RIP Rod McKuen

[DrDan]

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-rod-mckuen-dies-at-81-20150129-story.html

Rod McKuen, a prolific songwriter and poet whose compositions include the Academy Award-nominated song “Jean” for the 1969 film “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” has died. He was 81.

McKuen had recently been hospitalized and died Thursday at a Beverly Hills rehabilitation center of respiratory arrest after suffering from pneumonia, according to his friend and producer Jim Pierson.

Among McKuen’s commercial successes in the 1960s and '70s were his reworking of Jacques Brel’s song "Le Moribond" for the English-language version of “Seasons in the Sun,” later covered by the Kingston Trio and Terry Jacks. Frank Sinatra recorded an album of McKuen songs in 1969 called “A Man Alone,” which included “Love’s Been Good to Me.”

Rod McKuen had no equal. There will never be another like him. His art in so many areas meant, and will always mean, so much to so many of us.

[shenmue]

1. Rest in peace

[kag]

2. My mom was a huge Rod McKuen fan...

and I've loved him since I was a small girl. My favorite was "A Cat Named Sloopy".

RIP Rod. You will be missed.

Thanks for posting.

[etherealtruth]

4. So was (is) my dad

His death brought back sweet childhood memories, too.

Sadly, my dad was (is) an even bigger fan of Robert Service ... try explaining (as a five year old) why / how you know all the words to the Cremation of Sam McGee

[kag]

7. Yes, sweet memories.

My mom passed away when I was sixteen. Among her personal belongings that we kept were some of her favorite tapes (eight-track!!! ): Rod McKuen, The Cowsills, Jeannie C. Riley...among others. I lost track of them over the years, but then about three years ago one of my brothers gave me--as a Christmas present--her favorite of all, "Rod McKuen at Carnegie Hall". I, of course, had no way of playing it, so he also gave me the CD. My daughter, who is now sixteen, loves it .

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

13. Hey, my dad knew that poem too. nt

[etherealtruth]

14. :-) n/t

[leftofcool]

3. I loved him so much.

Rest in Peace. Thank you for the poetry.

[DrDan]

5. loved this one

Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians
Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians

Come and take my eldest son, show him how to shoot a gun
Wipe his eyes if he starts to cry when the bullets fly.
Give him a rifle, take his hoe, show him a field where he can go
To lay his body down and die without asking why

Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians
Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians

Sticks and stones can break your bones; even names can hurt you
But the thing that hurts the most is when a man deserts you
Don't you think its time to weed the leaders that no longer lead
From the people of the land who'd like to see their sons again?

Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians
Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians

God if men could only see the lessons taught by history
That all the singers of this song cannot right a single wrong
Let all men of good will stay in the fields they have to till
Feed the mouths they have to fill and cast away their arms

Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians
Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians
Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians
Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians
Soldiers Who Want To Be Heroes number practically zero
But there are millions who want to be civilians

[madfloridian]

9. Absolutely love that one.

He was one of my favorites.

[LeftishBrit]

6. Very sorry to hear this. A great songwriter.

[Grammy23]

8. My father loved being on the water in a boat

That he built. He loved to fish, read, watch the waves and just contemplate everything or nothing at all. Just be. When he died suddenly at age 51 in 1967, Rod McKuen was very popular and my sister had one of his recordings. So we chose a line from "The Sea" as my father's inscription on his tombstone. "Do you know my friend the Sea?" I can't think of a more fitting one for him. It brought me comfort then and still brings me comfort every time I visit his grave.

RIP Rod McKuen.

[DrDan]

15. when I read your subject line, I immediately thought of The Sea

what a great inscription

[madfloridian]

10. Love's Been Good to Me. Sung in Amsterdam 2009

This is a song Rod McKuen performed during his show "Rod McKuen in Concert" in Royal Theatre Carré on May 24, 2009 in Amsterdam. This song was recorded live.
This is a non-profit tribute to Rod McKuen; a great poet, singer, actor, and a wonderful human being.

[madfloridian]

11. The Ivy That Clings to the Wall. From Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

Never get me started on Rod McKuen's music.

[DrDan]

16. and "Jean", of course - loved that movie

[Casandia]

12. Wednesday night

I brought out my scratched, we'll-worn album "The Sea" after nearly 30 years. As I played the album, the words and music was as fresh as ever. And now, on Saturday, I find out he died. I am so sad, the world lost a beautiful gentle soul.