26th & 27th April, 2004
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Rod 4/16/04 Photo by Billy Iz
A Thought for Today
Edward’s life has always had a terrific
cast, now if it just had a plot.
.ASK
ROD
ANITA KERR ON THE WEB
Hi Rod…taking a break here at work…and thought I’d
spend a minute or two on my “avocation”…Anita Kerr.
Not sure how connected you are to Anita Kerr these days…but just wanted
to drop you a line and let you know that she’ll soon have her own
website up and running –
www.anitakerr.com -- in a matter of a week or
two hopefully. When that happens, might that be something you’d like to
know so you could pass on this exciting news to your legions of fans? I
know she’d appreciate any “visibility and awareness boost” your helping
hand might be able to induce! Thanks for your consideration. Rick Davis
Dear Rick, This will be great news for the many admirers of Anita's
great contribution as composer, arranger and co-producer of our San
Sebastian Strings albums. Best of all she will find as I did when I came
on line seven years ago with my website that she has many friends and
fans who have missed hearing from and about her.
Anita has an enormous following from her being the architect and
principle voice of The Anita Kerr Singers and her excellent work in the
religious recording field. Many know of Anita's work for all the
principal country labels in Nashville. Particularly the on the spot
vocal arrangements she did working with Owen Bradley at Decca and Chet
Atkins at RCA helping to turn out hits for Brenda Lee, Eddy Arnold,
Elvis and so many top acts of the fifties and sixties.
Later she was just as popular and successful in Hollywood where in a
field previously dominated by men she fast became one of the most in
demand vocal and instrumental arrangers. It was hearing her arrangements
for my album Through European Windows that caused me to invite her to
become my partner with the San Sebastian Strings. And, partners we were
in every way.
Please keep me advised as to when Anita comes on line and be sure to
warn her about the barrage of inquires she will begin to receive on when
The San Sebastian Strings series will become available on CD.
A Big, Big, welcome to Anita from me and my fans/friends who live out
here on The Net. Warmly, Rod
FOR INSTANCE
I've remembered your name for so long...wanting
and wishing to find this album which I think was a 3 record set...one
was The Earth, another was The Sea and the other was The Sky....I used
to listen to this (mainly The Earth) all the time...my wish is to find
this set...is there such a copy around?...could it be on a CD now? Is
there a correct title to this set...please help me find this! Point me
in the correct direction...I'm 48 now...I listened to it more than 20
yrs ago at least...maybe even longer... Thank-you, Vicki H
Dear Vicki, Anita Kerr and I refer to it as “The Elements Trilogy” but
it is more popularly known as The Sea / Earth / Sky Boxed Set. The
albums (individually and collectively) had a long life in the LP &
Cassette format.
“The Sea” was released for awhile as a single CD and you can still hunt
it down on The Net (try E-Bay). We are still lobbying Warner Bros.
Records to release the complete set and all of the other San Sebastian
Strings albums on CD. Your name and E-Mail address has been added to a
long list that will be notified when there are further developments.
Perhaps an organized march on Time Warner Headquarters will come next.
All the best, Rod
LISTEN TO THE WARM
Dear Mr. McKuen, Hopefully you read these emails,
or whomever does will forward this to you. . .
During my teenage angst years (70's) I fell upon a copy of 'Listen to
the Warm'. Brilliant poetry. I wanted you to know that those poems live
in my heart. Sincerely, Diane Hansen
Dear Diane, Thanks for the kind comments on “Listen to the Warm”, the
book and disc have both been among my most requested and best-selling
works since their inception.
I read all of my e-mail with the exception of any that contain
unpublished manuscripts. I answer as much of it as I can, though not
always in as timely a manner as I should. Once in a while life gets in
the way and in some cases I set aside notes that require a detailed
answer only to let them gather even more space dust. I’m still working
at improving the lapse time between e-mail sent and answered. Thanks
again and all the best, Rod
LAST YEAR’S CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT
(forwarded from Billy Iz):
Glad to see you've reopened the store.
I was wondering if Rod had his concert at Carnegie Hall in April 03 and
if so whether it was produced into an album. I have the first Birthday
concert CD from 30 years ago, which I attended and it was great. Please
advise. Thanks, Rod Lewis New Rochelle, NY
Dear Billy, Thanks for forwarding Rod Lewis' letter to me regarding last
year's Birthday Concert at Carnegie Hall. It was a great night and one
of my favorites of the appearances I've had at that august venue.
A reference recording was made but nothing suitable for release on disc.
Unlike the first several albums I did at Carnegie early in my career,
commercial recording at the venue is almost cost prohibitive these days.
The hall's fee has quadrupled and the stagehands union exacts the
highest of any theater in New York City (they must have an additional
full payment if a recording is made on the premises.) Despite having
their own in house recording capability, which many of us helped make
possible as financial "Friends of Carnegie Hall," the red tape involved
in using that facility is formidable.
There is a plan afoot to recreate the concert song by song using the
same musicians but in another venue. It is only a possibility but I'll
be looking into it while I'm in New York next month for my speech at the
symposium and the autograph party for Rusting in the Rain at the New
York Folk Art Museum. I still love performing at Carnegie and wouldn't
trade the experience of doing so for anything. I certainly hope it isn't
my last time on that famous stage.
The next eighteen months will see the release of several CD's that were
recorded during performances, including my concert at The Ryman
Auditorium in Nashville (the former home of The Grand Ol' Opry) . . .
complete with Johnny Cash's original introduction to the event.
The archives contain dozens of unreleased multi-track tapes of concerts
from around the world. Most have never been listened to. I hope to get
around to doing that in the near future, Rod. Thanks for the question.
Cheers, Rod
MUSIC NOT WORDS
Towards the end of last year, my mother ordered a
Rod McKuen CD from Stanyan House. Whilst she greatly enjoys listening to
it, she would like to purchase another CD but one with music rather than
poetry (as appears on this CD).
I have looked at the Stanyan House website again and am not sure which
CDs contain music. Could you please send me any details you have such as
which are music and not poetry and also, if you have it, details of
which songs appear on which CD.
I can then pass these onto my mother to look at and decide which one she
would like to order. Any info. gratefully received!
Many thanks. Sharon Thomas
Dear Sharon, Thanks for writing on behalf of your mother. Here are three
of my CD’s currently in The Stanyan House catalog that contain vocals.
Rod McKuen At The Movies o 12 445
Contains 15 vocals by Rod & additional instrumental music from his film
scores. Pastures Green, Flanders Field, Run To Me, Fly To Me, A Boy
Named Charlie Brown, Lonely Winter, Natalie, Lloyd's' Room (Petula In
Green Waters), Saturday Night In Knights bridge, When Am I Ever Going
Home, The Tinkling Piano In The Next Apartment, To Know You Is To Love
You (Duet with Molly Bee), Isn’t It Something, The Russians March On
Berlin, The Ivy That Clings To The Wall, Jean, And How, Toward The
Unknown, Kiev, So That We’ll Remember, Homeward, Sweet Emily, Birch
Trees.
Early Harvest (1956-1994) o 12 445 A
38 year recording overviews / 24 vocal tracks from 6 labels. An overview
of Rod’s early ‘folk years’ and on to his French and ballad phase. :
Advice To Folk Singers, Colorado Trail, Happy Is A Boy Named Me, The
World I Used To Know, The Intellectual Rag, Sin, Way Faring’ Stranger,
Shady Grove (with The 4 Of Us), Times A-Gettin’ Hard, Doesn’t Anybody
Know My Name, It Was A Very Good Year (duet with Barry McGuire), The
Summer’s Long, Rose, Many Summers Ago, April People, An Isle In The
Water, The Beautiful Strangers, I Never Go There Anymore, The Lovers,
Baby It’s Cold Outside (Duet with Petula Clark, Ballad Of The Sad Young
Men, Love Let Me Not Hunger, Movin'’ Down The Line, Stay With Me.
The French Connection o 12 444
Includes 18 vocals by Rod and additional tracks by Gilbert Becaud,
Jacques Brel, Les Campageons de la Chanson, Eric Montry & Le Swingle
Singers: Solitude’s My Home o I Think Of You o Paris o Je Viens De Loin
(I’ve Been To Town) o About The Time o Les Bourgeois o If You Go Away o
Des Milliers De Soldats (Soldiers Who Want To Be Heros) o The Far West o
To You o The Far Side Of The Hill o Where Would I Be o Les Amants De
Cour (The Lovers) o The Women o Blessings Of The Day o I’ll Say Goodbye
o La Mer Sans Soliel o Un Par Un (One By One) o My Brother Edward o
Seasons In The Sun o Without A Worry In The World o Il Ya Parfois Des
Souvenirs (The World I Used To Know).
Here's a list of vocal LP's that are also available.
Alone
Beautiful Strangers, The
Best of Rod McKuen, The
Global: into the Eighties
Goodtime Music
Greatest Hits of Rod McKuen
Greatest Hits Vol. 4
In a Lonely Place
Loner, The
Love's Been Good to Me
McKuen Country
More Rod '77
New Ballads
Odyssey
Other Kinds of Songs
Pastures Green
Portrait of Rod McKuen, A
Rod
Rod McKuen Folk Album, The
Rod McKuen Sings his Own
Rod McKuen'77
Rod on Record
Single Man, The
Through European Windows
Turntable
In Concert
Amsterdam Concert, The (Double LP)
An Evening in Vienna, Featuring Greta Keller
Grand Tour (Double LP)
Live Across Australia and Around the World
Live In London! (Double LP)
Rod McKuen In Concert
A Man Alone: Frank Sinatra sings Rod McKuen
Love Lady: Sylvia Syms sings Rod McKuen
Rock Gently: Rock Hudson sings Rod McKuen
Hope the above information is helpful Sharon and be sure to say hello to
your mom. Cheers, Rod
FEEDBACK
WRITERS
DIGEST INTERVIEW REDUX
After reading your interview from 1984 (4/21/04) I
started thinking, 'wow that was a long time ago', and was curious and
really hoped that maybe you could take some time and do a reprise of
that interview but update it 20 years. Considering when it was written
you were in the business for over 20 years and were very seasoned with
your voice and success, I would be very curious to know how the next 20
years have changed your approach to those same questions.
As always, thank you for the intelligence, emotion and love. Rob
Dear Rob, Thanks for the idea. Now all I need is a few more hours in at
least one of my days. I never quite know what to expect when I check out
Ken’s column on Wednesday mornings so I was both surprised and pleased
when Ken reprinted the interview last week. I haven’t re-read the
interview but will do so now that you have made your suggestion.
If all goes well there will be a new interview on The Stanyan House
Website in May. It covers a wide range of topics and includes some
discussion of my writing. As soon as it’s ready for print it will be
announced on A Safe Place to Land.
Thanks for the nice compliments. Warmly, Rod
SISTER MORGAN SYMPOSIUM
Re: 4/19/04 Hello Rod, Picking up tickets for May
7th. Looking forward to saying hello. Will Edward and or Wade be there?
Fondly, John.
Dear John, Edward is stuck on the West Coast but Wade will be there
since he was involved in God's Greatest Hits & has been a fan of Sister
Gertrude Morgan's work from the beginning.
Hope you will come to the museum again on Sunday for the Rusting in the
Rain autograph party since I won’t be around after the symposium because
of a late dinner date the museum has arranged with the other members of
the symposium.. As ever, Rod
BILLY ANSWERS ANN
Dear Ann, To answer your question (4/19/04):
Yes, I'm very studly. I'd put more pictures up but
I have to protect the innocent. And yes, Rod, you have said too much
already. B.I.
THE ALMOST FINAL WORD
And it comes from my conductor Dave Gross:
"A little lemon and seltzer will remove those
pesky ink stains after you've been fingerprinted." -Martha Stewart
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is Edward’s birthday. Happy Birthday little brother
and love.
RM 4/26/2004 2:41 AM.
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