[zatoichi]

Michael Jackson - Met him while I was working @ Walden Books. He was in town for a show (lae '70s, pre-Thriller), and was out at the mall with his bodyguard, looking for things to read. We chatted off and on for almost an hour. Didn't talk about music at all, very quiet, almost shy - reserved. Very intelligent & well-read. He invited me to the show, but I had to close that evening & couldn't. He gave me the name he was staying under & the hotel he was staying in, and invited me up for the after-show party. Didn't go - felt weird about it. Have regretted not going since then. He seemed lonely, like he needed friends.

Manfred Mann - Came into the record store w/ the rest of the Earth Band for a promo appearance. Disappeared almost immediately, and I was sent to find him. Find him I did, hiding at the back of a jewelry store (yes, literally hiding). Don't remember how I coaxed him out - maybe it had to do w/ my being a fan since his first album, and being familiar with his recent projects - but a chocolate milk-shake from Baskin-Robbins played a big part. Kept him company thru the rest of the in-store. Nice guy. Don't think the whole "Manfred Mann's Earth Band" was his idea at all….

Cliff Richard - another in-store, he was very pleasant and friendly, but disinclined to talk. Don't think he was actually prepared to encounter folks who knew who he was.

Roy Harper - yes, THE Roy Harper, touring in support of "When The Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease", later renamed "HQ".Quite a talker - kept hold of the conversation the whole time, but didn't learn anything about him. Too bad. GREAT album.

Rich Fifield - met Rich after he'd left the Astronauts and was teaching experiential classes(?) @ the Boulder Free University. We both thought it was funny that he'd played w/ them so long, I'd seen them so often, yet we met after 'all that' was done. Great guy. Drifted, as folks did back then - no idea what became of him.

Randy California, John Locke and Ed Cassidy - 3/5 of Spirit - came into the store one day to promote a set of shows at Richard's (great, much-lamented local venue). Didn't get to talk to them much, or for long, but did get them to sign my copy of their first album on Ode. Enjoyed the show, but too bad Jay Ferguson wasn't with them.

Craig Chaquico - Starship was touring behind "Red Dragon", and Craig was their new guitarist. He wasn't interested in the appearance: he had his skateboard with him, and so I spent an hour or so keeping track of him while he skated thru the mall. More fun than working.

Sting / Andy Summers / Stewart Copeland - yet another in-store appearance. First album, first US tour, first concert. All three of these guys are TALL - 6 feet plus. Not a terribly pleasant experience: very full of themselves. Great show, though…and the rest is history, as they say.

Bob Geldof - touring behind "Tonic For The Troops" with the Boomtown Rats. Don't remember much about him/them. Liked the record.

Fee Waybill - front man for the Tubes, touring in support of their brand-new first album. Came into the store, and was just a huge amount of fun: animated, talkative, playful - you might say, a born entertainer. Got to go backstage @ the show, got a t-shirt. Next day, my boss found me moping around in the backroom & asked what was wrong. "I want to run away and join the Tubes!"

Dan MCCafferty - vocalist for Nazareth. Tiny, barrel-chested, totally full of himself. The A&M rep who brought him 'round completely ignored him (said he was quite the, um, unit…), and I enthusiastically followed suit. Might have behaved differently if I'd had any stomach for the band at all.

Tim Weisberg - seriously, one of the nicest guys ever. Interested in other people, even lowly record-store clerks. Never saw him again, but he left a mark.


Actors
Don Ameche - Spotted him while prowling the floor of the bookstore I was managing. Excused myself, introduced myself, asked if he was in fact, and then frankly gushed at him for 5 minutes about how much I had enjoyed his work (somehow forgot all about 'Trading Places' & 'Cocoon'), what a pleasure it was to meet him, etc. He couldn't have received me any better if I'd been the flippin' king. Made me feel like I'd just made HIS day.

Robert Vaughn - the exact opposite of Mr. Ameche. "Do you know who I am?" is STILL the worst thing a famous person can ask me. Do I know you? Oh, yes, Mr. Napoleon Solo. Oh, yes, I remember you in 'The Magnificent Seven' - and I remember you playing the exact same character in Roger Corman's laughably bad "remake" of that film, 'Battle Beyond The Stars'. I remember the late-night TV ads for ambulance-chasing lawyers. I remember what an insufferable jerk you were.

Tim Curry - in-store appearance in support of his 'Fearless' album ('I Do The Rock!'). Short, man, short. Funny, self-effacing, very pleasant.


Others
Ansel Adams - Met him at a book-signing in my store, and it was not a big-traffic event, so we had plenty of time to talk. Turned out we had an enormous amount in common, and had ballpark-similar opinions on many things. Truly a shame that day had to end. Exhilarating. One of the finest photographers EVER.

James Redfield - Oh, yes, Mr. Redfield, I know who you are.

Roger Dean - met at a science-fiction convention in Atlanta in '76, where he was a celebrity guest. He was polite enough…until he found out I not only had his book (big, square, art-book), but had read it & wanted to talk about some of his more 'out-there' ideas & projects. A completely fascinating 4 hours.

RA Lafferty, Joe Haldeman, Robert Sheckley, Philip Jose Farmer - met these guys in the bar at that same '76 convention. Most fun I ever had drinking. Most fun I ever had staying up all night. Great writers, great guys.