Elvis writes about Bill Walton (RIP)

[sweetest punch]

https://www.elviscostello.com/uncategor ... qcqmGYJUCd

BILL WALTON

I am saddened to read of the passing of Bill Walton – the Boston Celtics basketball star and two-time NBA Champion – and wanted to send my condolences to his wife Lori, his sons, Adam, Nathan, Luke and Chris and to all of his family and his friends, knowing that all of his admirers are poorer for this day arriving.

My first encounter with Bill was not as a fan of the Celtics but in watching him march up the aisle of the Orpheum Theatre in Boston in the summer of 1986.

The “Costello Sings Again” tour was a presentation in which we played between three-to-five nights in six American cities, offering a different show every evening, including the first appearance of “The Spectacular Spinning Songbook” – a
magnificent show business contraption which was even taller than Bill and which audience members were invited to spin in order to select the next song in the show.

About six songs into the evening, I became aware of a murmur of encouragement for Bill to take the stage and my security man, Paddy Callaghan, who was playing the role of our M.C., “Xavier Valentine”, muttered to me that “this famous guy is coming up” and then I saw Bill approaching.

Even allowing for the rake of the theatre floor and the height of the stage, when Bill was only twenty or thirty feet away we appeared to be eye-to-eye and I thought it must be some kind of optical illusion.

He arrived into the spotlight to a huge ovation and was gracious in playing along with the whole game show routine and may have even been briefly persuaded into the go-go cage into which we invited our contestants to gambol and caper. I cannot imagine the device was really built to accommodate a person of Bill’s stature.

It wasn’t the last time we shared a stage, as when I revived the “Spinning Songbook” in 2012 for “The Revolver Tour”, we played San Diego, where Bill was now living. This time we came prepared with a song by Bill’s beloved Grateful Dead, among the forty song titles to be selected by “chance”.

I am not at liberty to confirm or deny whether any mischief or shenanigans were involved in “Ramble On Rose’ being selected but Bill seemed to be delighted with his good fortune and Lori’s photograph of that evening is an absolute gem. I have to say that Bill’s knowledge of the Dead catalogue was vastly superior to my understanding of basketball tactics but by then I was more than aware of his incredible achievements on the court and I loved seeing him again.

I got to serenade Bill one more time on my “Detour” show at Balboa Theatre in 2016.

In the afternoon of the concert, I had taught the Hunter/Garcia song “It Must Have Been The Roses” to Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe – who were opening the show and then joining me in the finale.

Thirty songs into the show we finally played Bill his Grateful Dead tune, in between my musical setting of the Bob Dylan lyric, “Down On The Bottom” and Merle Haggard’s “I Threw Away The Rose”, as the second to last song of the night.

Bill always did like to keep the finest company and I will carry that song with me and sing it again in his honor when I next have the chance.

Here’s a beautiful interview with Bill, in which he speaks so generously of that night.

“I am the human being that I am today because of the Grateful Dead”: Bill Walton shares life lessons from 859 shows”:
https://www.salon.com/2016/04/16/i_am_t ... 859_shows/

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From the article:

(…)
Just last night, we all went to hear Elvis Costello play in San Diego. He put on a spectacular three and a half hour show that was a roller coaster ride through the universe and beyond. And the second to the last song, he broke out “It Must’ve Been the Roses.” (A minor Grateful Dead classic.) And when we talked to Elvis after the show, he said it was only the second time he’s ever sung it in public. There were just tears coming down. He did not have a band with him. It was him, his guitar, his piano and a microphone. It was a phenomenal show. There’s got to be a sense of emotional commitment, of mental acuity -- for a singer/songwriter, for a band, for a basketball team -- to be able to convey the message of hope. To be able put your life into it so that it will inspire other people to care.
(…)