Wendy Thatcher
Jan Erin "Wendy" Thatcher (1948 – August 28, 2017) was a bluegrass singer, guitarist and songwriter who sang with Eddie Adcock & the II Generation in the early 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Arlington, Virginia, where took up guitar at 15. She met Eddie Adcock while he was a member of the Country Gentlemen, and the two played during intermissions at the band's shows. They later worked with Country Gentlemen bassist Ed Ferris at Hall's Seafood Restaurant in Washington. She and Adcock moved to California early in 1970. There they fronted the country band Codack Special, billed as Clinton Codack and Wendy Special, and recorded a single. She wrote "Another Lonesome Morning," later recorded by Emmylou Harris and the Seldom Scene, among others. She joined II Generation, the progressive band Adcock formed with Jimmy Gaudreau and Bob White, and stayed until early 1974, contributing her songs "Virginia" and "Train" to its recordings. Her mother, Jean Thatcher, wrote "Raining in Nashville," which the band also recorded. Thatcher was among the earliest women of bluegrass's modern era and influenced singer Katie Laur. She returned to California in 1974, moved to Chicago in 1976 and rarely performed in public afterward. Her partner was mandolinist Jeremy Raven, an original member of Special Consensus.
In the newsletter
- No. 11 Spring 1997