Obituary: Ed Askew, Singer-Songwriter and Painter

​New Haven memories of a “psychedelic folk musician”

Ed Askew, a Yale-educated painter who achieved wider renown as a singer-songwriter, died in New York City on Jan. 4, 2025, at age 84. The venerable music publication NME described him as a ​“psychedelic folk musician.” People magazine called him a cult figure.

I knew Ed Askew since I was a kid. I was at the large outdoor concert in the 1970s at Southern Connecticut State University where he was one of several featured acts. Ed was seated, singing and and playing the Tiple, when an equipment malfunction struck. One of the legs of his stool broke, sending him sprawling on the stage.

Probably high at the time, I thought, Now I understand why he’s is called “askew.”

Ed and his friend Bob Melzmuf gave me this self-portrait of Ed (above) when we were neighbors on Quinnipiac Avenue in New Haven in about 1990. We had fantastical apartments on the riverfront just south of the Grand Avenue Bridge.

Here’s an obituary of Ed Askew that I wrote for the New Haven Independent.

New Haven Independent - Askew Obit