Jim Carroll

by Jason AnkenyTo rock audiences, Jim Carrolls crowning achievement was the near-hit People Who Died, a brutally emotional punk record saluting the victims of the New York drug culture. In truth, however, Carrolls artistic legacy was considerably more complex and far-ranging — an acclaimed diarist, poet, actor and spoken-word performer, his formative years even served as the subject of the film The Basketball Diaries.The product of a working-class background, Carroll was born and raised in New York City. A highly-touted basketball prospect, Jack Kerouacs On the Road inspired him to begin keeping a journal at the age of 12; later published in 1978 as The Basketball Diaries, his early writings vividly chronicled his teenage addiction to heroin, which led him into a life of crime and hustling. By the time he was 16, Carrol was a published poet; 1973s Living at the Movies further established his reputation as a prodigy and funded a move to Northern California, where he was finally able to shed his drug habit.Inspired by the success of his friend Patti Smith, who also married a background in poetry with a career in rock music, Carroll began writing songs; in 1978, backed by the San Francisco band Amsterdam (comprised of guitarists Terrell Winn and Brian Linsley, bassist Steve Linsley and drummer Wayne Woods), he cut a handful of demos, and was signed to Rolling Stones Records. Produced by label head Earl McGrath, the Jim Carroll Bands debut album Catholic Boy appeared in 1980; the subject of significant critical acclaim, it featured People Who Died, the groups definitive moment.After a move back to New York and the replacement of Terrell Winn and Brian Linsley by Paul Sanchez and John Tiven, the Carroll Band returned in 1982 with Dry Dreams, followed by 1984s I Write Your Name, which received lackluster reviews. With his three record contract fulfilled, Carroll dismissed the group members and resumed his prose and poetry work. After an appearance in the 1985 film Tuff Turf, he published The Book of Nods in 1986 and Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries 1971-1973 a year later. During the remainder of the eighties, Carroll balanced his poetry and prose material while writing tracks for other artists such as Blue Oyster Cult Club Ninja and Boz Scaggs Other Roads.He also made appearances on John Giornos show segment Dial-A-Poem of spoken word albums.As the 1990s dawned, Carroll was frequently approached to return to music; but he was firmly dedicated to his spoken-word work; His first solo album was Praying Mantis (1991), a collection of spoken-word performances, not new songs. While he occasionally performed as a musician, his primary focus remained his literary pursuits.Notably, Carroll was one of the first poet-rockers to break down the barriers between poetry and spoken-word and mainstream rock music. Hes participated in various readings since the mid-eighties but his 1994 performance on MTVsUnplugged was most moving with his personal scape of his now-legendary poem 8 Fragments for Kurt Cobain was a mesmerizing tribute. In 1993 he published Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll. In 1995, both The Basketball Diaries and the short story Curtis Charm were adapted into films; he also contributed lyrics and vocals to Rancids multi-platinum release And Out Come the Wolves (1995). A year later Carroll also contributed to the benefit release Home Alive: The Art of Self-Defense and in 1997, Carroll was one of a number of high-profile writers, musicians and actors who contributed to the Kerouac tribute album kicksjoydarkness, where, backed by Sonic Youths Lee Renaldo, Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye and Anton Sanko, he read Woman. 1998 was a monumental year for Carroll. He released a brand new collection of poetry in his new book Void of Course as well as returning to rock in his own cathartic way with the release of his first album in nearly 15 years, Pools of Mercury. This combined his classic wounded poetry with song, noting his collaborations with Sanko and Kaye. In 1999, a comprehensive tribute release entitled Put Your Tongue to the Rail: The Philly Compilation for Catholic Childrean showcasing 25 local artists from Philadelphia empowered by the work of Carroll. Two years later, Carroll issued the Runaway EP, which featured live cuts of material from Pools of Mercury and an eclectic cover of Del Shannons pop hit of the EPs namesake. There was also talk of collaborating with The Doors Ray Manzarek for a possible record.