Cult folk music icon and his wife killed in house fire. Here’s what we know

Tucker Zimmerman, a cult folk music icon, was killed on Saturday in a house fire, according to multiple reports.

He was 84.

Zimmerman's wife, Marie-Claire Lambert, was also killed in the fire which took place at their home in Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse, Belgium, according to Parade Magazine.

Zimmerman's first album, 1968's Ten Songs , was famously cited by David Bowie as one of his favorite albums of all time.

"The guy's way too qualified for folk, in my opinion," Bowie said in 2003. "Degrees in theory and composition, studying under composer Henry Onderdonk, Fulbright scholarship, and he wants to be Dylan. A waste of an incendiary talent? Not in my opinion. I always found this album of stern, angry compositions enthralling."

Zimmerman churned out 16 albums across his career, the last — Music by River Words by Ear — coming in 2025.

Zimmerman did have a career break between his 1983 album, Word Games , and 2003's Walking on the Edge of the Blues (Nightshift Trio).

Parade Magazine called his 2024 album, Dance of Love, one of his "most compelling late-career chapters." Zimmerman collaborated with the folk band, Big Thief, on the project, and the band remembered him in a post on X after his death.

"It was an extreme honor to make a record with one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Tucker Zimmerman," that post read. "We believe in this music with all of our hears, and we hope it brings you joy."

Others took to social media to remember him as well.

"So sad to hear about the sudden passing of Tucker Zimmerman and his wife Marie-Claire at a house fire," Tomas del Real wrote on X. "He was an incredible songwriter from early ages (ten songs) to now, you can hear his kindness. He was recently collaborating with Andrianne Lenker and the Big Thief crew."

Parade Magazine noted that Zimmerman "leaves behind a body of work that bridges generation and styles."

Read the original article on pennlive.com .