Kris Kristoffersen 1936- (Part I)

Kris Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas in 1936. His father was an Army officer, so he travelled a lot as a child. He graduated from High school in California, and he wanted to be a writer. He enrolled at Pomona College and graduated from there in 1958. He was a talented athlete and played Rugby for his college. He got a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford and went there, still intending to write. His family wanted him to go into the army and make it his career. He enjoyed Oxford, and he kept up his sports activities. He boxed, including a sparring match with the English boxer Henry Cooper. However he was still determined to become a novelist. He took up song writing and recorded a couple of songs, hoping that they would draw attention to to his writing. His brief musical career, under the name Kit Carson, was not successful. In 1961, he married his girlfriend Flavia, and gave way to his family’s pressure to take up a career. He also was willing to please them by choosing the military. He attained the rank of Captain and was a helicopter pilot. However the desire to write and play music was still strong in him. In 1965, after a hitch in the Army, he decided to give it up and go to Nashville to pursue his dream of being a song writer. His family all but disowned him. His mother wanted him to take up a post as instructor in English Literature at West Point. Kris preferred to become a janitor in Nashville, writing and trying to pitch his songs. He was also able to work as a civilian helicopter pilot, and went on writing. He had a family to support and his son was in need of medical care, so he kept on working, but was still determined to write and try to sell his songs. He and his wife divorced, later in the 60s. Kris tried to sell one of his songs to Johnny Cash, Sunday Morning Coming Down. Cash didn’t pay too much attention to it until Kris landed a helicopter on his property to get his attention. As Kristoffersen put it, once Johnny had recorded the song he never had to work a regular job again.

Oscar Wilde

Wilde was very much the author of his own tragedy. After a few years of conventional married life, he had thrown himself into a dangerous sex life with young men. Most "renters" (as rent boys were then called), were poor and willing to make money by any means possible, including blackmail. Wilde had outraged Queensbury by his obvious friendship with the young Lord Alfred. He had also “shown off” in the witness box at the libel trial. He could have fled abroad before he was arrested. The British authorities were willing to give him a little leeway, but he chose not to do so. This was particularly stupid of him, since he knew that he was guilty of the behavior that Queensbury was attacking him for. So it was risky for him to go along with Alfred’s desire to sue his father for libel, to please Douglas, who hated his father. And it was extremely foolish of him to then sit around and wait for the authorities to arrest him, when he could have left England. Presumably, Wilde believed that he would be able to sway the jury, even though he must have been aware that his homosexual behavior was likely to be brought out in the trial. Since the law had recently been changed about homosexual acts, and now all homosexual acts were criminalised, it was possible, even likely, that someone found guilty would get a fairly harsh sentence. Having been found guilty of homosexual behaviour, he was sentenced to 2 years hard labour. After his time in prison, a few friends in England still supported him but he realised that he would be wiser to go abroad. So he went to France. He returned to Alfred Douglas, but the relationship did not last long. Douglas's selfishness finally wore out Oscar's love for him. His health was bad, and he died a few years later, in Paris.

Joy Street

This is one of the first proper adult novels that I ever read. I don’t mean that it was “all about sex” but it was about a marriage, and was a serious examination of a woman’s life. I read it as a teenager and was so naive at the time that some of it took me by surprise. It was only when I was a little older that I understood some subtle hints.. Frances Parkinson Keyes was an American novelist who wrote many stories about historical subjects, some are set in the South and others in New England. Her novel, Joy Street, is set in Boston just before and during WWII. She was from the American upper class and her husband was involved in politics. Joy Street is the story of a young woman of the Boston elite, Emily Thayer, who at 22 marries Roger Field, a young lawyer of good social position but poor. Roger is a quiet shy man, who is devoted to his wife, and she has more charm and vivacity than him. His new law firm is experimenting with taking on staff from different social and ethnic backgrounds, such as Jews and Irish and Italian Catholics. Some of Emily’s family disapprove of this and dislike immigrants.. She is happy to help her new husband to welcome these new people into Boston society, but within a short time, she finds herself attracted to David Salomont, the womanising Jewish lawyer who has joined the firm. He tries to pursue her and she is tempted by him. But Emily is not a woman to give way to adultery, lightly. She tries to remove herself from too close contact with David, but her cousin, Priscilla, a new debutante, who is staying with her, makes it harder for her to do this.

Jerry Reed singer and guitarist, RIP Snowman

Jerry Reed Hubbard was born in 1937 in Atlanta, and was known professionally as Jerry Reed. His parents separated when he was a baby and he spent some of his childhood in foster homes. He worked in cotton mills but soon became more interested in music. He served in the US army for 2 years. Then, he went to Nashville and in the early 1960's he started song writing. One of his most famous songs was Guitar Man which he wrote for Elvis Presley. Another one was “A thing called Love” which was a hit in 1971, for Johnny Cash. In the early 1970s, Reed used to appear on the Glen Campbell show, where he played with Campbell, also a brilliant guitarist. One of his biggest hits was the novelty song, “When you’re hot, you’re hot”. He also recorded one of his own songs - “Amos Moses” a mixture of rock, country, funk, and Cajun styles. He did some acting, mostly in comedies. He was cast as “the Snowman” in the Burt Reynolds movies, Smokey and the Bandit and sequels. His singing and playing career began to take second place to his acting, but he had a hit with “East Bound and Trucking” from the "Smokey" movies. I never saw Jerry Reed playing live, and I don’t even like Smokey films! But he had enormous talent as a guitarist and song writer, and great charm as a performer, with his Southern accent and lovable smile...I wish I’d met him. He died in Nashville in 2008, and his wife, Priscila Mitchell passed away a few years later.

Cold Water, a search for meaning Benedict Brooke

I still find traces of unknown places And things that were lost by Time I sometimes think that inside a drink I’ll find old friends of mine I’ve opened doors, got scars from wars Yet nothing seems to change Bet on dark horses and occult forces But life just ain’t that strange I've hung my head; I’ve begged to be dead And I never meant a word Thought I was strong and sang a song Too nascent to be heard I've played for time and spun a line And never fooled a one Imagined schemes and crack eyed dreams Shot down before begun I've seen the world gross and unfurled Yet never stirred a hair

Dennis Locorriere

Dennis was the lead singer of Doctor Hook and the Medicine Show, in the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in New Jersey in 1949. He was always interested in drawing and in music and in the 1960’s he began to play professionally. He met Ray Sawyer, who together with other Southern-born musicians had been in a band called the Chocolate Papers. They had played gigs in the South and around the Mid-west, but relocated to New York. They formed a new band, and unable to think of a name, when told by a bar manager than they had to have one, they came up with “Doctor Hook and the Medicine Show”. Dr Hook was a reference to Ray Sawyer who had an eyepatch due to losing his eye in a motor accident…(like Captain Hook). The Medicine show was a reference to their taking drugs. Like most musicians at the time, they worked very hard, toured a lot and coped with the stress of long hours of travel as best they could. Ray played various instruments and sang, with a country kind of voice. However Dennis, who played bass, had an exceptional voice with a tremulous melodic quality. He began to sing lead on most songs, with Ray backing him. Billy Francis, another Southerner from Mississippi, played keyboards and also had a fine voice. He also did some amazingly gymnastic dancing. Other members were Jon Wolters who played drums (replaced Jay David) and George Cummings and Rik Elswit. The band appeared in a film, singing songs written by the amazing songsmith and poet Shel Silverstein. They began to make it big, after this. Shel’s irreverent lyrics, and their own lively bantering and antics on stage made them extremely popular. He wrote most of the songs for their first 2 albums. Dennis' big hit was Sylvia's Mother... which was hugely popular. Ray had a hit with Cover of the Rolling Stone, also by Shel, which poked fun at the fact that the band had not yet appeared on the cover of "Rolling Stone." It made jokes about bands having "genuine Indian gurus" and groupies. The BBC didn't want to play it because it used the name of a commercial magazine...Later when they did appear on the cover, it was in caricature....However, they had financial problems. Dennis has said that if they ever finished a tour in the black, they partied until they were broke again. They ended up declaring bankruptcy. They moved from the more outrageous songs of Silverstein to pop ballads which were a great commercial success. Ray left the band to sing on his own. He settled in Nashville, and produced a country album. The band continued without him until the 1980s, when they did a farewell tour. Dennis pursued a solo career and wrote his own songs and relocated to the UK. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to see Dennis playing live in London. He was singing as a solo artist with no backing band, and his voice was still very good. He joked with the audience. He was also very charming when we met him afterwards. I hope I’ll be able to see him again some time.

Blondes, Short comic poem Benedict Brooke

Blondes have more fun Brunettes have the brains At least that’s what they say In fact, that ain’t true Blondes just think that they do! And what do they know, anyway?