Blood, Sweat & Cheers
I don’t read much non-fiction. I don’t know that I’d ever read two in a row — until now. Tell the Truth Until They Bleed by Josh Alan Friedman, published in 2008, is a collection of 15 music profiles, 14 having debuted elsewhere. The first and longest, written exclusively for the book, covers the career of legendary songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, and would probably be the most appealing to the general public. The other pieces cover artists whose contributions to music are significant but whose names would probably be unknown to most. Along the way there are a lot of interesting anecdotes. Here’s Lieber on the mob’s presence in the 1950’s music scene: “The wise guys were as insular as Hasidic Jews: The rest of the world were goyim to them…” On his preference for Yiddish: “Take it from me. Hebrew is not funny. It’s not juicy, it’s not colorful. I never heard any joy in it. It’s all business. Philosophy, science, politics.” I’d always wondered what the difference was between the two… Stoller and his wife honeymooned in Italy and returned on the Andrea Doria, surviving its sinking… The term Rhythm and Blues replaced “Race Music.”… Songwriter Doc Pomus was afflicted with polio as a child and used crutches. It is speculated that the following lyrics were inspired by an actual incident involving his wife: “Don’t forget who’s taking you home/ And in whose arms you’re gonna be/ So, darling, save the last dance for me.”… Producer Joel Dorn permanently lost hearing in his left ear during a case of the mumps. Because he couldn’t hear stereo, many of his records were in mono… Dr. John claimed that upright bass was shunned because it was drowned out in early rock n roll recordings. Horns were substituted until the electric bass came along… Master sax sideman David “Fathead” Newman reminisced about playing in a club owned by Jack Ruby: “… Whenever the striptease dancers came out, he’d want the musicians to turn our backs. Cause they were white ladies…” Prolific session guitarist Cornell Dupree would not play an acoustic because of his tendency to hum, which was picked up by the tapes… Blues great Johnny Winter was loved in the lesbian clubs he played early in his career… Steely Dan got its name from a sexual device in the William Burroughs novel Naked Lunch… Sadly, many of those mentioned in the narrative passed away well before life expectancy due to substance abuse. The title is a quote from Doc Pomus. The book would appeal most to those, especially lovers of the blues, who enjoy a deep dive into the music world. The writing is okay. One cautionary note: the author quotes the subjects extensively. There is an occasional bashing of a music giant that may turn off fans. Still, a good read overall. Eight users at Amazon have rated it, forging to a consensus of 4.1 on a scale of five. Friedman, 65, is a musician and producer himself. He has four albums and a single to his credit. He has written nine books, including five novels. He is the subject of four documentaries, and has written one doc short, Tales of Times Square (2006), based on one of his books. Here he is at the crossroads of the world:
Last night Movies!, channel 5–2 on ota in NYC, ran another flick I’d never seen, part of its Sunday Night Noir series, The Clay Pigeon (1949), a decent story that had a major flaw — the main character should have caught on to who was putting his life in jeopardy. It stars Bill Williams and Barbara Hale, who married in real life, never divorced, and had three kids. While Williams’ face was familiar, I couldn’t place his name or other work. Shame on me. Born in Brooklyn, his career spanned 1944-’81. He was mostly in B fare, and more successful on the small screen. He starred in 105 episodes of The Adventures of Kit Carson, was Betty White’s co-star in 33 of Date with the Angels, and did 39 of Assignment Underwater, which tried to capitalize on the popularity of Sea Hunt, for which he’d turned down the lead. He passed away at 77 in 1992. His wife, of course, gained fame in 271 episodes of Perry Mason and the many TV movies of it that followed its series run.
RIP Mick Tingelhoff, 81, a center who played his entire career, 1962-’78, for the Vikings, starting 240 straight games. He played in six pro bowls, was first team All-Pro five times, second team twice. He is in the team’s Ring of Honor, his number retired. He is a member of its 40th anniversary team. He played in each of the Vikings’ four Super Bowl losses. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2015. He is also a member of the University of Nebraska Hall of Fame. Well done, sir.
Things couldn’t have worked out much better for the floating book shop on this gorgeous though muggy day. My thanks to the woman who bought two cook books, and to Nadine, who purchased Capital Crimes by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman; and to the Asian couple who took home six art pictorials; and to the woman who chose two others; and to the woman who selected a hardcover thriller in Russian; and to the woman who donated a bunch of Harlequin romances translated into that language; and to the gentleman who pulled his SUV to the curb and delivered six books in Russian he claims are by great authors. Despite all that, the best that happened was the most favorable parking spot opening up as I was packing up. All I had to do was back up about 25 feet.
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