Rod McKuen

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Rodney Marvin McKuen (April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and actor.

During the 1960s, he was one of the country's best-selling poets.

McKuen released a number of albums throughout his career, including popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks, and classical music.

For his orchestrations, he received two Academy Award nominations and one Pulitzer nomination.

McKuen's translations and adaptations of Jacques Brel's songs were instrumental in bringing the Belgian songwriter to prominence in the English-speaking world.

His poetry explores topics such as love, the natural world, and spirituality.

McKuen's songs have charted over 100 million worldwide, and 60 million copies of his poetry have been sold as well.

Early years

Rodney Marvin Woolever was born in Oakland, California, on April 29, 1933, to Clarice Woolever, a Salvation Army hostel. He never knew his biological father, who had abandoned his mother. McKuen was sexually and physically abused by relatives who were raised by his mother and grandfather, who was also a violent alcoholic, and was abused by his grandparents. He migrated around the West Coast, supporting himself as a ranch hand, surveyor, railroad employee, logger, rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and radio disc jockey while still sending money home to his mother.

McKuen began keeping a journal, which culminated in his first poetry and song lyrics, which helped to compensate for his lack of formal education. McKuen served as a newspaper columnist and propaganda script writer during the Korean War after dropping out of Oakland Technical High School before graduating in 1951. He settled in San Francisco, where he read his poetry in clubs with Beat poets such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. At the famed Purple Onion, he began performing as a folk singer. He began incorporating his own songs into his performances as time went on. In the late 1950s, he was signed to Decca Records and released several pop albums. McKuen also appeared in Rock, Pretty Baby (1956), Summer Love (1958), and the western Wild Heritage (1958). He has performed with Lionel Hampton's band as well. McKuen's 1959 arrival in New York City to write and conduct music for the TV show The CBS Workshop. On June 18, 1962, McKuen appeared on To Tell The Truth as a decoy contestant and referred to himself as "a published poet and a twist singer."

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