About

Antonia Lamb often took her banjo-powered medicine show on the road and jammed at home with various pals. She co-anchored on local radio and advised astrological clients. She was inclined to speak truth laced with wacky humor. “I try to stay real,” she said. “My goal is to have fun and live as if it mattered.”

She felt blessed by her life within a remarkable matrix of musicians, song-writers & performers on the creative edge of folk, rock and blues. Through their influence she developed a unique style on banjo & guitar which supported her songwriting talents and powerful stage presence.

She was born on Manhattan Island during World War Two, the first child of an engineer & an artist who were then blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Antonia Lamb discovered beatniks, science fiction, music, theater, dance and a passion for equal rights while growing up in Texas.

Updated October 1, 2013

In 1967 she & her two very young children moved to Hollywood. She continued writing, became an “astrologer to the stars” and met folk legend Bob Gibson. He traded banjo lessons for a horoscope and became a lifelong friend & fan, giving her the Vega longneck banjo (formerly Johnny Horton’s) which she played for the rest of her life. Soon after, Antonia Lamb began performing at L.A. area folk clubs. In 1971 her song Morning & An Oldsmobile appeared on Judy Mayhan’s legendary Decca album.

Nudged by ex-Byrd Gene Clark, she moved to Mendocino, CA, part of a musical/tribal migration of friends including Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Gene Parsons, the Cat Mother & Grateful Dead families, the Bob Gibson clan, and many others.

In 1978 she made her first album, Easy to Love Her, on her own independent label. Amazing Tracks came out in 1996. Gamma was released in 2006, followed by Lucky’s House in 2008. She put out Banjo Grandma in December 2010 and her last, Carry Me Away, was released in early 2012.

Antonia passed away on September 9, 2013 at her home in her beloved Mendocino. Her voice will live on through her music.. and through us all...

She danced with the Houston Symphony as part of the Houston Foundation for Ballet, was an apprentice at the Alley Theater, and became involved with the civil rights movement.

At age 16, she moved back to New York. After starring in an off-Broadway play, she wrote science-fiction, sold four novels, discovered that she was psychic, became an astrologer & an underground newspaper columnist and fell into the Greenwich Village music scene. On the night JFK was shot, Jim (Roger) McGuinn gave Antonia her first banjo lesson & joint song-writing experience. (He Was a Friend of Mine appeared on the Byrds’ second album, Turn, Turn, Turn.)

Photo by Doug Pollard