Help Barry Goldberg Beat Cancer and Play Again

Hi. I’m Timm Martin, one of Barry Goldberg’s best friends,

I’ve known Barry forever; Harvey Mandel introduced us when I played bass in Harvey’s band back in the 70’s. I’m raising money to help Barry beat cancer. It’s been a terrible, long fight.

Barry was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma beginning in 2014. He kept it hidden as long as he could, until it started to affect his ability to play. At first, he thought the doctors had it under control, but the cancer morphed into a rare form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It came back stronger.

As a result, his savings have been wiped out. Then Covid hit and further kept him from playing, yet his treatments continued pushing him further into debt and distress. To top it off, Gail, his wife of 53 years, has encountered her own health issues keeping her from working as well.

With these terrible events, Barry’s medical debt has skyrocketed and keeps growing. So, I’m trying to help him raise money. I’m encouraged by the support I’ve already received, but I still need help reaching my fundraising goal of $50,000. More on this in just a bit.

Barry’s prodigious contributions to music, film and television as a keyboardist, songwriter, and producer have spanned six decades.

As a teenager in Chicago, Goldberg sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin' Wolf. He played keyboards as part of the band that backed Bob Dylan during his 1965 historic 'electrified' appearance at the Newport Folk Festival.

He formed the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band alongside Steve Miller and The Electric Flag with his best friend Mike Bloomfield.

Goldberg has also released several solo albums including the only album Bob Dylan ever produced for another artist.

Goldberg's songs have been recorded by many musicians including Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight, Joe Cocker, Steve Miller, Bobby "Blue" Bland, to name but a few. Goldberg, along with Saul Davis, also produced a Grammy nominated album for legendary soul singer Percy Sledge.

As a keyboardist, Barry’s playing has been featured on classic albums by legends such as The Ramones, Leonard Cohen, Gram Parsons, Mitch Ryder’s hit “Devil With a Blue Dress On”, and many more.

More recently he toured with The Chicago Blues Reunion Band on my Out The Box record label with Harvy Mandel, Nick Gravenites, and Corky Siegel, and was featured in my documentary "Born in Chicago."

As of late, he’s performed as one third of the Rides, with Stephen Stills and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, touring widely and topping Billboard's blues charts. Barry was also recently inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame.

And Barry has recorded a new record with Jimmy Vivino, Conan O'Brien’s Musical Director, and Chicago blues harp player Rob Stone. Part of the fundraising goal is to raise money for Barry to produce the record and get it out for his fans to buy.

His history is stellar, but we need to get Barry back healthy, selling records, and playing the keys!

Would you be willing to contribute to Barry’s fundraiser? A gift of any amount would mean the world to me.

It would also mean a lot if you could share his fundraiser link on social media. The more exposure we get, the faster we will reach our fundraising goal.

I appreciate all your support! I would not be able to get Barry back to playing without your help.

Sincerely,

Timm Martin