Bruce Slutsky was born in New York City in 1949. I retired six years ago after working as a Science/Engineering Librarian at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark for 25 years. I was married to Karen until she passed away in February 2021. I have a son Lee who is now 35 years old. I am very much interested in the popular music of the 1960s, especially Bob Dylan and the Beatles. I am interested in rock and roll radio. I am an enthusiastic fan of the New York Mets.
This 3-CD set obviously does not include new recordings but does include previously unreleased outtakes from the sessions that produced Self Portrait and New Morning, as well as the complete May 1, 1970, studio recordings with his future bandmate Harrison, which capture the pair performing together on nine tracks. In 1988 Dylan and Harrison teamed up again as part of the Traveling Wilburys.
I was amused by Dylan's cover of Yesterday. A few years ago there was a CD called The Art of McCartney where many artists covered his songs. It included Dylan singing The Things We Said Today. His voice was rough in that recording but is quite mellow in this 1970 cover of Yesterday.
A few weeks ago I stated that there are too many Bob Dylan books out there. Likewise, there must be hundreds of books written about the Beatles collectively and about the four individual members. Paul McCartney just announced in November he will publish a memoir titled "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present." This will be a two-volume 960-page opus that will examine 150 songs that McCartney has written. Thus, it is not an autobiography.
Since this 2-volume set is coming from the songwriter, it should provide new insights. Likely, it will read like a reference book.
WESU is a college radio station affiliated with Wesleyan University in Middleton, Connecticut. It can also be heard anywhere at http://www.wesufm.org/ Its programming is very eclectic including shows from the BCC and NPR, Jack Sullivan has an oldies show that is heard Tuesday evenings from 8:00 - 9:30 PM. A few years ago he promoted his show on Facebook, so I thought I'd listen. Much of his show is requests from listeners. Over the past few years, he did play several of my requests.
There is a TV commercial for a company where if you have junk in your house, just point to it and it will disappear. Believe me, it is not that easy. I have started to go through my apartment and found out that my beloved late wife Karen was a hoarder. She did not throw anything out. For example, I found invitations to weddings and bar mitzvahs from over 30 years ago. I must be very careful since there may be some important documents among the junk. Thus, this is a very slow process.
Rome wasn't built in a day and I don't have a time limit, but this is a very unpleasant task. I suggest everyone look through belongings and discard what is not needed about once a year. I would make life a lot easier years later.
I worked with Jeff Scheckner and Bill Dillane to plan this event. I couldn't attend since it was too soon after Karen's passing. I hope you will enjoy the recording.
Here is an email that I sent to the 109th Precinct which covers Flushing and most of northeastern Queens.
I highly praise the officers who responded at about 2:30 AM on Tuesday, February 16 after I called 911 to report that my wife, Karen Slutsky, was unresponsive. They were especially kind and compassionate to me after medics confirmed that she passed away. They explained all the procedures that needed to be followed at that time. The officers stayed with me until the funeral home came to pick up the body. I neglected to get their names.
I am the Commanding Officer of the 109 Precinct. I truly appreciate you taking the time during such a difficult time in your life to acknowledge the compassionate response of our officers. Thank You. I’m incredibly proud to receive this news and we will identify the Officers and have this acknowledgment placed in their permanent personnel file.
On a personal note, please accept my condolences on your loss. I will include you and your family in my prayers.
Please let me know if there is anything you need.
Sadly, there have been many high-profile situations when the police have acted inappropriately. These situations often linger in the media for months if not years. 99.999% of the time police officers act honorably, However, when police go beyond the call of duty, the media rarely reports it.
This is the first time I have ever had to use the services of the NYPD. I am very satisfied with their performance. I hope the police will not be defunded as it may prevent them from doing their job properly.
Lee and I greatly appreciate the kind messages that we
received on Facebook after I announced Karen’s passing. I must have received
about 200 messages from Facebook friends.
Friends from my grade school days, high school, college, grad school, my
career, my hobbies, even friends I've never met in the flesh, all lent strength
when I needed it most. I read every message and cherish their sentiments. My
oldies radio friends were especially kind to me. I would like to call out some
people who were especially kind to us:
Scott, Justin, and Faith Shapiro who are our nephews and
niece.
Joyce Feuer – my sister
Alan Kanis -Karen’s cousin
Jonathan Binstock who phone me from Maryland
David McMillan – who phoned me from Oklahoma
Cara Sieden – who phoned me from Queens
My Bob Dylan friends, Millie Lyttle, Walter Raubicheck,
Lawrence Kaplan, Danny Fingeroth, Caitlin Hawke, and Marcus Marsden.There was a Zoom meeting that night that they
canceled saying that it wouldn’t be the same without me.Those guys know more about Dylan than me.
Yesterday, I received a phone call from Lou Saffrin whom I
had not seen in 50 years.I worked with
him as stock boys for Alexanders when were students.He went out of his way to look up my phone
number.
Please be assured that even if I didn’t mention you in this
journal entry, I appreciate your kindness and compassion.
I am going to conclude this journal entry with You’ve Got a
Friend by Carole King who was one of Karen’s favorite singer/songwriters.
In August 1980, Arlene, a colleague of mine at a
pharmaceutical company, asked if I’d like to meet her sister-in-law who lived
nearby me in Queens.I felt I had
nothing to lose and phoned Karen and made a date.We went to an ice dancing show at the Nassau
Coliseum.After the date, we went back to
her apartment and talked.I noted a
knick-knack with the zodiac sign of Taurus.She said her birthday was April 22 while mine was April 21, but six
years apart.I never heard the end of
that in all the years that I knew her.I
phoned her for a second date which I think was a movie.We found out that we liked oldies music,
especially the Beatles.I didn’t bring
up Bob Dylan at that time.After that, she
invited me to her house to listen to her Beatles records.We were also into oldies radio and listened
to WYNY and WCBS-FM.She was also a big
fan of the Mets.
The relationship grew, but I was always afraid that marriage
will kill all the fun.In October 1982
we became engaged.It must have been the
worst proposal as I told her a few days before that I got the ring and that I
will propose on Saturday night.
We were married on October 16, 1983, at the Old Westbury
Hebrew Congregation.For our first year
we lived on 99th Street in Rego Park.A year later her father remarried and moved
to the Bronx and later to Florida.We
then moved into the co-op she co-owned with her father in the Mitchell_Linden
section of Flushing.We have lived there
ever since.
After 4 years of marriage, we thought it was time to start a
family.Lee was born in March 1988.Having a child is a wonderful thing, but also
creates stress.As Lee got older we
realized he was developmentally disabled and was in special education programs.We always did the best for him.He developed a taste for oldies music and Bob
Dylan.In April 1997 we took Lee to his
first Bob Dylan concert at William Patterson University in Wayne, NJ.He has gone to every Dylan concert since that
time.
The highlights of our marriage were our baseball/music
vacations.In 2006, 2007, and 2010 we
went on Jay Buckley baseball tours.We
flew to Chicago and took a bus to visit several ballparks in the Midwest.At a game in Milwaukee Karen got a foul ball
that landed in her seat.
Here are some of the vacations we took:
1998, 2008 – Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and Cleveland Indians
2003 – Memphis to visit Graceland.We also took in a Memphis Redbirds Game
2005 – San Francisco to see the Giants and Oakland A’s
2011 – Southern California to see L.A. Dodgers, Angels, and
several museums
2012 – Baltimore to see the Orioles at Camden Yards
2013 – Atlanta to see the Braves and several museums
2004, 2014 – Nashville to visit the Grand Ole Opry, Johnny
Cash Museum and a Nashville Sounds Game
2016 – Denver to see the Colorado Rockies
2017 – Houston to see the Astros at Minute Maid Park
2018 – Phoenix to see the Arizona Diamondbacks and several museums.
2019 – Seattle to see the Mariners, Space Needle and other
attraction
Our favorite activity at home which is watching Quiz Shows
on TV.Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are
our favorites, but we also watch GSN and the Buzzer Network.
I’ll conclude be saying that the Beatles’ music was featured at
our wedding.Karen picked the wedding
song that was Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie.
A few days ago Mary Wilson suddenly passed away at age 76. She did have a solo career after the Supremes disbanded. I found this performance of hers from the Hollywood Palace in October 1969. RIP Mary.
An impeachment vote should be based on facts, not politics. It is obvious that former President Trump was guilty of inciting an insurrection. The constitution requires that a 2/3 majority of senators is required for conviction. The next step would have been a vote to disqualify Trump from running for any federal office. Now Trump can run for President in 2024. I'd like to thank the following 7 Republican Senators who voted with their conscience for conviction:
I have tried unsuccessfully several times to try to get an appointment for the Coronavirus vaccine at Citi Field. I heard on the TV news that starting next week it will be open 24/7 which should obviously create more availability. Rome wasn't built in a day.
Governor Cuomo announced yesterday that sports venues can allow 10% of capacity into games. Thus, approximately 2,000 could get into Madison Square Garden and Barclay Center. Citi Field could accommodate 4,000 fans while 5,000 could get into Yankee Stadium. My question is who gets the limited tickets? My guess that only full season ticket holders will get in. Perhaps in the spring, the percentage will go up.
Likewise, concert venues will be able to let in 10% of capacity. Can a concert be profitable if such a small number of fans can get in?
As a subscriber to Isis, a fanzine, I receive weekly updates announcing new books, recordings, and memorabilia. Last night I looked at my bookshelf and observed that I had numerous Bob Dylan books. I have several other e-books about him on my Amazon Kindle. The book listed above was announced today and will be released in April. Clinton Heylin is a well-respected Dylan scholar who has published extensively. Below is a description of this new book.
With fresh and revealing information A Restless, Hungry Feeling tells the story of Dylan’s meteoric rise to fame: his arrival in early 1961 in New York, where he is embraced by the folk scene; his elevation to a spokesman of a generation whose protest songs provide the soundtrack for the burgeoning Civil Rights movement; his alleged betrayal when he ‘goes electric’ at Newport in 1965; his subsequent controversial world tour with a rock ‘n’ roll band; and the recording of his three undisputed electric masterpieces: Bringing it All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. At the peak of his fame in July 1966 he reportedly crashes his motorbike in Woodstock, upstate New York, and disappears from public view. When he re-emerges, he looks different, his voice sounds different, his songs are different. That other story will be told in Volume 2, to be published in autumn 2022. Hardback. 720 Pages.
Will there be any new revelations in this book that covers his life until 1966? Volume 2 covering 1967 to the present will be published in Fall 2022.
I believe that Ken Jennings's run as Guest Host of Jeopardy will end on February 19th giving him a 6-week audition. I think he has done a credible job in that role. I just don't like his repeating many of Alex Trebek's sayings when he spoke to the contestants.
The other guest hosts (in no particular) will be:
Katie Couric - former Today Show host
Savannah Guthrie - current Today Show host
Mike Richards - Jeopardy Producer
Aaron Rodgers - football player
Mayim Bialik - Actress
Dr. Sanjay Gupta -CNN Medical Correspondent
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Anderson Cooper - CNN and 60 Minutes Correspondent
Will one of these Guest Hosts become the permanent host?
I am disappointed that Brooke Burns and Meredith Viera are on this list since both have experience as game show hosts.
I remember playing pinball back in the 1960s and 1970s. There were pinball arcades all over back then. Those games became technologically obsolete in later years.
On one of the Definitely Dylan radio shows Laura Tenschert compares several recorded versions of Dignity by Bob Dylan. Above is the version from Tell Tale Signs, part of the Bootleg Series. I guess I am on a roll since there are two Dylan posts in a row in my journal.
Of course, a journal is a periodical publication of scholarly articles. For my readers who are not librarians, open access means that anyone can access the articles without having to pay. The journal is supported financially by the authors who must pay after their article was accepted after the peer-review process. Dylan Review also requests donations from readers.
Below is the table of contents from the most recent issue:
REVIEWS
Quentin Miller, Bob Dylan: Outlaw Blues…………………………………..…………....2
Michael Hacker, “Whiskey” (Theme Time Radio Hour episode 101) ….…………12
Walter Raubicheck, Surviving in a Ruthless World: Bob Dylan’s Voyage
to Infidels ……………………………………………………………...…….………...…..19
Tommy Shea, Songs from a Voice: Being the Recollections, Stanzas, and
Observations of Abe Runyan, Song Writer and Performer……………….………26
Matthew Lipson, A Wanderer by Trade: Gender in the Songs of Bob Dylan…..29
THE DYLANISTA……………………………………………………….……………………….34
POEMS
Thomas G. Palaima, “Visions of Desolation: Cleveland 1965 Austin 2012”...…...40
ARTICLES
John Radosta, “The Simple Art of Music: Bob Dylan and Noir”............................44
SONG CORNER
Bob Keyes, “All the Songs: Dylan’s Songbook Sale”.………………………......…...77
INTERVIEWS
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams…………………………………………..……….82
The forecast calls for up to 18 inches before the storm ends sometime tomorrow? Will it be a record-breaker. I don't have to worry about getting into work but after a while cabin fever sets it.
