Shaw, Icarus and Keith Richards

I am reminded by today's Writer's Almanac that George Bernard Shaw died on this day in 1950. He was 94, too old to be climbing trees, but that's what he was doing. Not whimsically or playfully. He died of injuries after falling out of the tree he was pruning.

Which makes me think of Keith Richards who fell out of a palm tree while vacationing in Fiji in 2006. Richards survived, and he continues to defy the actuaries' predictions about his lifespan. Based upon his smoking and drinking and carrying on they had arrived at a life expectancy of 52. He is now pushing 66. I doubt he will rival George Bernard Shaw, though, who was a teetotaler, vegetarian and a bit obsessive about physical fitness. I am sure pruning a tree seemed a sensible thing to do at the time. Mr. Richards and Mr. Shaw appear several times each in A Book of Ages.

Elvis and the Beatles

On August 27, 1965 Elvis Presley received a visit from the Beatles at Graceland. Because he couldn’t tell them apart and didn’t know their names he addressed each of them individually as “Beatle.”

At age 30, Elvis was the elder statesman of Rock 'n' Roll, the King, the Pope, the Dalai Lama, the Maharishi of Pop. One pictures the youngsters kissing the hem of his garment and only half ironically. Elvis appears nine times in A Book of Ages, John and Paul several times each.

On the cover of Rolling Stone

Bruce Springsteen appeared on the August 24, 1978 cover of Rolling Stone magazine. He was 28, and had finally made it. Pop stars are routinely baptized as such on the iconic cover of the magazine. Britney Spears made her first appearance at the experienced age of 17. In 1971, 11 year-old Michael Jackson appeared under a provocative question about how late his bedtime was. As rock legends die of various excesses, the Rolling Stone cover treatment has become a valediction and validation. John Lennon appeared on the first cover in 1967 when he was 26, and posed for the famous Annie Liebovitz cover on the day he died at age 40.

Jerry Garcia Couture

In August 1992, 50 year-old Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia introduced a line of neckties. A month later he collapsed from exhaustion and was forced to cancel a tour, which tells you something about the rigors of fashion retailing. Garcia appears six times in A Book of Ages.

Hendrix at Woodstock

On August 18th, 1969, Jimi Hendrix played The Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock, New York. He was 26. He would die a year later, in London, from an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol. Hendrix appears four times in A Book of Ages.

Graceland

On this day in 1977, Elvis Presley died on the floor of his bathroom. He was 42.

Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker

On August 15, 1955, Elvis Presley signed a contract with Colonel Tom Parker. Elvis was 20 years-old. Later in the year, Sun Studios sold his contract to RCA. The first song Elvis recorded for RCA was Heartbreak Hotel, which stayed at number one for for eight weeks. Elvis appears nine times in A Book of Ages.

Jerry Garcia

On this day in 1995 Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist and eminence grise of The Grateful Dead, died of heart failure. He was 53. 25,000 Deadheads attended a celebration of his life in Golden Gate Park. In November 1995 an asteroid was named after him. Jerry Garcia appears six times in A Book of Ages. He once said: “It's pretty clear now that what looked like it might have been some kind of counterculture is, in reality, just the plain old chaos of undifferentiated weirdness.” All these years later, Cherry Garcia is still the favorite flavor of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Born to Run

On August 3, 1974, Bruce Springsteen performed his last gig as an opening act. His third album was released on August 25th, a year later. He was 25. Born To Run proved to be his breakthrough, peaking at number three on the Billboard chart. With its background of strings, glockenspiel, keyboards and more than a dozen guitar tracks arranged by Phil Spector, the title song took three and a half months to record. Springsteen appears once in A Book of Ages.

Bob Dylan at Big Pink

On July 29, 1966, Bob Dylan was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident near his home in Woodstock, N.Y. He was 25. A few months later he and The Band rented a house in West Saugerties that they called Big Pink. The recordings from Big Pink were never released, but would become coveted bootlegs in the late ‘60s. Mr. Dylan appears seven times in A Book of Ages, performing in Dinkytown coffeehouses, writing an anthem, dating Joan Baez and being compared to French poets, going electric (and being booed for it), and being "born again".

Ladies and Gentlemen... the Rolling Stones

On the evening of July 12, 1962 a group led by guitarist Brian Jones performed its first gig at the Marquee Club in London. Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts would join the band in the coming year; Bill mainly because he had a good amplifier. The lead singer on July 12 was a skinny, androgynous 17 year-old named Mick Jagger. The Rolling Stones wore sport coats and ties and did not do lewd things with the mike stands or their guitars. The last song in the set was titled "Happy Home."

Mick Jagger appears five times in A Book of Ages: meeting Keith Richards, attending the London School of Economics, writing lyrics about his inability to obtain satisfaction, buying a chateau in France, becoming a grandfather, and getting a knighthood from the Queen. The sorts of things any striving working class bloke might aspire to. Keith Richards appears four times, Bill Wyman once.

John Meets Paul

On July 6th, 1957, John Lennon met Paul McCartney for the first time. John's skiffle band, the Quarry Men, was playing at a church fete in Woolton, Liverpool. Admission: thruppence. John was 16, Paul 15. A recording of two songs from the program still exists. John's instrument at the time was a Gallotone Champion guitar he'd purchased for ten quid. Lennon and McCartney each appear seven times in A Book of Ages.

Elvis Presley

On July 5th, 1954, Elvis Presley made his first recording for Sun Records. On the one side an up-tempo version of That’s All Right; on the reverse, Blue Moon of Kentucky. He was 19. On October 2nd, he made his first and only appearance at The Grand Ole Opry. One of the Opry’s people recommended that Elvis go back to driving a truck. Elvis appears nine times in A Book of Ages.

Michael

As career arcs go, Michael Jackson's was pretty amazing, and never uninteresting. He appears five times in A Book of Ages. I was just talking about him on the radio in Aspen.

At age 10 he has his first gold record, and also gold records two three and four. In fact the first four singles The Jackson Five record with Motown Records–– “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There”––all make it to #1.

At age 24 he performs the moonwalk in concert for the first time, 1983. (The move was actually devised by mime Marcel Marceau.)

At age 27 he has plastic surgery, 1985. (At the same age Salvador Dali paints a painting of melted watches hung from trees, and Johnny Depp plays a strangely attired adolescent who has scissors instead of hands.)

At age 35 Michael marries Lisa Marie Presley, 1994. The King of Pop marries the daughter of the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

At age 38 Michael Jackson is a father, 1997. (This is still a bit hard to visualize.) Also, his plastic surgeon advises against any more work on his nose.

And now dead at age 50. Which Michael Jackson will people remember? The strange man in the page-boy and the epaulets or the 20 year-old who was the coolest person on the planet? I liked the kid fronting the Jackson Five best. Every famous life has a different arc. After the bizarre turns of the past decade, it appeared Michael Jackson's was set for an upswing. Then, suddenly, he's gone. I wonder what his estate sale will turn up.

Father's Day

Is it too early to talk about Father's Day? I don't think so. Men buy their wives Mother's Day presents the afternoon of the day before; women are more organized and probably bought the father of their children a gift in the post-Christmas sales. So, I am counting on the kids.

Kids? Fathers love books. Biographies are great. Military biographies even better. Sports biographies, excellent choice. Political biography?

It's getting hard to choose isn't it? Which do you go for? The safest idea might be to spread your bets out a little. Cover the board. Buy Dad A BOOK OF AGES. It's got sports heroes, famous generals, film stars, chefs, cowboys and Indians, bank robbers, mountain climbers, spy novelists and real spies, rock stars, business tycoons, famous explorers, presidents, philosophers, inventors, scientists, heroes and arch-villains.

And A BOOK OF AGES is fun to read. Men love facts, and every page is jammed full of interesting facts, funny stories, amazing moments from over 700 amazing lives. Bite sized paragraphs. Dad will start reading them aloud to you: "Did you know that Ted Williams homered in his last time up?" "Did you know that George Washington didn't win a battle until he was 44?" "Did you know that Pete Townshend broke his first guitar onstage when he was 19?" (All true.)

And I know you will act as if you are interested when he does this because dads are at their most lovable when they are dispensing bite sized bits of wisdom. They are happiest when they are doing this. He will love this book. And you will refrain from rolling your eyes when he is reading from it, at least until you have left the room.

But seriously, it is a perfect gift. Suitable for grandfathers too.