SOMETIMES TRUST A HIPPIE

Holy tree hugger Batman, it's Earth Day. I'd been waiting for an excuse to post some Eden Ahbez at some point, and dang me if Earth Day isn't a near perfect tie-in. Ahbez was the guy who wrote "Nature Boy", a hit for Nat King Cole, and he was nothing if not a nature boy incarnate. In his early career, the late forties through the fifties, the dude was a flat out freak. He had long hair, a beard, wore robes and sandals, lived on raw fruits and vegetables, and meditated; all in the late forties. He was a nomad who hopped rails and slept under the stars. He also made cool quasi-exotica type music. Seriously, if there hasn't been a film made, someone's missing the boat, which is probably as it should be. He probably would have shrugged it off anyway, and gone back to his cross-legged plant eating and drum playing.

There's some good reading down there, really, it get's more and more interesting. Check out the profile by one of his close friends. And definitely dig on the three variations of "Nature Boy" at Office Naps. The first one is a swingin' version, with the title changed to "Nature Girl". The second is a 60's version, with half spoken vocals (kind of like "Spill the Wine", leaping gnomes and all that nonsense). The last version over there by Etta Jones is just absolutely the shit. There's a link to that below as well.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Eden Abhez - Marketplace mp3 at The Explosive Generation
Eden Ahbez - Topago mp3 at Office Naps
Eden Ahbez - Surf Rider (streaming) at YouTube
Etta Jones - Nature Boy mp3 at Office Naps
Three obscure variations of Nature Boy at Office Naps
Visit:
to nature boy, life needn't be capitalized by Pearl Rowe, Ahbez's sister in law - L.A. Times 1977
Eden's Island - A Eden Ahbez blog 
Eden Abhez at Wikipedia
Earth Day 2013