernon Club from 4pm-close.
written by Anna Chrisina McCall, The day of Tim Kreke’s Wake.
Whish You Where Here
When you left I would listnen to the rainfall
And I would sit, cry by my window
As i would wish for you to be here
Everynight as the stars fell around me
I would dream of you to be here
You had no idea how i felt about you
I had no idea how i felt about you
Until you were gone
For good
As for now, I still sit by my window
wishing for you to be here
And the stars, they still fall around me
But i don’t dream of you to be here
Because i know that you are gone forever
You had no idea how I felt about you
I had no idea how I felt about you
Until you were gone
For good…
The family of Tim has asked me to consider another “remembrance” of Tim so I am dedicating the last sunday of every June to be the Annual Tim Krekel “krekelfest” @ The Vernon Club to celebrate our love for a man and his music and this mans love for us? See you soon precious friends. dale
We (Two Thomases Video) used to do the annual Mayor’s Thanksgiving Breakfast video and after ten years or so thought it needed some fresh air so we asked Tim to play. He hemmed and hawed a little since the event was at 7:30 in the morning and he didn’t think he could get the band to play since we only needed a few songs. The event is held in a cavernous hotel ballroom downtown – about 1000 businesspeople gathered together. Well, Tim agreed and said he was pretty sure he could bring a drummer with him. To this day I hope he forgives my lack of faith! I’m thinking, hmmm… an acoustic guitar and some bongos might get lost in that big room.
Needless to say, he rocked it. FILLED THE PLACE WITH MUSIC! Could’ve been Carnegie Hal for all the heart he put into his peformance that morning. He even surprised us with some custom lyrics to honor the “Thanksgiving” theme of the day. Needless to say we were heroes for suggesting him but, as is clear from these many posts, Tim was a true hero to many.
Tim was kind enough to play guitar for my second CD, and I feel privileged to have spent a couple of days with him at Jeff Carpenter’s studio. He was an amazingly gifted songwriter and such a brilliant guitarist, but what struck me the most was that he treated my music as if it were his own, and was so humble and down-to-earth. He truly blew me away with his playing, and most of what he laid down was the first take. Wow. He was so giving of his time and talent to so many people, and I feel lucky to have been one of them. Thank you, Tim.
My heart is broken. Kathy and I send our love and prayers to Debbie, Jason and all of Tim’s family and dear friends. We are so thankful we were able to be at Tim and Debbie’s wedding celebration and share in the incredible joy of their marriage and in the room when the roof of the Rudyard Kipling lifted that afternoon when Tim and TKO rocked the house with the entire packed room singing along. The emotion in that room was pounding in very pore of the building and in every heart. I will never forget it.
Two days later we were making our way to New York to visit two of our children and on to dates in Ontario I could not cancel, when Mickey Clark called us to tell us that Tim’s health had faltered tremendously and that they were saying he may not make it through another week. I was in shock from the news and then he was gone within a few more days. I still cannot accept it.
Tim Krekel was one of my best friends and one of my all-time favorite human beings and always will be. There was never anyone with so much accomplishment and not a speck of pretense. He was open-hearted, opened minded and thought of everyone equally they way we should all do. But he actually pulled it off. We’d known of each other but had never met back in the The Round Table Theater days of the late sixties on Bardstown Road. Tim once called our house on a tour stop in Toronto with Buffett in the mid-seventies and invited us to the show. I was out on the road at the time and my wife Kathy was unable to go, but we were struck by this man’s considerate nature and the fact that he would even bother calling someone from Louisville he’d not even met. That was the beginning of my friendship with Tim. He was like a brother immediately and I’ve always loved him for it.
Musically speaking, I’ve always looked up to Tim. He was a master and his writing and performing only got better and better. The songs he wrote and sang over the years will last forever and we are all so fortunate to have them to remember him by. Tim’s music is truly a magical gift to the world and those of us who were lucky enough to work with him will always be eternally greatful for the time we shared with him. I felt so priviledged to co-write a few songs with him. And it was nothing but pure fun everytime. No one else played a guitar like Tim Krekel. He had so much in his playing it was impossible to try and keep up with this part or that riff. It just never quit coming. Always fresh, and inventive. He was the only guitar player I’ve ever known that could come on stage and without ever hearing a song before, play tasteful exciting guitar, never sloppy attempts or ever stepping on the song in anyway. Simply unmatched.
Words cannot say enough.
Goodbye for now dear friend. We love you so very much. Rock on forever.
Tim played a Beatles tribute show for the One Brain society in the basement of St. Francis of Assissi on October 17th last year. Somehow word got around that it was my birthday, and he opened his set with ‘today is your birthday… it’s my birthday, too yeah!’ and wished me a happy one. Just an incredibly kind thing to do. Goodbye to a phenomenally talented man with a lot of love in his heart.
Tim,
It was such a pleasure discovering you and your wonderful “krekies” at the ADI back in 91. I knew I had discovered something pretty special and it was soooo much fun cutting loose with you and your band on the stage. I did not know you personally but I could always tell you were a good guy and a great musician.
You may be gone but you will not be forgotten.
Tim –
It’s been almost 3 months now, and I still cry every time I think about you, which is daily. I miss you and your music. But you’re up there jamming with the best of them now. Play on…
Kat
For those of us who believe the old adage that “when God closes one door, he opens another”….I can only feel that somewhere….there is a huge door swinging open to match the size of the one so recently closed…..
After this amount of time, I can’t listen to my CD’s. We happened upon a musician playing All Night Radio at the St. James Court Art Fair and my knees went weak. I was overwhelmed by my emotion. Yeah we miss him. always will.
Rita and Beany
I have just started pulling out Tim’s CDs and listening to them again. It was really hard and sad, but yet they bring back happy memories and love. May the Krekkies help keep his memory alive. Tim will always hold a special place in my heart.
Last year on New Year’s Eve my wife and I were dancing in the New Year with Tim and TKO at the Vernon Club. Great memory! Hard to believe we would be attending a Memorial there for him just 6 short months later. We miss him and his local shows very much. I recently had the opportunity to honor Tim by playing “Here Ever After” in a Talent Show at the Clifton Center,,, the very same stage we watched his documentary on. I either need to play or listen to some Tim Krekel everyday, somehow it seems to keep me in balance with the world. The sign at Air Devil’s says that TKO will be playing there tonight (New Year’s Eve),,, and somehow I just know Tim will be there tonight too!
Thanks Tim and Love One Another!
New Years Resolution: a little Tim every day. Great idea. Everything’s gonna be alright.