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"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Dr. Hunter S. Thompson  "It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it." David Stanowski To find older articles; use Search or Site Map |
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Tuesday
23 January 2007
Marilyn Monroe!  What does Marilyn
Monroe have to do with the world of music? Not too much,
directly, although she was a fairly good singer! Her influence on the
music world was primarily due to her position as a major pop
culture icon of her time. Music is a reflection of the popular culture, and Marilyn was a symbol of the good times that existed between the early 1950s and the mid-1960s; just before America peaked, and began its long decline. When she was the reining sex symbol, Rock & Roll was dominated by happy upbeat love songs, primarily featuring vocals, with instrumental backing. After the British Invasion, in 1964, instruments, especially the six-string guitar, began to take a prominent role in the new Blues Rock music that ushered in The Golden Age of Rock & Roll. I hadn't thought about Marilyn, and those times prior to 1964-65, in a long time, until a few weeks ago, when I was going through some old family photos. At the bottom of the pile I found this picture, taken June 1st 1962, at Marilyn's 36th birthday party, just before her death.  Marilyn Monroe, her agent, Eunice Murray This picture shows Marilyn, with her agent, and my Great Aunt, Eunice Murray. My Mother's Aunt Eunice was one of my most interesting relatives! She moved to Los Angeles in the 1930s, and even though she wasn't in the movie business, it wasn't long before she became friends with some of the most famous and powerful people of that time. After she and her first husband divorced, in 1945, she sold their house to psychiatrist Dr. Richard Greenson. Aunt Eunice and Dr. Greenson eventually became friends, and as time went by, he became very impressed by her stable character. For this reason, when the need later arose, Dr. Greenson, and some of his colleagues, hired her as a "support worker" for some of their high-profile clients. She became the stable "friend" that most of them did not have.  At some point, in the late 1950s
or early 1960s, Marilyn became
Dr. Greenson's patient, and by 1961, he was increasingly concerned about
her erratic behavior. That is why he told Marilyn that he
thought
Aunt Eunice should move in with her to become her trusted and reliable
"friend" and confidant, even though the "cover story" would be that Aunt Eunice
was Marilyn's "housekeeper". Aunt Eunice located a house for the two of them in Bentwood, and they became "housemates". Unfortunately, part of Aunt Eunice's job was to report to Dr. Greenson about Marilyn's habits and activities, which put a strain on the relationship between the two ladies. In May 1962, Marilyn fired Aunt Eunice, but rehired her shortly thereafter, because she had come to rely so heavily on her. However, by August, they had both agreed that their arrangement should end. It was as this transition was taking place that Aunt Eunice came to be the person to find Marilyn's body, in their house in Brentwood, on 5 August 1962. This put her directly into the center of one of history's great controversies! Aunt Eunice has given hundreds of interviews to biographers and journalists about her experiences with Marilyn, the circumstances of her death, and the comings and goings of well-known people at their house in Bentwood. It is my understanding that she met Bobby and possibly Jack Kennedy, but she was very hesitant to speak about some of the people involved, because there was the constant danger that some people would do anything to cover up their "involvements" with Marilyn, and the actual circumstances of her death. Although she did choose to censor herself, to some degree, Aunt Eunice certainly had some very interesting stories to tell!! Finally, in 1975, she decided to publish her own version of Marilyn's story in her book "Marilyn: The Last Months", but it did not sell very well compared to those written by more famous authors. At one of our last family gatherings, in Tucson, before her death, during a pause in the conversation, Aunt Eunice scanned the room and finally trained her gaze on me. We knew that she was getting a little old, and a little "forgetful". After a long pause, she said to me, "Who are you, again? You don't seem to 'belong to' anyone here." I took that as a great compliment! Several songs have been written about Marilyn, since her death, but the best one is definitely "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John! Goodbye Norma Jean Though I never knew you at all You had the grace to hold yourself While those around you crawled They crawled out of the woodwork And they whispered into your brain They set you on the treadmill And they made you change your name And it seems to me you lived your life Like a candle in the wind Never knowing who to cling to When the rain set in And I would have liked to have known you But I was just a kid Your candle burned out long before Your legend ever did Loneliness was tough The toughest role you ever played Hollywood created a superstar And pain was the price you paid Even when you died Oh the press still hounded you All the papers had to say Was that Marilyn was found in the nude Goodbye Norma Jean From the young man in the 22nd row Who sees you as something as more than sexual More than just our Marilyn Monroe $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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