May, 2007
Poetry for the Beat Generation
This is one of my rarest and most valuable records. It is an alternate cover that was recalled by conservative Dot records owner Randy Wood when he realized who Jack Kerouac was and felt that the beat poet’s counter-cultural subject material was too offensive for his Pat Boone and Shirley Jones-loving consumers. (About 100 copies got out to radio stations before the recall.) The record was cut in a single session and a single take for each piece which certainly supported Jack’s first draft is best draft philosophy of writing.
This is the first of Kerouac’s three records and is the result of a performance at the Village Vanguard with Steve Allen accompanying him on piano. The album was produced by Bob Thiele who then left the company over the dispute, took the master tape and formed Hanover Records with Steve Allen. Hanover then released the record in 1959.
Lester Young’s porkpie hat
A classic cover shot by the brilliant photographer Herman Leonard. On Norgran records featuring Lester Young.