Throwback/Nostalgia

POP CULTURE CHRONICLES
Sketchy Stuff: Leon, the Art Teacher & Me

By Mike Olszewski

I’m out of space.

Four free-standing shelves and a custom-made wall unit are filled, and I still have books that need a home. One of those is a massive new book about a personal hero, Leon Russell.  

Leon who? Trust me, you’ve heard his work, and “Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time’s Journey Through Rock & Roll History” by Bill Janovitz (Hachette Books) does a stellar job of covering it all. 

At 590+ pages, it’s the definitive book about one of the driving forces of rock and roll. From his early days in Oklahoma, working as an L.A. studio musician with everyone from Sinatra to the Beach Boys, his days with Joe Cocker, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and even Willie Nelson… Janovitz covers it all.  

A Legend
Back in high school (when you were told to get your hair cut if it touched the top of your ears) Leon had hair down to his elbows under a big tophat. He was a role model for kids trying to be hippies. 

I had an art class with a teacher who, oddly enough, was not a very good artist. She assigned us a project to design a stained-glass window. During study hall, I did a simple sketch of Leon Russell. I got called out for the design and turned in a half-hearted mosaic. I got an A and kept the sketch.

My wife and I caught Leon every time he toured: The two-hour show at Blossom Music Center (with a four-hour wait to get out of the parking lot), the rain-soaked show at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and every club date at the Empire, the Beachland Ballroom and many more.

Leon developed some health issues and when we went to visit him at Wilbert’s, we saw him zip by on an electric scooter looking like a white-haired Cousin Itt in a cowboy hat.

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