403. A RARE COLLECTION OF JACK KEROUAC RECORDINGS (1922-1969) American novelist whose publication of On the Road made him the foremost figure of the Beat generation of the Fifties and Sixties. An extraordinary collection of five reel-to-reel tape recordings spanning almost a decade of Kerouac's life and works, including a wide range of the author's personae: from brilliant recitation of original and unpublished adlib material, to calm well-spoken recitations of selections from his published writings, and finally the intoxicated rants of the author in his last days as he struggled to put in order his philosophies and ideas. There is a total of over 12 hours of recording, with over eight hours of Kerouac recording alone, and for a short while with others. Some important players in Kerouac's life also are heard in the tapes: his wife Stella Sampas Kerouac, Kerouac's mother "Memere", Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Jarry Wagner, Tony Sampas, Kerouac's psychiatrists and personal friends Dan DeSole and Philip Singer, and others yet unidentified. We believe the great majority of the material has never been heard before, with the exception of a tape cited by author Gerald Nicosia in his 1983 Kerouac biography Memory Babe.
A very brief synopsis follows: (1) Opens with Big Band music in background, Kerouac, apparently intoxicated, singing to the music, variously singing lyrics correctly and changing them at his whim, sometimes whistling. He often makes salacious comments, interjecting: "Who's that faggot that's banging on my piano?" followed by more anti-gay rhetoric. He turns off the radio and sings "It Happened in Monterrey", again improvising the lyrics, stomping his feet, speaking in Spanish and complimenting himself. He states: "Hombres que rezan" and translates: "Men who pray". The radio is turned on again and another song comes on. He again whistles, scat sings, and improvises: "My life's been closed, the Lord's gonna send me down from heaven...I had a task to do...I'll see my love, I'll go my way...I don't care about you, you fuck!..." Stella enters the room, Jack explains that he's "...writing a book..." He sings again, with a romantic introduction: "The touch of your lips...the look in your eyes..." and ends with a reference to anal sex. Kerouac then sings "Alouette" to a calypso beat. He sings "Night & Day" with some variations and accompanies Frank Sinatra on one song. "Cherish" comes on and Kerouac completely changes the tempo and lyrics to suit himself, describing a hobo's journey westward, ending in San Francisco: "...meet all the cats gonna come out on the street, Market Street, Corner Street, Beat Beat Beat Beat Beat Beat Beat Beat Beat Beat! Had to go downtown to find all the girls and boys..." (2) Clearly Kerouac is drinking to "soft" instrumental music, foot stomping and knee slapping in rhythm. He sings along to an instrumental "Are You Lonesome Tonight". He whistles and sings, again altering the songs lyrics, once commenting: "You've got me in the wrong key!" Kerouac changes stations frequently, continues changing song lyrics and laughs at himself, stomps on the floor and whoops. "Take Five" comes on, and Kerouac again changes lyrics: "...We're going to move on over to Delancey Street..." He suddenly becomes angry, exclaiming: "Oh, play the music, stop playing this fucking kid stuff - that's for children!" and changes the station. Kerouac improvises his own romantic song about a lover leaving. (3) Two recordings of Kerouac apparently reading some of his works. The first recording is about twenty minutes long, a bit muffled, the second of better quality. He appears to be reading before one or more people. (4) Described as Dan DeSole and Tony Sampas at Nick's Bar in Lowell, with one other person present, possibly Philip Singer. The group apparently meets following Kerouac's death. They discuss Jack and his work in philosophical terms, also bringing up mutual acquaintances. (5) Continues previous; it seems the group is led by the gruff-voiced DeSole. They analyze Kerouac's work and writing style, discuss his business contracts and agreements, agree that much was omitted from On the Road, inspect the changes in Kerouac's style and audience, and mention his critics. (5) Kerouac opens with a mention of a worldly waiter he met while in Paris, and briefly discusses the philosophy behind his writing Satori in Paris, and his writing in general. Kerouac then reads passages from Satori in Paris, though we are not certain whether they are direct reads, or if he has here added anything to the original text. (6) The tape bears two stories read by Kerouac. He may be drinking. The first is for the most part a first-person reading of a memorandum dictated by a psychiatric employee of the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Albany [a Dan DeSole reference?] to his superior in reaction to a ceremony held to honor employees who had completed ten or more years of service to the hospital. Kerouac acidly attacks the manner in which his superior had conducted the ceremony, the speech that had been used during the ceremony, and the superior's attitude in general toward those who served under him. He changes track, addressing himself to his secretary "Lucille", and becomes introspective, questioning his job, his purpose and himself. The second reading seems to start mid-stream, and is done in the third person, as Kerouac describes a French family of three living in Paris and embarking on a visit to an aunt. The story revolves around a son, "Ferdinand", who it seems is repulsed by his aunt. At one point Kerouac seems to adlib in French. He reverts to English and describes the mother's closeness to the aunt, then mentions a visit to other extended family members. The family returns home to their apartment. Kerouac describes the father's employment, ambitions, bad temper, and despair. At the end of the recording, Kerouac plays a lengthy, sad tune upon a harmonica. (7) Recording of three or more persons, one female, possibly recorded in New York, ca. 1960. We believe the participants are Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, with Ginsberg leading the group. The first part of the recording is essentially comprised of much singing, with occasional references to " and "Allen". It starts with Ginsberg making-up ridiculous verse to the same brief tune. He then adapts Kerouac's Silly Goofball Poems to the same music, and it seems that Kerouac may have joined him for a few of the verses. Ginsberg then reads the poem as it is written. Everybody participating is likely either intoxicated or stoned. Ginsberg recites, sings. All of the above has been taped over a recording of whom we believe to be Kerouac reading at a rapid pace a lengthy section of his play "The Beat Generation" over jazz music played in the background. The play, which here opens in a breakfast scene mentions characters "Connie", "Neal", "Jack", "Gregory" and "Lazy Charlie" discussing a trip to a racetrack. At one point we hear: "End of first act" and the tape stops. The tape restarts and the narrator continues with the characters' plans to go to the racetrack. (8) The play being read by Kerouac continues as the characters choose their horses, place bets, and so on, with the recording stopping abruptly. The characters visit Neal's house where they meet they "Bishop" who has been teaching Buddhism. Much discussion among the characters follows, and they finally realize they must make sleeping arrangements. The tape abruptly ends with Kerouac saying "I'm dead". As during the previous recordings, Kerouac is reading to a jazz music background, and here he is clearly drinking during the reading. Careful listening to radio advertising during the playback reveals that this recording was made in 1958. (9) Recording of a group of men, perhaps including DeSole and Singer, likely in a meeting hall. Tony Sampas it seems is also present. Likely taped in Lowell. Repeated questioning of a very intoxicated woman named "Carol". (10) Kerouac's funeral. Recording of the last 9 minutes of his Catholic funeral mass at St. Jean Baptiste Church in Lowell with eulogy, followed by an interview of 22-year old Rolling Stone reporter Steven Davis covering the event. The tape stops and resumes with parties identified as Gregory Corso, Jerry Wagner, DeSole and Singer conversing in a car on the day of the funeral. There is a reflective, sometimes heated, expletive-laden discussion of Kerouac's legacy and the changing times. (11) Kerouac with one other person, bongo drumming in background, free-form recitation in an Indian or Mexican chant-like manner. Kerouac describes in verse traveling across various states and countries, scats, and then fancifully describes his family history in Brittany at the time of the French Revolution, in a docu-drama fashion. Kerouac continues to recite, mentioning at one point "homosexual midgets at work against each other", and stating: "I got sick of San Francisco because I was sick of Dan Snyder, Philip Whalen, Allen Ginsberg and Clifford Anderson and all those fucking phonies and Laurence Ferlinghetti..." More singing and reciting, mentions among other things riding trains, traveling to Los Angeles, a racetrack, Santa Fe, encountering a wino, and so on, apparently a long paraphrased version of "Midnight Ghost" and actually described by Kerouac as "a facsimile thereof". Tony Sampas briefly describes the meaning of "The Midnight Ghost. (13) Starts abruptly. Kerouac reading from several different works. Described as reading from Desolation Angels, San Francisco Blues, Mexico City Blues, Old Angel Midnight, TheBeginnings of Bop, The Subterraneans, Neal and the Three Stooges, and a poem about Allen Ginsberg.
This extraordinary collection was obtained by our consignor directly from Dr. Philip Singer, Kerouac's friend and psychiatrist. A copy of a memo sent by Singer to another buyer (who purchased other Kerouac-related items) describes how Singer and Dr. Daniel De Sole, Kerouac's psychiatrist, confidante and close friend, came into possession of the tapes. The lot is also accompanied by an A.L.S. of Singer, Feb. 21, 2006 mentioning the sale of the tapes and directing any questions as to provenance to either himself or Dr. DeSole. The tapes are contained within their original boxes and bear handwritten notes of either DeSole or Singer identifying their contents. It appears to us that perhaps two or three of the reels may have been placed in incorrect boxes, but apparently all of the original boxes and matching tapes are present.While the tapes appear to be in excellent condition, we have chosen not to listen to them directly to avoid any possible damage. We have instead relied upon compact disc recordings made from the original tapes by our consignor. A sampling made of the tapes is available to serious bidders (full copies of the tapes are available for listening at our offices by appointment). Additionally, fuller transcripts of the tapes are available upon request. These tapes are an extraordinary find, likely bearing the only original, unpublished Kerouac material remaining extant. Beyond that, they reveal sides of the brilliant author not perceivable through the written word. This is a very rare opportunity for serious Kerouac scholars and collectors! $10,000-15,000