Happy Birthday, Buzzy Linhart!

Today is Buzzy Linhart's 70^th birthday. I dated Buzzy for a year or so in 1979-1980. Then he moved out of state and we eventually fell out of touch, but I've been thinking about him lately and have reconnected with him and the reason is this: I want Buzzy to know what a profoundly positive effect he has had on my life. From people he introduced me to, to experiences we shared, to his songs which have become part of the ingrained soundtrack of my life, to my actual physical health, I owe so much to this man. If you don't know who Buzzy is, you should. Read on, and you will.

 

 Who is Buzzy Linhart? (Hint: That's guy above is not him, but if you watch this you'll see him)

Trailer for Famous: The Buzzy Linhart Story

You can also go HERE to watch the entire movie for free!

When I was 17 or so I appropriated my older brother's Buzzy Linhart record, Pussycats Can Go Far, and by the time it finished playing I decided that this was the man I would marry someday. His open, smiling face on the cover, his blatantly joyous voice, his transcendent vibraphone and tumultuous guitar playing, his charming, disarming, utterly unique style...I wanted to be part of all that.

Some months later my friend Jeanne and I, having procured fake IDs (age: 21!) at a photo kiosk in Terminal Tower, went to see Buzzy perform at the Cellar Door in Cleveland Heights. Many of the details are lost to me now, but I did meet him that night, and we started dating when I was 19. He was in his mid 30's.

Some sketches I made of Buzzy, circa 1979

When my mom expressed concern over our age difference, Buzzy instantly volunteered to come meet her. He sat in the living room being his witty and endearing self, chatting amiably about this and that, talking in goofy voices, and eventually pulling out his guitar and singing her a couple of songs. There were no further complaints from mom.

Yes, he was twice my age, but quite honestly, I think we had a mutually beneficial relationship. He got to date a cute young thing who adored him; I got to date a musical idol and have many a fun adventure. He was always honest with me. I knew he was dating other girls and at that point in my life, that was fine with me. I got over wanting to marry him and settled for having a helluva good time whenever we hung out. While he clearly had his faults, I don't recall a single harsh word between us. We enjoyed each other for who we were.

And as a then-19 year old, dating Buzzy had a pretty awesome coolness factor. He had had a huge presence in the NYC folk and rock scene in the 1960s and early 70s and played with artists as diverse as Fred Neil, Richie Havens, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Eric Clapton, and many more. He told me stories about hanging out with Jimi Hendrix and playing on one of his albums. He had shared an apartment in the Village with John Sebastian of the Loving Spoonful. He co-wrote the song Friends, which became known as Bette Midler's signature song and later was the theme music for Sesame Street. He dated Carly Simon. He played a naked hitchhiker (Full frontal male nudity; shocking!) in the 1974 movie Groove Tube. And I saw him play enough times to know for myself what an insanely talented and an incredibly charismatic performer he was. I never tired of hearing him sing and play.

Buzzy rocks out in NYC, 1969

Plus he was just plain fun to be with. He would often break into these crazy cartoonish voices and imitations and goofy made-up-on-the-spot song lyrics. He took me to hear and meet countless local and several nationally known musicians. I often heard his own band at the time, Buzzy Linhart and The Buzzards. This band, when they eventually parted ways with Buzzy, became The Generators, a pretty popular local rock band who owed their very existence to Buzzy. He took me to watch a recording session he did with folk and comedy troubadours Willio and Phillo. They made a mock commercial for dolphin food and Buzzy played the voice of the dolphin. Another time he had me, along with his sister Abby, sing backup vocals for one of his own recordings of a song called Resurrection Rag.

Like many musicians of his generation, Buzzy had done his fair share of drug use and abuse, but at the time I met him he was on a pretty extreme health kick and was not doing drugs at all. I was a vegetarian when I met Buzzy and, though pretty health conscious myself, I was duly impressed when I watched him thoroughly rinse his organic brown rice in the sink and then do a final rinse with spring water to remove any last trace of chlorine and fluoride. This guy was hardcore. Later he convinced me that adding meat back into my diet would be in my best interest and took me to earth by april, where we dined on Red Snapper Amandine. It was delicious and I felt a rush of energy eating it. I eventually added other meats back in, and he was right; I felt better. I wonder if I'd be eating Paleo now-- a diet which has given me vast improvement in my health and well being-- were it not for his influence back then.

One of the most memorable adventures we shared was when Paul Simon came to town to film One Trick Pony. Buzzy and Paul had hung around many of the same NYC clubs and coffee houses in the 1960s and '70s, so they knew each other fairly well. So Paul Simon came to see Buzzy play at the old Agora Theater on E 24th some months before he came to shoot the movie, and I got to meet him then. And when the filming started, Buzzy and I were extras and hung out on location at the Agora for about a week, and then for an additional day of filming at Baldwin Wallace College. And we got paid for it too! During the course of the filming I got to pal around with Paul and Buzzy a lot. I also played pinball with Tony Levin and Richard Tee, chatted with Steve Gadd, met John Sebastian and Tiny Tim, and hung out with Buzzy in the B-52s trailer. And I got to be Mare Winningham's stand-in for a day too. She was very friendly. Told me if I was ever in LA to come visit her.

Paul Simon, Me, and Buzzy Linhart onstage at the Agora, 1979.

Paul Simon was sweet and unassuming. Just about every time he's come though town since then, I've gone backstage to say hi. I took my friends Sue and Ray to meet him when the Graceland tour came to the Coliseum, and most recently, I took my pal Rachel to see him on his 2011 tour at EJ Thomas Hall in Akron. She snapped a few pics for me.

 









Of course, none of this hobnobbing with one of the most famous musicians in the whole wide world would have been possible without my own personal musical ambassador, Buzzy Linhart.

And I have Buzzy to thank for introducing me to the chiropractors at the Geneva Chiropractic Clinic. In fact, my very first treatment was when Buzzy arranged to have Dr Daniel Duffy, the founder of the GCC clinic, come to the set during the filming of One Trick Pony and treat the cast and crew. He spent the afternoon treating one person after the next, including Paul Simon himself. At the end when he was about to close up shop, Buzzy asked if he could take one more patient, and that was me. Although only 19, I had been having chronic lower back pain for several years. Dr Duffy put me on the table, did a few magical adjustments, and bingo, the pain was gone and never came back. He winked at me and said, “That one's a freebie.” I've been going back to the GCC ever since and they have been a major source of both health care and information. I have referred many clients to them over the years who have had equally good results. And this is all due to Buzzy's influence.

From my record collection

I talked to Buzzy for over an hour last night. He played a couple of his songs over the phone for me, including the Resurrection Rag song that I sang backup vocals on. He frequently interrupted our chat with instructions given to his friend Larry who was helping prepare his dinner. He broke into funny voices. He told me tales of pain, hardship and woe, instantly followed by assertions that everything was sure to work out okay.

Sadly, Buzzy himself is not in the best of health now. And he has never quite reached the level of fame and fortune that he might have enjoyed. He, like most of us, is an imperfect soul; and like most of us, he has sometimes worked against himself and fallen short of his own goals. But he has touched literally hundreds of thousands of lives with his music, and those of us who have been lucky enough to know him personally have been blessed and impressed with his many talents, his warmth, his drive to improve himself, his all-out goofy and fun-loving spirit, his generosity and his willingness to give all of himself. And if that isn't fame and fortune, I don't know what is.

1974 There It Goes Again

"As soon as anything is that bad, you might as well just rejoice 

and be happy you still got your hands and feet."

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Dear Buzzy-- Happy Birthday! I hope you have a delicious day and a delightful year, surrounded with warmth, laughter and love. And remember: the check is in the mail, the rainbow is just around the bend, you are brightest star in the story of your life, and the Love is STILL growing. Sing joy!

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Here  is a set of songs on Spotify, put together by Buzzy's son, Xeno David.

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