“You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours.”
- Yogi Berra
For the longest time, I didn't have the nerve to record a cover song. I didn't feel confident that I wouldn't embarrass myself and do harm to the song along the way. Eventually, I got up the courage to do a few. It's been fun to pay homage to some of my musical heroes and to put a personal spin on the tunes.
That brings me to a friend named John Kilzer. I've often said that Dos Equis beer should have used him as the character in their commercials, “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” He was sure in the running for the part. John was a guy who had several different careers and endeavors in life and was successful at every one of them.
He was voted “Mr. Basketball” in Tennessee in the mid-1970s and went on to play for Memphis State Tigers. He became a college English professor (like so many college athletes do) and during that period started writing and performing music. Eventually, he got noticed by the music people and was signed to a recording contract by Geffen Records. When I first moved to Memphis in 1986, John had released his first album to much critical acclaim. He was a rising star; a hot property. Of course, record companies have a need to know how to promote their artists - what category to put them in? They tried to sell John as a “Heartland Rocker.” He would be a John Mellencamp type. He was not, however, a Heartland Rocker. While he could rock with the best of them, John's songs, many of them, were more cerebral than the average rock-n-roller. He didn't fit nicely into any neat genre. He was also an alcoholic.
After his second album with Geffen, things fizzled out and he was dropped by the label. The next years of his life, due to his addiction, were full of turbulence. After many attempts, John was able to stave off the demons. He went to seminary and became an ordained Methodist minister. His calling was to serve those battling addiction. For almost a decade he held a Friday evening service at St. John's Methodist church in Memphis. I was there most of the time. The word unique gets used a lot nowadays, but this truly was.
He called it The Way (A Service of Recovery). It started at 6:00 pm sharp. Intentionally at 6:00 pm Fridays because that's when drunks and druggies were typically getting ready to crank things up for the weekend. “Think of where you used to be at this time on Friday nights.” John would tell the crowd. “Look at where you are now. Whether you realize it or not, you're having a spiritual experience.”
Every week, some of the best musicians in the world (I do not exaggerate) would show up to play a handful of songs with John, everything from Jesus on the Mainline to The Rolling Stones (sometimes you get what you need). In between, John or someone would say a few words, food was served and people were fed in many different ways. People, usually between 100-150, showed up in suits and rags. It all ended at 7:00 pm on the money.
From a musical standpoint, I almost always walked out of there shaking my head thinking “That was way better than performances I've paid a lot of money to see.” I was never disappointed.
Late night calls never bring good news. I received one in 2019 telling me than John had passed away. Although I didn't know him well, he was a friend and a mentor to me in several different ways. His absence has left a hole in my heart. I wrote a song about him not long after he died because I didn't know what else to do.
All of the roses you threw at the moon
Still couldn't keep you from leaving too soon
He was a guy with a PhD and a down home spirit. He could quote William Butler Yeats and Ernest T. Bass. He could talk at length about Aristotle as well as Hazel Motes from Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood. He was once physically thrown out of the Louver and beaten up by a mime on the steps of the museum shortly thereafter. He once cussed out Paul McCartney on the phone. And, he saved a lot of people's lives. Like I said, the most interesting man in the world.
When I finally got up enough confidence to record and release a cover, one of John's songs is the first I ever did. It's called Scars. It's on the Cheaper Than Therapy album.
RIP, JK
RP