NEED TO KNOW
Tucker Zimmerman, a prolific folk musician and writer whose work drew praise from the likes of David Bowie, died in a house fire in Belgium alongside his wife Marie-Claire on Saturday, Jan. 17. He was 84.
News of Zimmerman’s death was announced by the British record label 4AD, with whom he’d released the album Dance of Love — a collaboration with indie darlings Big Thief — in 2024.
“It is with tremendous sadness we announce the passing of Tucker Zimmerman. He and his beloved wife of half a century, Marie-Claire, died at their home near Liege, Belgium,” the label posted on Instagram on Monday, Jan. 19. “His work was a sonic memoir; a tribute to the people, experiences and sounds that have shaped his 84 years. Both he and Marie-Claire were wonderful souls who loved one another deeply and brought light to so many people’s lives. We know we are not alone in saying how honoured we are to have known them both.”
Zimmerman and Marie-Claire, 81, were married in 1975 after meeting in Rome, where Zimmerman was living as a Fulbright scholar and she was working at the Belgian embassy. They welcomed son Quanah in October 1976.
Dirk Leunis
“We’ve now been together for over 50 years. She’s stood by my side thru thick and thin, storms and calm weather, rain, ice and heat waves,” Zimmerman wrote of his wife on his website. “Without her I would be nowhere in the world except six-feet under. Her love for me and her faith in what I do is beyond belief. She is my guide. She is my muse. She is my driver.”
Tony Visconti, who produced Zimmerman’s first album in 1968, paid tribute to the musician on Facebook, describing his songs as “biting and revolutionary.”
“David Bowie adored him,” Visconti wrote. “If you haven’t heard Tucker’s music, it was like a very dark version of Bob Dylan. I’m all choked up.”
Bowie publicly praised Zimmerman in a 2003 interview with Vanity Fair, listing his debut album Ten Songs by Tucker Zimmerman as an all-time favorite.
“The guy’s way too qualified for folk, in my opinion. Degrees in theory and composition, studying under composer Henry Onderdonk, Fulbright scholarship, and he wants to be Dylan,” Bowie said. “A waste of an incendiary talent? Not in my opinion. I always found this album of stern, angry compositions enthralling.”
Zimmerman was born and raised in San Francisco, and started writing songs in 1965. He wrote over 800 songs over the course of his 60-year career, which included stops in Rome and London before he and Marie-Claire settled in Belgium.
“I must say at this point that I have never really been in control of my songs, or have I ever wanted to be. They pop out. They surprise me,” he wrote on his website. “They take me to places off the map when I least expect it. I’ve always felt that the songs write me, not the other way around.”
Big Thief served as producers and backing band on his album Dance of Love in 2024, and frontwoman Adrianne Lenker called him “one of the greatest songwriters of all time” to Paste magazine.
Zimmerman released his final album, Music By River Words By Ear, in July 2025, though he told fans in a New Year’s Eve message that he had new music ready to go.
“A new record of new songs is currently being mastered & there will be news on that soon,” he wrote. “Thank you friends, 4ad & Big Potato who helped me share music, records & books with everyone. Peace to all.”
