Happy Birthday to KEITH CROCKER: Long Island's Celluloid Hero
- Thomas Tittmann
- Apr 26
- 4 min read
BACKSTORY
Keith, Hi! I was with John and Jill Payne earlier at the Double L bar in Hicksville seeing a mutual old friend Kelly Schmidt and her all-girl band mates known as Pandora’s Vox.
While there he noticed some people had posted on Facebook that today is your birthday….
HAPPY ARRIVAL DATE!!!
Several hours later after dancing the afternoon away, I was sitting in my basement wondering what kind of greeting to send your way to celebrate who you are and how that’s enriched many lives including mine.
Again, channeling Bob:
"Tommy's in the basement mixing up the medicine..."
Rx: So, here’s my medicinal song/gift:
MAIN ACT
Their tune made references to good guys and bad guys - characters you share with us in your great film presentations…This next song follows that thread:
ON THE SAME BILL...
Why..this could be the Beach Boys version of Felina and Rosa's Cantina...
MORE MUSICAL CONNECTIONS...
Staying in the dramatic territory of "Good guys" and "Bad guys", my affinity for another band combined these threads and reminded me of the classic Marty Robbins Western tale
"El Paso"...
Here's current owner Oscar Lopez on the right with chef Martha in the middle...
...Fred Powers - A Rosa's regular...
The narrator's mention that after visiting Rosa's Cantina, he penned the song just a mere 102 miles away...This timing reminded me of my recent meeting with Janis Joplin in the nearby parking lot at Whole Foods and a post that followed within a few short hours.
"THERE'S A GRATEFUL DEAD SONG FOR EVERY OCCASION"
Returning readers know this is an occasional feature in my posts. It originated from the life experiences of friend, Deadhead, fellow surfer and Volkswagen repair mentor: Steve Bermont.
KEITH: I subscribe to this uploader - Jack Cerro - because, like you, he’s also a creative filmmaker
This is Bobby’s song...
I decided to hang around a little longer in the Southwest...
Another Western tale featuring Bobby riding rhythm saddle...
ROGUES GALLERY
You might be wondering about the photo of Keith I grabbed from his Facebook page for the post's thumbnail. It's a play on words of Dylan's original lyrics:
"I was so much YOUNGER then...I'm OLDER than that now..."
One of several posts on my friend Keith:
Celluloid Heroes
Everybody's a dreamer
And everybody's a star
And everybody's in movies
It doesn't matter who you are
There are stars in every city
In every house and on every street
And if you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Their names are written in concrete
Don't step on Greta Garbo
As you walk down the boulevard
She looks so weak and fragile
That's why she tried to be so hard
But they turned her into a princess
And they sat her on a throne
But she turned her back on stardom
Because she wanted to be alone
You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of
People who worked, and suffered and struggled for fame
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain (yeah)
Rudolph Valentino looks very much alive
And he looks up ladies dresses
As they sadly pass him by
Avoid stepping on Bela Lugosi
'Cause he's liable to turn and bite
But stand close by Bette Davis
Because hers was such a lonely life
If you covered him with garbage
George Sanders would still have style
And if you stamped on Mickey Rooney
He would still turn 'round and smile
But please, don't tread on dearest Marilyn
'Cause she's not very tough
She should have been made of iron or steel
But she was only made of flesh and blood
You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of
Oh, people who worked and suffered and struggled for fame
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain
Everybody's a dreamer
And everybody's a star
And everybody's in show-biz
It doesn't matter who you are
And those who are successful
Be always on your guard
Success walks hand in hand with failure
Along Hollywood Boulevard
I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die
You can see all the stars as you walk along Hollywood Boulevard
Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of
People who worked, and suffered and struggled for fame
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain
La-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Oh, celluloid heroes never feel any pain
Oh, celluloid heroes never really die
I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die
Songwriters: Raymond Douglas Davies. For non-commercial use only.
#music #humor #KeithCrocker #JohnPayne #JillPayne #KellySchmidt #DoubleL #PandorasVox #Hicksville #TheKinks #TheBeachBoys #ElPaso #MartyRobbins #RosasCantina #OscarLopez #FredPowers #Martha #WholeFoods #GratefulDead #BobWeir #SteveBermont #NRPS #NewRidersPurpleSage #RoguesGallery #JackCerro
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