| Show f Film ilm finds f Americas America's I best unknown songwriter Richard Harrington The Washington Post Chris film So Glad I Made It The Saga of Roger Americas America's Best Unknown Songwriter is ironic title There are surely great songwriters far less known than who had several shots at the brass ring from the late into the early including a major record deal radio exposure supportive critics and powered high-powered backers And hardly made it retiring from music for two decades except for an annual annual annual annu annu- al concert in home town Northampton Mass where hes he's something of a cult fig fig- ure Its It's the film itself that gives meaning to its title was a fellow student at Indiana University in the mid when first attracted attention as a Bob style Dylan-style folkie and he followed zigzag career which took on Zelig- Zelig like traits Moving to San Francisco in the flower Made It hr Cor J d gp 11 f. f r If ri J it i mi WI t 11 Ii 1 i Ar 7 1 Made it Continued from page 7 power era Sinclair and the Mother Bear Band espoused unconvincing on two albums for Concept Cadet a Chess subsidiary says he turned down d wn an offer from Fantasy even after label head Saul told him his band was better than new signing Clearwater Revival Having previously aped the newly electric Dylan followed him to Nashville even recording with some of the same studio studio studio stu stu- stu- stu dio musicians But while flirted with success suc- suc success success suc suc- cess it never flirted back A publishing deal didn't pan out and battling depression and bipolar disorder disorder disorder dis dis- dis- dis order while singly raising two young sons threw in the towel Meanwhile who also heads the Washington political media firm finn Communications and whose only previous film was The King of Steel town Hardball Politics in the Heartland got curious curious curious curi curi- ous and Contacting him via mail e-mail found going one last round recording new material and looking for a record deal while preparing for his annual concert The result is a fea fea- ture-length ture documentary that has won several awards admits to that Ive spent most of my life under a cloud of obscurity obscurity obscurity rity and in a rare example of rigid self-analysis self acknowledges I wasn't as asgood asgood asgood good as I 1 should have been as a writer and I 1 didn't know where to take the band It overshadowed the songs songs The sweetest surprise is that new material is much superior to the old and at 55 he seems to have settled on an identity songwriter singer with an engaging delivery deliver y reminiscent of Steve Forbert Keith Sykes and Loudon Wainwright III Ill Hes come ba back k full circle to where he started out says |
