I can't resist chiming in about Tom. His first Elektra album was the first album I ever purchased. I was hosting a one hour folk music show on WJHU (broadcast only to the Johns Hopkins dormitories).

The early Tom Rush was my idol. A guy who didn't write many soungs, but certainly knew a good song when he heard it and could make it his own. He just led me deeper into folk music, seeking out people like Murray Mc Laughlin and Jackson Browne.

I saw him live at the Cellar Door in Washington, D.C.. I got there a little after the show started. The opening act was on stage. Some guy hunched over the piano, almost turned away from the audience and singing in a barely tolerable gravelly voice. But his songs! I went out and bought Tom Waits first two albums right away.

Tom seems more like a singer/songwriter now. Oh, well.

Roger in Baltimore