I’d like to say that the news of Willy’s death came as a surprise. But it didn’t. There was that oh-shit moment of pain to know another of the Old Guard was down, but I can’t pretend we aren’t going thick and fast. The crapshoot is a dead pool, and those who survive are made increasingly to feel like the last men standing. I hung out with Willy and the late-crazy Toots in London when Willy was stealing his suits from Bernado of West Side Story, and we wrote a couple of songs, and then, a little while later, the two of them were good friends who made me welcome when I first moved to Manhattan – around the time the video below was shot – reminding me how, on 10th Street, there was no time off for good behavior.
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The secret word is Lamentation
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The secret word is Lamentation
I just found out a couple of hours ago and I haven't been able to get "You better move on" out of my head since.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not sure why his passing has hit me so hard.
Willy was fucking unique.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! And Toots passed away also? I was fond of Toots and her crazy.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's a small miracle they lived as long as they did.
Dear oh dear.
Bets
Damn. One of the great voices is gone.
ReplyDeleteDemasiado Corazon.
ReplyDeleteHear it, feel it in that voice.
Hope he gets his mink-lined Cadillac into the light
i`m so sorry to hear this,i saw mink de ville @ braford uni when le chat bleu came out.started out with a long evocative sax solo,all the band wearing great sharp suits & pompadores.as fabulous (not a word i use lightly)as this gig was i loved seeing his girlfriend absolutely adoring him off stage & willie giving these little sly grins to her over his shoulder.wonderful.i feel very sad.
ReplyDeletei loved him, his voice, his lyrics and all his styles.
ReplyDeletei was waiting to see him next year.i last saw him in paradiso amsterdam. gonna miss you, you beautiful man. i have an empty heart. xxx rip
Willy just kicked butt. He was everything that Rock is at its best.His performance level was always at the edge. He embodied everything dangerous about rock runnin' wild and reflecting the culture with the imagery of the classics and the bravado of a new future.
ReplyDelete"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."
Hunter S. Thompson
MR.MR