Two years after John F. Kennedy's inauguration, at which Robert Frost read an original poem, the president delivered a eulogy.
Because he knew the midnight as well as the high noon, because he understood the ordeal as well as the triumph of the human spirit, he gave his age strength with which to overcome despair. At bottom, he held a deep faith in the spirit of man. And it's hardly an accident that Robert Frost coupled poetry and power. For he saw poetry as the means of saving power from itself.
(Duke Ellington, 1935 -- Duke Ellington Collection)
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When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. . . .
In free society, art is not a weapon and it does not belong to the sphere of polemics and ideology. Artists are not engineers of the soul. It may be different elsewhere. But in democratic society, the highest duty of the writer, the composer, the artist, is to remain true to himself and let the chips fall where they may. In serving his vision of the truth, the artist best serves the nation. And the nation which disdains the mission of art invites the fate of Robert Frost's hired man -- "the fate of having nothing to look backward to with pride and nothing to look forward to with hope."
Stanley Dance on DUKE ELLINGTON 1899-1974
Jazz journalist Stanley Dance tried to sum up a man who refused to be categorized: Duke Ellington.
As a musician, he hated categories. He didn't want to be restricted, and although he mistrusted the word jazz, his definition of it was "freedom of expression." If he wished to write an opera, or music for a ballet, or for the symphony, or for a Broadway musical, or for a movie, he didn't want to feel confined to the idiom in which he was the unchallenged, acknowledged master.
As with musical categories, so with people categories. Categories of class, race, color, creed, and money were obnoxious to him. He made his subtle, telling contributions to the civil rights struggle in musical statements. . . .
His scope constantly widened, and right up to the end he remained a creative force, his imagination stimulated by experience. There was much more he had to write, and would undoubtedly have written, but a miraculous aspect of his work is not merely the quality, but the quantity of it. Music was indeed his mistress. He worked hard, did not spare himself, and virtually died in harness.
Eric Idle on GEORGE HARRISON 1943-2001
Beatle George Harrison knew that show business was not to be confused with real life, Monty Python star Eric Idle recalled.
When they told me they were going to induct my friend George Harrison into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame posthumously, my first thought was: I bet he won't show up. Because, unlike some others one might mention -- but won't -- he really wasn't into honors. He was one of those people who believe that life is somehow more important than show business. Which I know is heresy here in Hollywood, and I'm sorry to bring it up here in the very Bowel of Hollywood, but I can hear his voice saying, "Oh, very nice, very useful, a posthumous award -- where am I supposed to put it?" What's next then? A posthumous Grammy? An ex-Knighthood? An After-Lifetime Achievement Award? He's going to need a whole new shelf up there. . . .
George was in fact a moral philosopher. His life was all about a search for truth, and preparing himself for death. Which is a bit weird for someone in rock and roll. They're not supposed to be that smart. They're supposed to be out there looking for Sharon. Not the meaning of life. Michael Palin said George's passing was really sad, but it does make the afterlife seem much more attractive.
