Jim Carroll, poet and punk rocker, dead at 60

AP ^ | 14 Sep 09 | AP

[real saxophonist]

Jim Carroll, poet and punk rocker, dead at 60

(AP) – 4 hours ago

NEW YORK — Jim Carroll, the poet and punk rocker who wrote "The Basketball Diaries," died Friday. He was 60.

He died from a heart attack at his home in Manhattan, his ex-wife Rosemary Carroll told the New York Times.

In the 1970s, Carroll was a fixture of the burgeoning downtown New York art scene, where he mixed with artists such as Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, Larry Rivers and Robert Mapplethorpe. His life was shaped by drug use, which he wrote about extensively.

[dfwgator]

“Keith Richards! Says that kids should not do drugs! Keith, we can’t do any more drugs because you already did them all, alright! There’s none left! We have to wait ‘till you die and smoke your ashes! Jesus Christ! Talk about the pot and the kettle.” - Dennis Leary

[a fool in paradise]

Carroll also published several poetry collections, while his 1980 album, "Catholic Boy," has been hailed as a landmark punk record, and he became known for one of its songs, "People Who Died."

“Those were people who died, died....”

And yet the headlines are all about Basketball Diaries. Pfft.

[Clemenza]

Loved “Catholic Boy” and read the Basketball Diaries. The film, btw, was a bastardization, and made the mistake of setting the story in the 1990s, rather than the 1960s when the real deal took place.

[Clemenza]

Teddy sniffing glue, he was 12 years old
Fell from the roof on East Two-nine
Cathy was 11 when she pulled the plug
On 26 reds and a bottle of wine
Bobby got leukemia, 14 years old
He looked like 65 when he died
He was a friend of mine

Those are people who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died

G-berg and Georgie let their gimmicks go rotten
So they died of hepatitis in upper Manhattan
Sly in Vietnam took a bullet in the head
Bobby OD’d on Drano on the night that he was wed
They were two more friends of mine
Two more friends that died

Those are people who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died

Mary took a dry dive from a hotel room
Bobby hung himself from a cell in the tombs
Judy jumped in front of a subway train
Eddie got slit in the jugular vein
And Eddie, I miss you more than all the others
And I salute you brother

Those are people who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died

Herbie pushed Tony from the Boys’ Club roof
Tony thought that his rage was just some goof
But Herbie sure gave Tony some bitchen proof
“Hey,” Herbie said, “Tony, can you fly?”
But Tony couldn’t fly, Tony died

Those are people who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died

Brian got busted on a narco rap
He beat the rap by rattin’ on some bikers
He said, “Hey, I know it’s dangerous, but it sure beats Riker’s”
But the next day he got offed by the very same bikers

Those are people who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died

Teddy sniffing glue, he was 12 years old
Fell from the roof on East Two-nine
Cathy was 11 when she pulled the plug
On 26 reds and a bottle of wine
Bobby got leukemia, 14 years old
He looked like 65 when he died
He was a friend of mine

Those are people who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died

G-berg and Georgie let their gimmicks go rotten
So they died of hepatitis in upper Manhattan
Sly in Vietnam took a bullet in the head
Bobby OD’d on Drano on the night that he was wed
They were two more friends of mine
Two more friends that died

Those are people who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died

Mary took a dry dive from a hotel room
Bobby hung himself from a cell in the tombs
Judy jumped in front of a subway train
Eddie got slit in the jugular vein
And Eddie, I miss you more than all the others
And I salute you brother

Those are people who died, died
They were all my friends, and they died

[ErnBatavia]

he’s probably the longest-lived longtime heroin addict I can think of.

Tony Bennett is older.....it's always been the rumor.

[CT-Freeper]

I absolutely love that whole album. And I've got it on vinyl! Nothing to play it on, of course - but I still own it.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[ConservativeStatement]

Saw this in the obit column today. A bit shocking. RIP.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Burroughs : alkie ; smoker ; heroin addict ; gay ...lived into his 80’s . Tough mofo .

Burroughs said somewhere that doing heroin the right way--controlling the habit over many years--was like inoculating yourself with death.

[sushiman]

Never read that . I take a lot of what he says with a grain of salt . He’s right and wrong just about as often as anybody else . Prophet - yes , to some extent , but full of shit as well . E.g. he blamed the RFK assassination on the “ far right “ , saying it was a gun contol scheme . We all know that the right is pro-gun , and so was Burroughs. It was a hobby of his .

He also said the family was one of the principal obstacles to human progress . And on and on .

Definitely an America-hater .

[a fool in paradise]

The head of neurosurgery for a leading university hospital was one for over 30 years. He had the benefit of a quality-controlled source.

[GSWarrior]

“It’s too late to fall in love with Sharon Tate.”

[wxgesr]

His eyes look like he was trying to kick right then and there.

[Chi-townChief]

“Those were people who died, died....”

My first thought as well; man, did he die!!!!!