The US folk singer Tucker Zimmerman, whose 1969 debut album “Ten Songs by Tucker Zimmerman” made him famous, has died. He and his wife, Marie-Claire Lambert, passed away in a house fire on Saturday, 17 January, at their home in Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse, near Liège, Belgium.
The news was confirmed, among others, by producer Tony Visconti, a long-time friend of Zimmerman, in a social media post. Visconti commemorated Zimmerman as a gifted musician and songwriter, recalling that even David Bowie “adored him.”
Born in San Francisco on 14 February 1941, Zimmerman developed an early passion for music. He began playing violin at age four and later studied Music Theory and Composition in his hometown, where he started writing songs. A scholarship took him to Rome in 1966.
It was there, in January 1967, that he met Marie-Claire Lambert, who was then working at the Belgian embassy. In a later autobiography, Zimmerman wrote of their instant connection: “We’ve been together ever since [...] 40 years later, she is still by my side, guiding me, helping me, sharing tears and laughter with me.”
After a two-year period in the UK, the couple settled permanently in Belgium. From 1970 to 1984, Zimmerman toured extensively across Europe, with a focus on Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany. He subsequently devoted time to writing books and poetry before eventually returning to songwriting.
