Here is the next installment of Frank Kresen’s biography of John Stewart.
John Stewart 4th Installment Ch 1
and previous installments if you missed them:
Prelude: Flashback and Foreshadow Introduction: “On Becoming a Household Name” — or, “One Amp Short” Johnny They Hardly Knew Ye by Frank Kresen
Frank Kresen and I share a deep, lifetime affection for unique songwriter John Stewart, who died six years ago on January 19, 2006. I have written about John Stewart here, and I’m pasting in a link below to a post I wrote two years ago. But the real treat in this post is the PDF […]
Twenty-five years ago I was a young officer at the US Embassy in Manila, and in my “spare time” I produced records in Manila with some really great artists as a kind of hobby and what I hoped would be a bridge to a different future. My first project was an album by Odette Quesada […]
Word comes from the music universe that classic rock’s pre-eminent ballad, Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”, has turned 40. Bringing with it 8 minutes and two seconds of music that starts out as a haunting folk song, progresses through a bluesish mid-section, and then ends up with as a high octane arena rock shriek fest, […]
Freddie Aguilar is by no means the only Filipino artist on my short list of Filipino musicians I admire. I’m a big fan of Aegis, a Filipino girl band (sisters Juliet and Mercy Sunot headline it) who, like Freddie, bring forth music that seems to use an international vibe to create a “tunay na pilipino” […]
Just as Freddie Aguilar was there singing “Bayan Ko” at the EDSA Revolution for Cory Aquino, and just as John Stewart was there singing songs of hope for Bobby Kennedy — so too was the extraordinary Tunisian singer/songwriter Amel Mathluthi (alternate spelling Amal Mahluthi) at the barricades for Tunisia last January in support of the […]
Out of nowhere, a few minutes ago, I was browsing Youtube for more John Stewart songs (scroll down one post and you’ll see why), when all of a sudden there was a song that had completely flown out of my consciousness — but which had been one the very very original songs that made me […]
by John Prine
We had an apartment in the city,
Me and Loretta liked living there.
Well, it’d been years since the kids had grown,
A life of their own left us alone.
John and Linda live in Omaha,
And Joe is somewhere on the road.
We lost Davy […]
by John Prine
Small town, bright lights, Saturday night,
Pinballs and pool halls flashing their lights.
Making change behind the counter in a penny arcade
Sat the fat girl daughter of Virginia and Ray
(Spoken:)
Lydia
Lydia hid her thoughts like a cat
Behind her small eyes sunk deep […]
by Eric Clapton
It’s late in the evening; she’s wondering what clothes to wear.
She puts on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair.
And then she asks me, “Do I look all right?”
And I say, “Yes, you look wonderful tonight.”
We go to a party and everyone turns to […]
by Waylong Jennings
Cowboys ain’t easy to love and they’re harder to hold.
They’d rather give you a song than diamonds or gold.
Lonestar belt buckles and old faded levis,
And each night begins a new day.
If you don’t understand him, an’ he don’t die young,
He’ll prob’ly just […]
Always On My Mind
—————–
by Willie Nelson
I:
D A
Maybe I didn’t love you
Bm D G A
Quite as often as I could have
D A
And maybe I didn’t treat you
Bm D Em7
Quite as good as I should have
II:
(I really can’t even fake this anymore — I only knew it briefly for a period in the early 80’s. But the lyrics are cool, evocative.)
by Al Stewart
The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so […]
by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
It is the evening of the day,
I sit and watch the children play.
Smiling faces I can see, but not for me,
I sit and watch as tears go by.
My riches can’t buy ev’rything,
I want to hear the children sing.
All […]
by John Denver
He was born in the Bitterroot Valley in the early morning rain
Wild geese over the water headin’ north and home again
Bringin’ a warm wind from the south
Bringin’ the first taste of the spring
His mother took him to her breast and softly she did sing
[…]
It’s by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done
To be so in love with you and so alone
Follow me where I go what I do and who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me
Follow me up and down all the way and all […]
How many roads most a man walk down
Before you call him a man ?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand ?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they’re forever banned ?
The answer my friend is […]
Gerry Goffin and Carole King
Lyrics: Tonight you’re mine, completely
You give your soul so sweetly
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes
But will you love me tomorrow
Is this a lasting treasure
Or just a moment’s pleasure
Can I believe the magic in your sights
[…]
There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I’m one
My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new bluejeans
My father was a gamblin’ man
Down in New Orleans
Now […]
by Kris Kristofferson
Take the ribbon from your hair, shake it loose and let it fall,
Layin’ soft upon my skin. like the shadows on the wall.
Come and lay down by my side till the early morning light
All I’m takin’ is your time. help me make it through the night.
[…]
by Kris Kristofferson
See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans
Wearing yesterdays misfortune like a smile
Once he had a future full of money, love and dreams
Which he’d spend like they were going out of style
And he keeps right on a changin’ for the better […]
by Jimmy Buffet
He went to Paris looking for answers
To questions that bothered him so
He was impressive, young and aggressive
Saving the world on his own
But the warm summer breezes, those french wines and cheeses
Put his ambitions at bay
The summers and winters scattered like […]
DON’T CRY BLUE
(Malcolm McKinney)
Jonathan Edwards
I heard them engines runnin’
On the road away from home.
Sound like thunder callin’ out my name.
Well I listened hard the first time
That I heard ’em roll along.
I listened and I’d never been the same.
Well, don’t cry, […]
Gordon Lightfoot
The lamp is burnin’ low upon my table top
The snow is softly falling
The air is still within the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly calling
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy […]
Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge
If you could see me now
The one who said that he’d rather roam
The one who said he’d rather be alone
If you could only see me now.
If I could hold you know
Just for a moment if I could make you mine
[…]
by Kris Kristofferson
Busted flat in Baton Rouge, headin’ for the train,
Feelin’ nearly faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained;
Took us all the way to New Orleans.
I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna,
And was blowing sad while […]
by John Stewart
f I could hide ‘neath the wings
Of the bluebird as she sings
The six o’clock alarm would never ring
But it rings and I rise
Rub the sleep out of my eyes
The shaving razor’s old and it stings
But cheer up, sleepy Jean
Ah, […]
by John Stewart
See it shinning on the highway at night
Little lights burning from the cafe right
Fat Jack talking ’bout a girl named Rose
Looking for something to put up her nose
But I ain’t got time tonight, I ain’t got time tonight
And if you want that flag […]
by Steve Goodman
Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passin’ trains […]
by John Stewart
Clear the tracks, the song’s been taken
This may be the last hurrah
In Tennessee they were forsaken
L.A. was the coup de grace
Clean your guns, the battle’s over
They belong now to the wind
The saddest words I’ve ever spoken
Were the words “It […]
Year of the Spy Book Trailer
Above is the Year of the Spy Book Trailer — for my upcoming non-fiction book about espionage upheavals on the streets of Moscow in 1985.
Below is a “trailer” showcasing the writing and video services I provide to clients.
Michael Sellers — Writing and Video Services
My eBook — Just released Dec 5, 2012
EBook You don't need a Kindle or iPad -- Download Adobe Digital Editions for Free, then read the .mobi (Kindle Format) or .epub (Nook, iPad Format) digital book on your computer. Or order the PDF which is formatted exactly like the print book.Recent Posts
- Arsha Sellers — Today I’m One Big Step Closer to Becoming a Real Forever Dad
- Meet Abby Sellers and Arshavin Sellers — My Wife, My Son, My Inspiration Every Day
- What the Mueller Report Actually Says
- Remembering James Blount, an American Who “Got” the Philippines in 1901
- America the Beautiful? You Mean America the Pitiful. I Am Ashamed