SEAN WILENTZ
Author & Historian
SW: The week back East brought great fun and pleasure. On the Dylan front, the New-York Historical Society sponsored the long-scheduled event on Thursday night involving Rosanne Cash, Bill Flanagan, and myself. Bill was his usual witty, engaging, provocative self, asking questions raised by his reading of BDiA. Rosanne reflected on Dylan’s music, her dad’s, and folk music generally, and sang and played beautifully, including a moving rendition of “Girl from the North Country.” I tried to hold up my end answering Bill’s queries and questions from the audience. A wonderful occasion; pix (I hope) to come.
The afternoon before, I got to be part of a “Soundcheck” show on WNYC devoted to remembering Gerde’s Folk City. The reminiscing was great fun; Bob Porco (the grandson of Gerdes’s owner, Mike Porco) called in, as did Tom Chapin; and the Roches were in the studio along with Suzzy Roche’s daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche, to sing beautifully of Folk City, America, and love and loss. An amazing treat for me.
You can download the entire show, with host John Schaeffer, here.
Also, if you’re in and around New York, catch Lucy this week at the City Winery this coming Thursday, October 28. Details here.
Friday’s scheduled confab with Charlie Rose had to be put off, alas (more on that as soon as information is available). But on Saturday, I trained down to DC for a reading at the Jewish Book Festival. For some reason, the topic of religion barely came up. The audience was large and lively and knowledgeable (there was even a question about Under the Red Sky!) and the evening was, for me anyway, a delight.
Just off for the return to LA, I received a photo from the book launch party back in September, which gives me a chance to say some nice words about friends. The party hit a high point late, when Henry Butler, Davell Crawford, and Al Kooper all held forth on the piano. A festivity turned into a glorious concert high above Central Park West. As we were leaving, the inquiring photographer Bernette Belgraier caught three suspicious characters heading out — Koop, Davell, and yrs truly:
I proudly hold up Al’s book endorsement!
For those of you unfamiliar with the sounds of the great young Mr. Crawford, here’s a clip of him performing “Iko Iko” aka “Jock-A-Mo” with Dr. John — in the version composed, so I hear, by Davell’s grandpa in 1953:
