My friend Kathi Goldmark knows every author that ever did a book tour. She thinks that everybody has a song to sing and, in her previous career as an "author escort," she coaxed many famous authors to record a song for her record label, Don't Quit Your Day Job Records. In 1998 she released a double CD titled Stranger Than Fiction that compiled many of these recording sessions. Did you ever think you'd hear Norman Mailer sing Alimony Blues? Or Maya Angelou & Jessica Mitford belt out Right, Said Fred?? (Let me just say that never was a record label more appropriately named.)
One of these sessions took place in Austin, Texas in the fall of 1997. Kathi had persuaded Molly Ivins to record a song, promising her professional back-up using Jimmy LaFave's band. We gathered at Cedar Creek Studios in South Austin, not far from Molly's house. Jerry Jeff Walker and Bob Livingston showed up to play as well. While we were waiting on Molly to arrive, the main sound board caught on fire. Smoke began billowing into the studio. Jerry Jeff quipped, "The board must have heard that Molly is coming in to sing and spontaneously combusted!"
The sound guy got the fire put out and Molly came in and recorded It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels. Though not likely to hit the country charts, she managed to stay mostly in tune and performed with much laughter and genuine modesty. I love the comment she made at the end of the session, which is included on the CD version: "If I had a sense of rhythm, I would be fabulous!"
Well, she may not have had much rhythm, but she certainly was fabulous.
I'm attaching a couple of photos taken in 2003 (I think) when Molly joined Kathi's rock band of famous authors, The Rock Bottom Remainders, on stage for a charity show in conjunction with the Texas Book Festival. One photo is of Kathi & Molly (also inserted below). The other is of the backup singers, featuring Scott Turow, Amy Tan, who?, Molly, Kathi & Roy Blount, Jr. The CD can be bought at http://www.dqydj.com/. If you haven't read her last column, you must: http://www.creators.com/opinion/molly-ivins/stand-up-against-the-surge.html
More to come on Molly....
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