Michael Hurley, 'Godfather of Freak Folk' Musician and Painter, Dies at 83: 'There Is No Other'

Michael Hurley, a folk musician, cartoonist and painter, has died. He was 83.

Hurley's publicist confirmed the news of his death to PEOPLE on Friday, April 4 and shared a statement on behalf of his family.

"It is with a resounding sadness that the Hurley family announces the recent sudden passing of the inimitable Michael Hurley," it began. "The 'Godfather of freak folk' was for a prolific half-century the purveyor of an eccentric genius and compassionate wit. He alone was Snock. There is no other."

The statement concluded: "Friends, family, and the music community deeply mourn his loss."

No cause of death has been revealed.

Hurley was born in Bucks County, Penn. in 1941. In his early twenties, he relocated to Greenwich Village in New York City, where he found acclaim in the folk scene. Along the way, he earned the nickname "Snock." By 1964, he released his debut album First Songs, for Folkways Records, which the late songwriter Jesse Colin Young championed.

Young, who died last month at 83, encouraged Hurley to record another pair of albums when his band the Youngbloods began their own imprint.

Hurley then released 1971’s Armchair Boogie and 1972’s Hi Fi Snock Uptown.

By 1976 he released his most widely-known LP, Have Moicy!, which he made with the Holy Modal Rounders.

Hurley founded his own label, Bellemeade Phonics, in the 1980s where he released his own music until the early 2000s, before independent labels began releasing his work. 

For the next 40 years, Hurley continued to release albums regularly.

In an interview with Psychedelic! Baby Mag in 2021, Hurley spoke about the music he enjoyed listening to the most.

“I like original music,” he told the publication. "I like to listen to people who are playing themselves, not somebody else or who they think they should be. I like a raw truth. I like to celebrate the hilarity of life. The whole deal. The boogie woogie, the bebop and the blues as well as folk music of all nations.”

His final record, The Time of the Foxgloves, was released in 2021.

However, according to his publicist, Hurley had just finished a new album.

"It was mastered the week before he died, and he was very proud of it," he said in a statement. "Hopefully. it will see the light of day soon."

Hurley was also a cartoonist and painter, who created the artwork for his own albums.

He was still touring and performing before he died.

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Hurley shared two sons, Jordan and Colorado, and a daughter, Daffodil, with his ex-wife Marjorie.

He also had two more children — a son, Rollin, with a girlfriend, Kim — and a daughter, Wilder Mountain Honey, with another girlfriend, Bethany.