Legendary Maine singer-songwriter David Mallett has died

By Emily Burnham, Bangor Daily News Staff

David Mallett, a Maine singer-songwriter whose thoughtful, melodic songs were recorded by countless folk and Americana artists, has died at age 73.

His son, Luke Mallett, who with his brother Will formed the Mallett Brothers Band in 2009, confirmed his father died Dec. 17

Though Mallett has released 17 albums spanning the decades from his 1978 self-titled debut to 2016’s “Celebration,” he is best known for his classic “The Garden Song,” with its unforgettable refrain “Inch by inch / row by row / gonna make this garden grow.” It was recorded by Peter, Paul & Mary, John Denver, Pete Seeger, and The Muppets. 

Mallett was a native of Piscataquis County, born in Dover-Foxcroft and raised in the lakeside town of Sebec, where five generations of his family had lived. He and his brother, Neil, played music together as kids, and even opened for Johnny Cash when he played in Bangor.

After graduating from Foxcroft Academy in 1969, Mallett attended the University of Maine, but dropped out after a year. Nearly 40 years later, in 2014 he was awarded an honorary degree by the school, which Luke Mallett called one of his father’s proudest moments. 

It was at UMaine that he began writing his first songs, and in the mid-1970s he played bars and cafes all across Maine. It was at one of those gigs that he was discovered by Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary, who at the time had recently moved to Blue Hill. Mallett recorded his first album in Stookey’s Hen House recording studio.

Stookey introduced the earliest version of “The Garden Song” to folk legend Pete Seeger, who took a shine to the song. It quickly became a part of the American folk music repertoire, covered by countless artists for the past 50 years. 

Mallett’s work was far broader than his signature song. Over the course of his 17 albums, he explored folk and country music, and through his lyrics pondered the big questions in life — about love, the natural world and the human condition. Anchored by his sonorous baritone and understated guitar playing, Mallett became a highly regarded singer-songwriter by his contemporaries, and a cult favorite among folk aficionados. 

Though he lived in Nashville for about a decade in the 1980s and 1990s, when his father passed away Mallett inherited the family farmhouse in Sebec. He moved home to Maine and stayed there the rest of his life, and was devoted to his home state. 

“I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my friend, Dave Mallett,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement on social media Wednesday. “Dave was an accomplished singer-songwriter who was once called the ‘living embodiment’ of Maine. On behalf of all Maine people, I extend my deepest condolences to his family.”

Mallett is survived by his wife, Jayne, and children, Luke, Will, and Molly.