Not the Last Lists of 2014

When I was a little kid, my mother read me stories from the Shirley Temple fairy tale book. There was a picture on the back of her with her son. She was the same age as my Mom, similar looking. I confused the two in my day-dreams; I wanted to be myself and the son of Shirley Temple, Miss Bright Eyes grown up to be perfect.

 

I can still remember some of those stories fifty-five years later, which I re-read and studied twenty years later for an M.A. in folklore. And I still like her movies. We need more innocence and joy, not more cynicism and sarcasm. Shirley Temple Black died this year.

 

So did a lot of great musicians, writers and others. Here's my annual list.

 

Alberta Adams

Arthur ‘Guitar Boogie’ Smith

Bob Casale (Devo)

Bobby Keys

Bobby Womack

Bud Spangler

Claudio Abbado

David Lamb

Dawn Sears

Don Lanier

Franny Beecher (Bill Haley’s Comets)

Fred Ho

George Shuffler (Stanley Brothers)

Gerald Wilson

Gerry Goffin

Herb Jeffries

Horace Silver

Ian McLagan

Iola Brubeck (Dave Brubeck’s wife)

Jack Bruce

Jay Traynor

Jean Redpath

Jerry Vale

Jesse Winchester

Jessica Cleaves

Jimmy C. Newman

Jimmy Ruffin

Joe Cocker

Joe Frazier (Chad Mitchell Trio)

Johnny Winter

Larry Henley

Little Jimmy Scott

Lorin Maazel

Maria von Trapp

Millie Kirkham (Elvis)

Paco de Lucia

Paul Horn

Paul Revere

Pete Seeger

Phil Everly

Ronny Jordan

Roy Campbell, Jr.

Sean Potts (Chieftains)

Steven Fromholz

Tim Hauser

Tommy Ramone

 

Writers:

 

Allen Grossman

Amiri Baraka

Carolyn Kizer

Claudia Emerson

Curt Gentry

Diann Blakely

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Galway Kinnell

Joe McGinniss

Jonathan Schell

Juan Gelman

Justin Kaplan

Lorenzo Semple Jr.

Mark Strand

Mary Rodgers

Maxine Kumin

Maya Angelou

Nadine Gordimer

Peter Matthiessen

Rene Ricard

Thomas Berger

Vern Rutsala

Wynn Chamberlain

 

Others:

 

Alvin Dark

Ben Bradlee

David Brenner

Don Pardo

Eli Wallach

Elizabeth Peña

Garrick Utley

Gerardo D’Ambrosio

Gregory Jacobs (the S.F. bushman)

James Garner

Jay Adams (Z-boys)

Lauren Bacall

Mickey Rooney

Mike Nichols

Paul Mazursky

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Ralph Waite

Richard Attenborough

Robin Williams

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter

Ruby Dee

Saul Zaentz

Shirley Temple Black

Sid Caesar

Stephen Gaskin

Tom Magliozzi

Tony Gwynn

Virna Lisi.

 

Happy Trials for 2015, Martin

 

Mutt:  2015, that'll be my year. I'm sure of it.

Jeff:  Year to do what?

Mutt:  That's what I'm not so sure of. But it's gonna be big.

Jeff:  A big bang. Big wind.  Don't forget my friend: Never start a vast project with a half-vast idea.

Mutt:  Oh yeah, I forgot. Heard any good jokes lately?

Jeff:   The same old duds.

Mutt:  Doctors tell us there are over seven million people who are overweight. These, of course, are only round figures.

Jeff:  What is the purpose of reindeer?

Mutt:  Got me.

Jeff:  It makes the grass grow, sweetie.

Mutt:  Darling, the other day I sent my girlfriend a huge pile of snow. I rang her up and asked, "Did you get my drift?"

Jeff:  I don’t know, did she?  And where do you find giant snails?

Mutt:  I know. On the ends of giant's fingers.

Jeff:  Why is Saudi Arabia free of mental illness?

Mutt:  Obviously because there are nomad people there.

Jeff:  Question: How did Christopher Columbus finance his trip to America?

Mutt:  Answer: With the Discover Card.

Jeff:  Thought so. So show me where Stalin's buried and I'll show you a communist plot.

Mutt:  So four fonts walk into a bar. The barman says "Oi - get out! We don't want your type in here"

Jeff:  I was on an elevator the other day, and the operator kept calling me 'son.' I said, 'Why do you call me 'son'? You're not my father.' He said, 'I brought you up, didn't I?'

Mutt:  Well?  You know, without geometry, life is pointless

Jeff:  Happy New Year to you too.