The Gift of Anne Frank: Writing Till the Stoney End

The Gift of Anne Frank: Writing Till the Stoney End

Anne Frank, the Jewish teen diarist who documented her experiences hiding from the Nazis during World War II, would have turned 86 today. Her work inspired me to purchase my first diary. We were soul mates; both of us dark-haired and dark-eyed, yearning to be free, wrapped up in our writing as a form of escape and self-therapy. Like Anne, I will continue to write till my stoney end.

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Captain Fantastic’s Brown Dirt Cowboy

Captain Fantastic’s Brown Dirt Cowboy

Images of the old American West and scenes of Southern country life have inspired countless British rock recordings through the years, none more so than the early albums of Elton John. And no wonder. His lyricist Bernie Taupin was in love with romantic visions of Americana…scenes of cornfields and cattle towns, frisky colts and fringed-front buggies, field bosses and chain gangs, Geronimo and gunslingers. All of Elton's songs began in the mind of Bernie, who turns 64 today. He wrote the lyrics that the pianist-showman set to music - creating vivid sound portraits of days gone by.

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And, on Lead Typewriter — Lester Bangs!

And, on Lead Typewriter — Lester Bangs!

Does a typewriter qualify as a musical instrument? To Lester Bangs, it did. The brilliant, outrageous rock journalist, who died on this date in 1982 from a cocktail of Darvon, Valium, and NyQuil, once joined the J. Geils Band on stage and proceeded to write/perform a live concert review on his "miked" Smith Corona typewriter.

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