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| Ramblin' Jack at Sweetwater (c) 2013 Crystal Bond |
Ramblin' Jack Elliott turns 92 today. Elliott appeared as Jack Elliot in Jack Kerouac's Book of Dreams.
Here's some Kerouac scoop from Dave Moore's excellent Character Key to Kerouac's Duluoz Legend.
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In January 2013, at a live Beat Poetry event at Sweetwater in Mill Valley, Jack asked the crowd not to take pictures during his show. People didn't comply, and he then really admonished the crowd, saying he would pose naked on his horse after the show, but during the show, NO PICTURES! I don't know what his peeve was -- he didn't give a reason -- and it's sad that this is the main thing I remember about him from the show. Crystal was at the bathroom during the original warning, and what do you think she did when she came back? Yup -- she took a picture (see above).
According to Kerouac biographer Gerald Nicosia in Memory Babe, Kerouac met Ramblin' Jack at Helen Parker's in 1953. Ramblin' Jack "pulled out his guitar and started playing Woodie Guthrie songs. Reciprocating the treat, Jack spent three consecutive nights reading aloud the entire manuscript of On the Road to him" (1983, p. 456).
Happy Birthday, Mr. Elliott. I hope it's okay that I posted your picture.
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