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 Genres: Pop, Folk, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s
The statistics on Rod McKuen's career and work are staggering. He has recorded over two hundred albums and is the recipient of 63 gold and platinum records worldwide. His three-dozen books of poetry have been published in eleven languages, sold 65 million copies and made him the most widely read poet of his time. The songs he has written and composed have accounted for the sale of over 100 million records for such diverse artists as Madonna, Perry Como, Petula Clark, Waylon Jennings, The Boston Pops, Chet Baker, Pete Fountain, Andy Williams, The Kingston Trio, Percy Faith, The London Philharmonic, Dusty Springfield, Johnny Mathis, Al Hirt and Frank Sinatra. Mr. Sinatra commissioned an entire album of original McKuen songs and the result was the highly successful and much acclaimed "A Man Alone". It produced two hit singles for the singer.
The more than 1500 songs penned by McKuen include such standards as "Love's Been Good To Me", "Jean", "I Think Of You", "Rock Gently", "The World I Used To Know", "Without A Worry In The World", "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", "Joanna" and "I'll Catch The Sun". His nearly 17-year collaboration and partnership with Jacques Brel resulted in worldwide hits such as "Seasons In The Sun", "If You Go Away", "I'm Not Afraid", "The Port Of Amsterdam" and two-dozen other songs. In the year 2000, the French performing society named the McKuen/Brel composition "If You Go Away" the ‘Song of The Millennium'.
Rod McKuen's film music has twice been nominated for Academy Awards ("The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie" & "A Boy Named Charlie Brown"). His classical works (symphonies, concertos, suites, chamber music and song cycles) are performed by leading orchestras and classical artists throughout the world. "The City", a suite for Narrator & Orchestra, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Music. He has received commissions for classical work from The Royal Philharmonic, The Louisville Orchestral, Edmonton Symphony and National Symphony among others. His album "Lonesome Cities" won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word album in 1968 against such formidable competition as "John F Kennedy: As We Remember Him" and the collected speeches of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy.
One of his most notable musical partnerships occurred during the 1970's when he and Anita Kerr teamed as author & composer to create a series of albums that featured The San Sebastian Strings. McKuen's poetic words set to the lush music and orchestrations of Miss Kerr produced 15 best selling albums for Warner Bros. Records, including the company's all time best-seller, "The Sea".
While McKuen is responsible for both words and music for the majority of his songwriting oeuvre, his notable collaborators include Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Ennio Moricone, John Williams, Hildegarde Knef, Petula Clark, Richard Loring, Jack Elliott and Jeri Southern
Other chapters in Rod McKuen's extraordinary life include his early work as a cowhand, lumberjack, ditch digger, railroad worker and rodeo cowboy. His first attention as a poet came in the early 1950's when he read with Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg at San Francisco's Jazz Cellar. Before becoming a best-selling author and songwriter in the 1960's, McKuen had been a contract player at Universal studios and a vocalist with Lionel Hampton's band amassing a considerable following as a recording artist and nightclub performer.
Rod McKuen has long supported social causes with his music. He was an early fundraiser in the fight against AIDS and was also instrumental in the introduction of the first "mixed seating" concerts in Apartheid-era South Africa. He has been a leading voice in human rights causes as diverse as gay rights, senior citizen's rights, child abuse prevention and adoption rights.
As if all these activities weren't enough to keep the singer-songwriter-producer-poet-activist busy enough, for the past two decades he has been the president of the American Guild of Variety Artists, a post he has held longer than any other man or woman elected to the position.
Rod McKuen has been hailed by The Times of London as "Quite simply one of the most riveting performers of his generation" and Paris Match added, "This talented and electrifying chansonier has set a high standard for every international entertainer." Rod McKuen's unique style and stage presence has filled concert halls, theatres and intimate nightclubs on nearly every continent.
Songs (click on song title for more information):
| Rod McKuen
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Songwriter(s): Rod McKuen
Recording Artist: Rod McKuen
Date Recorded: 1968
Album: Listen To The Warm
Label: Stanyan Records
catalogue
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Dandelion Days
Rod McKuen
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Love's Been Good To Me
Rod McKuen
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Rod McKuen
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Rock Gently
Rod McKuen
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