Robert Resnik, who spent 29 years hosting Vermont Public’s folk and world music show All the Traditions, has died. He was 72.
Resnik is remembered as a singular figure in the state’s music scene.
“He always seemed to find a way to break out into song,” Vermont Public Music Manager Helen Lyons said. “He had a song for every moment, every occasion, and that's often how a conversation would go.”
Resnik’s three-hour Sunday show reflected his omnivorous approach to music of the world, and his passion for elevating Vermont musicians. While sharing his weekly playlist on air, Resnik could be seen inside his studio with his headphones on, his eyes closed, his feet tapping, and a smile on his face.
“I remember music as one of my earliest memories. Singing around the house, and we used to sing in the car when we were driving around,” Resnik once told the Vermont Arts Council. “I think when you talk about music and the emotions that are brought by something as elemental as the beating of your heart and how your memories go back beyond memory to music that somebody sang to you … that’s essentially what I’m doing on the radio.”
Before there was social media to tell you where to catch a great local act, to remind you of some old-time gem, or introduce you to something new, there was Resnik. On one of his final episodes of “All the Traditions,” Resnik played the Paul Simon hit “Slip Slidin' Away,” and staples from country stars Dwight Yoakam and Guy Clark. He also sprinkled in songs from lesser known artists like the upstate New York banjo player Benny Bleu, and singer songwriter Hana Zara, a former Burlington resident.
“I think his reaction to the song after he played the set … his little commentary, made you go, ‘Oh, well, that's interesting,’” said fellow Vermont musician Deb Flanders. “His voice sort of chuckled… you could hear that in his voice, the smiling in his voice, you know… like, a kid, in a candy store.”
Resnik grew up in a musical family. He learned the clarinet as a child and gradually added more than 25 instruments to his repertoire.
“He could also play tin whistles and probably play a crumhorn, for all I know,” said Vermont musician Mary McGinnis, who met Resnik when he was a student at the University of Vermont in the early 1970s.
Resnik performed and recorded with a variety of musical combinations for kids and adults. He was a librarian at Fletcher Free Library in Burlington for 28 years, and performed weekly musical programs for children there.
He also wrote music reviews for local publications including Seven Days, and served as a consultant for area concert venues. In 2013, he wrote the book Legendary Locals of Burlington, and in 2019, he was awarded the prestigious Herb Lockwood Prize in the Arts. He was also inducted into international Folk DJ Hall of Fame.
He was also an avid forager of wild mushrooms.
Resnik had suffered from Parkinson’s disease in recent years. Resnik's family shared that he died surrounded by loved ones.
He is survived by his wife Maureen and his two sons, Ben and Max.
“Being a DJ and being able to share music, to share stories, to share food, was one of the things my dad loved more than anything else,” Max Resnik told Vermont Public after his father's death.
Vermont Public host Mary Engisch contributed to this report.
