Ed Pearl, Ash Grove Collection

Edwin Morton Pearl (1932-2021) grew up in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, the middle of five children. He began attending UCLA circa 1954, where his love for folk music began in part due to his guitar teacher, Bess Lomax Hawes. Pearl also became involved in an effort to bring Pete Seeger to campus, but ultimately UCLA made the decision that Seeger could not play. Pearl then became the spokesperson for the group, and was able to get the event moved to a nearby church. From those two experiences, Pearl started forming the idea to start the Ash Grove. Eventually, Pearl would drop out of UCLA to start the Ash Grove at the age of 22 in 1958, despite his lack of knowledge of the music industry. With an initial investment of $10,000 raised by friends and family, he opened the Ash Grove in a converted furniture factory. The first concert featured Pearl’s flamenco teacher, folk singer Guy Carawan, and blues performer Brownie McGhee. Although Ash Grove began as a coffeehouse, it differed because it had a 250 seat auditorium that was primarily a concert hall, and also contained a record store, and school of traditional folk music that taught banjo, guitar, and other courses.

In the years that Ash Grove was in operation, many jazz, blues, and folk musicians such as Doc Watson, the Byrds, Taj Mahal, Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger, Clifton Chenier, and Linda Ronstadt performed. Ash Grove also played host to many forums, meetings, art shows, film screenings, and political discussions. Unfortunately in 1973, a fire- the third in a string of suspected arsons in a 4 year span- would cause damage too costly to fix and the Ash Grove permanently closed. After the Ash Grove closed, Pearl became a producer for the theater group San Francisco Mime Troupe, as well as a radio producer for KFKP-FM where he had a show entitled "Up from the Ash Grove" from 1978-1984. Although there was interest in opening a new Ash Grove in the late 1980s, real efforts to open a new Ash Grove at the Santa Monica Pier began in 1991. After years of delay, the Ash Grove at the Santa Monica Pier opened in 1996, but shuttered its doors after being evicted in 1997. In the years following the closure of Ash Grove at the Santa Monica Pier, Pearl started Ash Grove Music which featured monthly concert dance series from 1998-2000 in San Pedro, CA., as well as the Ash Grove Foundation which organized stage concerts, lectures, and community performances. In 2015, Pearl produced “Ash Grove at the Improv” which took place at the Improv- the same location as the original Ash Grove club on Melrose Ave in West Hollywood. Along with Pearl’s ventures as part of Ash Grove, he was very involved in political activism and organized rallies regarding Nicaraguan and other Latin American liberation struggles; founded the Peace and Freedom Party in 1967; and also participated in anti-Vietnam, anti-nuclear, and South African anti-apartheid events. Pearl passed away in 2021, and is survived by his daughter Jolie Pearl, and granddaughter.

Sources: Hilburn, Robert. “Sand Runs Out on the Ash Grove.” Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 1973. Box 3, Folder 4 Hochman, Steve. “Major Music Figures Gear Up to Resurrect Ash Grove.” Los Angeles Times, 17 June 1988. Box 3, Folder 4 Biederman, Patricia Ward. "Calling for an Encore, Man Behind the Ash Grove Awaits the Rebirth of Legendary Club." Los Angeles Times, 7 November 1993. Box 3, Folder 4 Gyulai, Monica. "Ash Grove Rises Again- for Real This Time.", 3 December 1993. Los Angeles Reader. Box 3, Folder 4

Saad, Nardine. "Ed Pearl 88, Los Angeles (obituary)." 8 March 2021. Los Angeles Times. Box 8, Folder 19. Kuzins, Rebecca. "The Last Coffeehouse." February 1985. Los Angeles Magazine. Box 8, Folder 19.

"Ed Pearl Resume", Box 8, Folder 19.

[transcript of an Ed Pearl interview], 25, June 1990. Box 8, Folder 19

Davis, Mike, and Jon Wiener. Set the Night on Fire : L.A. in the Sixties. Verso, 2020. Call Number: SpCol F869.L857 D385 2020

“Ed Pearl.” Activist Video Archive, Activist Video Archive, 4 July 2018, https://activistvideoarchive.org/archive-library-1/2018/6/9/ed-pearl.