Stranger Than Fiction (compilation Album)
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Stranger Than Fiction (compilation Album)
''Stranger Than Fiction'' is an album by various performers, most of whom are professional writers and amateur singers, released in 1998 on Kathi Kamen Goldmark's "Don't Quit Your Day Job" Records. This album is an offshoot of the Rock Bottom Remainders, aka the Wrockers ("writer" + "rocker"). The artists on ''Stranger Than Fiction'' include not only many of the Remainders, such as bestselling authors Stephen King, Amy Tan and Dave Barry, but also rock critics Dave Marsh, Ben Fong-Torres and Greil Marcus, film critic Leonard Maltin and such literary heavyweights as Norman Mailer and Maya Angelou. Warren Zevon contributed liner notes and a variety of famous musicians played on the tracks, including Zevon, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of the Doobie Brothers, and Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country music and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw c ...
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Kathi Kamen Goldmark
Kathi Kamen Goldmark (August 18, 1948 – May 24, 2012) was an American author, columnist, publishing consultant, radio and music producer, songwriter, and musician. Goldmark was the author of the novel ''And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You'', co-authored or contributed to numerous other books, wrote a monthly column for ''BookPage'' with her husband, author and musician Sam Barry and produced the radio show ''West Coast Live''. She was a member of the San Francisco band Los Train Wreck, and founding member of the all-author rock band the Rock Bottom Remainders. As President of "Don't Quit Your Day Job" Productions inc., she supervised the production of ten music and spoken-word CDs. She died of breast cancer on May 24, 2012. She is survived by her second husband, Sam Barry, their three adult children, Tony Goldmark, Daniel Barry, and Laura Barry; her mother, Betty Kamen; and her brothers Paul and Michael. Early life Kathi Kamen was born in Brooklyn, New York, the first chil ...
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Bo Diddley (Bo Diddley Song)
"Bo Diddley" is a song by American rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley. It introduced the rhythm that became known as the Bo Diddley beat and topped the Billboard R&B chart for two weeks in 1955. The song is included on many of Diddley's compilation albums including ''Bo Diddley (1958 album), Bo Diddley'' (1958) and ''His Best (Bo Diddley album), His Best'' (1997). Buddy Holly recorded a version that became his highest charting single in the UK. Composition and recording The song is rhythmically similar to Juba dance, hambone, a technique of dancing and slapping various parts of the body to create a rhythm and song. Diddley's electric guitar along with his backup musicians on maracas and drums contributed to the Juba dance, patted juba rhythm. This combination of rock and roll, African rhythms and guitar was an innovation and came to be known as the Bo Diddley Beat. Lyrically, it is similar to the traditional lullaby "Hush Little Baby". "Bo Diddley" was recorded in Chicago at his fi ...
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Joel Selvin
Joel Selvin (born February 14, 1950) is an American San Francisco-based music critic and author known for his weekly column in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', which ran from 1972 to 2009. Selvin has written books covering various aspects of pop music—including the No. 1 ''New York Times'' best-seller ''Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock'' with Sammy Hagar—and has interviewed many musical artists. Selvin has published articles in ''Rolling Stone'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''Billboard'', and ''Melody Maker'', and has written liner notes for dozens of recorded albums. He has appeared in documentaries about the music scene and has occasionally taken the stage himself as a rock and roll singer. Writing career Music critic Selvin was born in Berkeley, California. He has stated that he failed to graduate with his Berkeley High School class of 1967. He moved to San Francisco and was hired as a copy boy at the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Selvin soon wangled a backstage pass for ...
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Little Roger And The Goosebumps
Little Roger and the Goosebumps is a pop/rock band from San Francisco active during the 1970s and early 1980s and resurrected in 2006. It has been led throughout its history by Roger Clark and Dick Bright, with various sidemen. The band is best known for its single "Gilligan's Island (Stairway)" a song combining the lyrics to the theme song of the television show '' Gilligan's Island'' with the music of " Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. The band wrote the song in 1977 as "material to pad the last set of the grueling 5 nights a week/4 sets a night routine," recorded it in March 1978, and released it as a single in May 1978 on their own Splash Records label. Led Zeppelin's management threatened a copyright infringement lawsuit against the label, its attorneys demanding that all copies be destroyed, and the band withdrew the song, seeing their legal resources as inadequate. The song was reissued in 2000 on the CD ''Laguna Tunes'' with the song title renamed "Stairway to Gilligan' ...
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Steamroller Blues
"Steamroller Blues" (a.k.a. "Steamroller"), is a blues parody written by James Taylor, that appeared on his 1970 album ''Sweet Baby James''. It was intended to mock the inauthentic blues bands of the day. The song later appeared on two of Taylor's compilation albums and has been recorded by a variety of other artists. Origin and recording Rock journalist David Browne wrote that " ring the Flying Machine days in the Village, Taylor had heard one too many pretentious white blues bands and wrote 'Steamroller' to mock them." ''Rolling Stone Album Guide'' critic Mark Coleman, said Taylor's song "effectively mocks the straining pomposity of then-current white bluesmen." Taylor and Danny Kortchmar, both playing electric guitars, laid down the track in one night at Sunset Studios, the rhythm section being added later. A tight budget and production schedule forced Taylor to record the song despite suffering from a head cold. The song was included on Taylor's diamond-selling ''Grea ...
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Rave On!
"Rave On", also written "Rave On!", is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty in 1958. It was first recorded by West for Atlantic Records, which released his version in February 1958 (as Atlantic 45-1174). Buddy Holly recorded the song later the same year, and his version became a hit, one of six of his recordings that charted in 1958. Holly is instantly recognizable as the artist: the record begins with a drawn-out "Well…" as stylized by Holly's distinctive hiccup ("A-weh-uh-heh-uh-ell…"). Background Most of West's recordings were produced and engineered by Norman Petty, who also managed Holly, and recorded in Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico. "Rave On", however, was produced by Milton DeLugg and recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City. The title was inspired by the 1956 Sun Records recording "Dixie Fried" by Carl Perkins, which uses the refrain "rave on." The B-side was Holly's composition "Take Your Time". Holly's rendition of "Rave On" ...
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Bob Greene
Robert Bernard Greene Jr. (born March 10, 1947) is an American journalist and author. He worked for 24 years for the ''Chicago Tribune'' newspaper, where he was a columnist. Greene has written books on subjects including Michael Jordan, Alice Cooper, and U.S. presidents. His book ''Hang Time: Days and Dreams with Michael Jordan'' became a bestseller. Early life Originally from Bexley, Ohio (a suburb of Columbus), Greene attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and became a reporter and feature writer for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' upon graduating in 1969, receiving a regular column in the paper within two years. Greene first drew significant national attention with his book ''Billion Dollar Baby'' (1974), a diary of his experiences while touring with rock musician Alice Cooper and portraying Santa Claus during the show. Newspaper column Greene's primary focus remained his newspaper column, for which he won the National Headliner Award for best column in 1977 from ...
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Act Naturally
"Act Naturally" is a song written by Johnny Russell, with a writing credit given to Voni Morrison and publishing rights transferred to Buck Owens. It was originally recorded by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, whose version reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Country Singles chart in 1963, his first chart-topper. In 2002, Shelly Fabian of About.com ranked the song number 169 on her list of the Top 500 Country Music Songs. The song tells the tale of someone who has been jilted and, because of that, can play a film part of someone sad and lonely without knowing anything about acting. It has been recorded by many other artists, including Loretta Lynn, Dwight Yoakam, Kidsongs (Debbie Lytton), and Mrs. Miller. The best-known other version is from the Beatles in 1965. Featuring Ringo Starr taking the lead vocal, it became a featured performance number of his in concert, both with the Beatles and later with His All-Starr Band. Owens and Starr went on to record a duet version in 19 ...
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Baby, It's Cold Outside
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and popularized in the 1949 film '' Neptune's Daughter''. While the lyrics make no mention of a holiday, it is commonly regarded as a Christmas song owing to its winter theme. The song was released in eight recordings in 1949 and has been covered numerous times since. History During the 1940s, whenever Hollywood celebrities with vocal talents attended parties, they were expected to perform songs. In 1944, Loesser wrote "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to sing with his wife, Lynn Garland, at their housewarming party in New York City at the Navarro Hotel. They sang the song to indicate to guests that it was time to leave. Garland has written that after the first performance, "We became instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act." In 1948, after years of performin ...
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Oscar Hijuelos
Oscar Jerome Hijuelos (August 24, 1951 – October 12, 2013) was an American novelist. Of Cuban descent, during a year-long convalescence from a childhood illness spent in a Connecticut hospital he lost his knowledge of Spanish, his parents' native language. He was educated in New York City, and wrote short stories and advertising copy. For his second novel, adapted for the movie ''The Mambo Kings'', he became the first Hispanic to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction.Brennan, Elizabeth A.; Clarage, Elizabeth C.''Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Cfp. 245/ref> Early life Hijuelos was born in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, to Cuban immigrant parents, Pascual and Magdalena (Torrens) Hijuelos, both from Holguín, Cuba.Cf. Hijuelos, Oscar, ''Thoughts Without Cigarettes: A Memoir'' (2011) His father worked as a hotel cook. As a young child, he suffered from acute nephritis after a vacation trip to Cuba with his mother and brother José, and w ...
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Jim Campilongo
Jim Campilongo (born July 8, 1958) is a New York roots rock guitarist, known for recording a series of mostly instrumental albums. He is also known for being a member of The Little Willies with Norah Jones. Campilongo primarily plays Fender Telecaster guitars. He employs a hybrid right-hand technique that involves the use of both a plectrum and his fingers. He holds a mandolin pick between his thumb and forefinger while plucking with his middle and fourth fingers. He writes the popular monthly column "Vinyl Treasures" for Guitar Player Magazine Musical career Campilongo was born in South San Francisco, California. When he was nine, he discovered the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. He became interested in improvisation, saying in one interview, "I knew I liked improvisation and long musical journeys...so I used to buy albums based exclusively on how long the tracks were...That's how I discovered John Coltrane ''Live in Japan'', John McLaughlin ''Devotion'', a couple of different Cream ...
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Roy Blount, Jr
Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to Roy as a variant in the Francophone world. In India, Roy is a variant of the surname ''Rai'',. likewise meaning "king".. It also arose independently in Scotland, an anglicisation from the Scottish Gaelic nickname ''ruadh'', meaning "red". Given name * Roy Acuff (1903–1992), American country music singer and fiddler * Roy Andersen (born 1955), runner * Roy Andersen (South Africa) (born 1948), South African businessman and military officer * Roy Anderson (American football) (born 1980), American football coach * Sir Roy M. Anderson (born 1947), British scientific adviser * Roy Andersson (born 1943), Swedish film director * Roy Andersson (footballer) (born 1949), footballer from Sweden * Roy Chapman Andrews (1884–1960), American natu ...
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