Authors who also write/perform music

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Musket
Date: 25 May 11 - 04:11 AM

Ken Follet does the folk clubs playing acoustic bass in a band.

(Sorry can't remember their name but they did a gig locally a few years ago and I won the raffle. Instead of the usual cheap plonk or bath salts, I got a signed copy of a book from him.)

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Paul Reade
Date: 25 May 11 - 04:10 AM

How about singers who are also authors? I'm just in the middle of Steve Tilston's first novel "All for Poor Jack", an excellent read.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: open mike
Date: 28 Apr 11 - 09:05 AM

Cormac McCarthy--
yes the Bridges of Madison County..
Robert Waller, I believe...

also ppossibley james McMurtry

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: GUEST,John from Kemsing
Date: 28 Apr 11 - 06:12 AM

Tony Deane, a member of "Elsie`s Band", is a singer, songwriter and a sucessful author of books on folklore.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: ClaireBear
Date: 27 Apr 11 - 02:29 PM

Steven Brust and Emma Bull were both formerly in a folk band called (wait for it...) Cats Laughing ... together with Jane Yolen's son, Adam Stemple of Boiled in Lead fame, who co-wrote the Rock 'n Roll Fairy Tale series with his mother.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: ClaireBear
Date: 27 Apr 11 - 02:28 PM

Steven Brust and Emma Bull were both formerly in a folk band called (wait for it...) Cats Laughing ... together with Jane Yolen's son, Adam Stemple of Boiled in Lead fame, who co-wrote the Rock 'n Roll Fairy Tale series with his mother.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Apr 11 - 01:10 PM

Here is a video of Charles de Lint performing one of his songs from his CD: Cherokee Girl

Great lyrics and neat video, imo.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: katlaughing
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 08:21 PM

GREAT stuff, folks! Thanks for the links, esp.

CofT/Joanne, I'd forgotten about Sharyn McCrumb! A few of these others, too, plus a couple are new to me.

Cap't, NO, one need not be world-famous, not imo...so yes, Kendall Morse! For that matter, I guess I would qualify, too, though I don't do music professionally like a lot of you and those listed.:-)

Thanks!

kat

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Wesley S
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 06:13 PM

Keith Richards autobiography has been selling well. He's in a band.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Bainbo
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 05:45 PM

I believe the chap who wrote Hey, Ho, the Wind and the Rain; Where the Bee Sucks; and It Was a Lover and His Lass also enjoyed some success as an author , though I haven't seen much from him lately.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: kendall
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 03:26 PM

Does one have to be world famous to qualify?

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Dennis the Elder
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 11:40 AM

How about Eric Bogle, I believe his songs are measured in thousands (www.ericbogle.net)

Also John Conolly with lots of good songs connected with the sea and fishing (www.myspace.com/johnconolly)

There was Keith Marsden who died around 20 years ago, his songs live on through Cockersdale, the group he was part of when it was formed (www.cockersdale.com)

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: GUEST, Tom Bliss
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 10:58 AM

Jacey Bedford from Artisan is a prolific author

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: GUEST,glueman
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 10:22 AM

Anglophones don't associate film making with authorship, hence the borrowed cahiers du cinema phrase 'auteur'. I was trying to recall if Woody Allen had published fiction and settled for screenplay.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 09:31 AM

Jimmy Buffet has had three books go to #1 on the New York Time Bestseller List. He's also been known to write and perform a song or two upon occasion.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Midchuck
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 09:00 AM

Steven Brust. (Scroll down to "Music."

If you have any interest in fantasy and haven't read him, I pity you. Well, no, actually, I'm jealous because you still have it to look forward to.

Peter

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 08:20 AM

Why "stretch a point"? "Author" is a term frequently used in respect of films.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: GUEST,glueman
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 07:52 AM

Robert Crumb was someone I was thinking of. If you stretch a point Woody Allen. I've been published and was singing only yesterday, so there.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Jack Campin
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 07:03 AM

Haruki Murakami used to run a jazz club

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 24 Apr 11 - 06:53 AM

Three absentees so far: Garrison Keillor, of course.

Also Alexander McCall Smith, with his active membership of "the Really Terrible Orchestra" in Edinburgh.

And Robert Crumb

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 23 Apr 11 - 11:35 AM

Bill Harley, best known for his children's music and storytelling (though he does "grown-up" work, too), two-time Grammy award winner for spoken word recordings for children, and one of Stone Soup Coffeehouse's founders, has written several books, mostly for children. My grands love Dirty Joe the Pirate (so funny: pirate and crew steal socks but meet their match--Joe's sister and her crew steal underwear)), Nothing Happened, and The Amazing Flight of Darius Frobisher. And SHHH--I've already bought Night of the Spadefoot Toads for Christmas. Last year I gave Between Home and School to the people in my family who are currently raising children. Here's a link to his home page: http://www.billharley.com/default.asp

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: CupOfTea
Date: 23 Apr 11 - 11:17 AM

Katlaughing -

Thanks so much for this information! I was aware of DeLint's being a musician, and of the tunes included in some of his books (The Little Country fer instance), but I wasn't aware there were songs OR a recording available. His grasp of what it's like to be involved in traditional music and performance is superb, but then so is his feel for what a visual artist is all about, too. His use of characters from these realms of creativity is one of the main reason he's been on top of my "favourite authors" list for years.

One place to look for folk performers among authors is at SciFi Cons(Science Fiction Conventions). Many "Filk" singers are also folk singers, and a number of authors are known to participate in this shennagains. Peter S. Beagle, of The Last Unicorn fame is "performing songs in English, Yiddish, French, and German at science fiction and fantasy conventions as well as other venues near his Oakland, California, home" in this article. I suspect Sharyn McCrumb has a fondness (or at least a good familiarity) with Scottish traditonal music. In particular, her bit in the very funny Bimbos of the Death Sun where a Scottish trad performer stumbles upon some filk singers at a Con and tries to explain how it "should" be sung.

Writers of non fiction that come to mind are Ciran Carson's Last Night's Fun. There was an amazing book I read that detailed the early days of the band Silly Wizard - I thought it was Scotland is not for the Squeamish by Bill Watkins, but in looking it up, that seems to not be the one I'm remembering, even though I have a Silly Wizard teeshirt with that phrase on it.   Recently I heard Garnet Rogers read a bit from his in-process book about his travels with his brother Stan's band, that promises to be howlingly funny wonderful book.

Joanne in Cleveland

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Folknacious
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 06:22 PM

Sci-fi authors John Brunner and Michael Moorcock were apparently folkies, I read somewhere.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Edthefolkie
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 11:55 AM

Laurie Lee (Cider with Rosie etc) played the fiddle and even earned a crust with it in his travelling days. One of his pieces of journalism mentions a pub session in Ireland in the 1960s. Laurie, fuelled by whisky, borrowed a fiddle and played a slow air. At the end an old chap bashed his cap down on the bar and cried "Englishman, we forgive you!"

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: katlaughing
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 10:48 AM

More links to those mentioned would be a lot of fun, folks. Thanks for all of your postings!

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: GUEST,aging cynic
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 10:43 AM

i'm a hack writer who has written a few books and writes/performs music (published a piece this week on bruce molsky at www.bloomberg.com). wondering if there are any AGENTS out there who write/perform music: have a novel,screenplay and play seeking representation, prefeably by someone with a song in his/her heart.
http://daveshiflett.com

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: GUEST, Tom Bliss
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 10:04 AM

Louis (de Bernières) and I go back a ways (we come from the same town). We even started rehearsing for a duo a few years back, but with him Down East and me Up North it proved impractical in the ned. He's a very handy musician, very knowledgeable about many genres of music (he's president of the British Banjo Mandolin Guitar Federation) and he plays a huge number of instruments - including some very unusual ones - to a very reasonable standard. He also restores instruments (and old cars etc), and is the worst sufferer of MIAS (Musical Instrument Acquisition Syndrome) I know.

His books are quite good too ;-)

Tom

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: GUEST,johnmc
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 09:18 AM

In the case o Sir Walter, it was, of course, the lyric "Jock o' Hazeldean"I was referring to.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 09:05 AM

Thomas Hardy played the fiddle.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: wordfella
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 08:53 AM

Mark Twain played banjo and piano, but not out.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 08:46 AM

Carl Hiaasen collaberated on a few songs with Warren Zevon.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: wordfella
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 08:34 AM

Stephen King and Dave Barry have a band called the Rock Bottom Remainders. Members have included Amy Tan, Maya Angelou, Cynthia Heimel, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Sam Barry, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow, Joel Selvin, James McBride, Mitch Albom, Roy Blount Jr., Barbara Kingsolver, Robert Fulghum, Matt Groening, Tad Bartimus, and Greg Iles.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Jack Campin
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 07:50 AM

Kinky Friedman (...and the Texas Jewboys)
Michael Moorcock (Hawkwind)

Walter Scott was tone deaf. Robert Louis Stevenson played classical music on the flageolet and composed a bit.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: GUEST,johnmc
Date: 22 Apr 11 - 06:47 AM

Brian McNeill the Scottish folk singer and songwriter has written at least one novel.

Historically, there is Sir Walter Scott, of course.

Ian Rankin is involved with music.

Anthony Burgess wrote compositions.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 21 Apr 11 - 07:07 PM

Does Ivine Welsh still DJ I wonder?

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Wesley S
Date: 21 Apr 11 - 06:54 PM

Oh - and how about Steve Martin? His new CD is quite good. I loved his novella "Shopgirl".

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Wesley S
Date: 21 Apr 11 - 06:52 PM

Who's the guy that wrote that awful "Bridges of Madison County". He released a CD at one point. Isn't there a Jim Carroll too? The late Richard Farina of course.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Paul Reade
Date: 21 Apr 11 - 04:39 PM

A highlight of our last two visits to the Edinburgh Festival has been concerts by Louis de Bernieres (of "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" fame), held in a small intimate venue above an Italian restaurant. The performance consists of a trio playing a variety of music, interspersed with readings of poetry, mainly written by de Bernieres' father. De Bernieres plays clarinet, guitars and other more obscure stringed instruments, accompanied by his wife on flute and a pianist. As a musician, I would rate him as of similar standard to an above-average floor singer – he tells us he is not a very good clarinet player but is a sincere one. He has a very engaging personality, extremely unstuffy, and relates very well to his audience.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Cool Beans
Date: 21 Apr 11 - 04:12 PM

Jodi Picoult's new novel comes with a CD of her original songs. Haven't read/heard it so I can't comment further. There is a group of writers--Stephen King, Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Amy Tan--who perform oldies for charity as the Rock Bottom Remainders.

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: rumanci
Date: 21 Apr 11 - 03:32 PM

John Lescroart

An all-round good guy in so many creative directions

Subject: RE: Authors who also write/perform music
From: Newport Boy
Date: 21 Apr 11 - 03:28 PM

There's Leonard Cohen, of course - his early performances of his poems/songs were more spoken than sung. Some would say they still are.

Phil

Subject: Authors who also write/perform music
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Apr 11 - 03:10 PM

I was delighted to find one of my favourite authors, Charles de Lint, has also written and performed some neat songs. You can hear a couple of samples from his CD HERE. I really like the title song.

I know Elizabeth Ann Scarborough has also penned some songs the lyrics of some of which are included in some of her books, but I've never heard them with tunes.

Anyone else?