Photo added by K. Wolfe

Edward Ross “One Armed Pianist” Balchowsky

Birth: 11 Feb 1916
Frankfort, Will County, Illinois, USA
Death: 27 Nov 1989 (aged 73)
Forest Park, Will County, Illinois, USA
Burial: Forest Home Cemetery

Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA Show Map GPS-Latitude: 41.8702876, Longitude: -87.8187166
Memorial ID: 76452131 View Source

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Born to Harry Balchowsky & Gertrude Trepick of Frankfort Twp. Frankfort Village, Will Illinois. Artist, Poet, Raconteur, One-Armed Piantist, Veteran Of The Spanish Civil War As A Volunteer In The Abraham Lincoln Brigade. YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY AND FELLOW "PREMATURE ANTI-FASCISTS" SALUTE YOU

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Harry Balchowsky

unknown–1949

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Maintained by: Wolfe
Originally Created by: K. Wolfe
Added: Sep 13, 2011
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Sponsored by Lynda F. Turbeville
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Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76452131/edward_ross-balchowsky: accessed ), memorial page for Edward Ross “One Armed Pianist” Balchowsky (11 Feb 1916–27 Nov 1989), Find a Grave Memorial ID 76452131, citing Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA; Maintained by Wolfe (contributor 47631053).

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MAESTRO OF THE STREETS, Requiem for a Fascist Hunter.

May 24th 2002 by Ted Kleine
CHICAGO READER

Added by: K. Wolfe on 13 Sep 2011

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Maestro Of The Streets

Eddie Balchowsky Lost A Hand To War, But His Music And Madcap Charm Reached Out To A City

December 15, 1989|By Ron Grossman.

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I have a tendency to get songs stuck in my head, and doing this class means that they've been Utah Phillips' tunes lately. All weekend long it's been "Eddy's Song," to my ears one of Utah's best tunes. And a great story, too -- it's inspired by Ed Balchowsky, one of about 3,000 Americans who went to Spain to fight against Gen. Francisco Franco's fascists in the Spanish Civil War. The US, Great Britain and nearly all the rest of the world stayed neutral, while Italy and Germany came to the aid of the Francoists. Only the USSR effectively supported the Nationalists (the legally elected Spanish government); that communist presence further guaranteed no support from capitalist nations. Some people claim that this was where democratic forces could have, and should have, confronted the fascists before the world got plunged into global war.

To say the least, the experience changed Balchowsky's life. Listen to Utah tell the story, and the song on "Starlight on the Rails"- and there's also a fine version by Paul Rasmussen on "Long Gone." You can also check out the YouTube video and this link, where I swiped the photo of Balchowsky, and this one. Balchowsky also seems to have inspired Jimmy Buffett's "He Went to Paris."

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Added by: JPG on 13 Aug 2023

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Chicago Tribune 12/15/1989

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Edward Ross Balchowsky (1916-1989) portrait. Image from The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives.

Added by: Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) on 07 Aug 2023

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