Norman Mailer may have been a great writer, but he was no singer. Come to think of it, he was no film director either as anyone who has had the misfortune to see Tough Guys Don’t Dance or any of those dreadful “art house films” he made in the 1960s will know. Yes, Mailer was a great writer, but his singing—not so much.
Along with such other luminaries as Jessica Mitford and Maya Angelou, Mailer donated his talent, time and voice to the charity album Stranger Than Fiction in 1998 that raised money for the promotion of literature and literacy. A noble deed. While Angelou and Mitford sang “Right Said Fred,” Mailer offered up a song he had written on a subject close to his heart “Alimony Blues.” Asked when he had composed this little ditty, Mailer replied:
It was so many years ago that I can’t really tell you the date, sometime in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s. The lyrics are funny, and it is sung with the unmatchable authority of a man whose voice has never been known to hit a single note on pitch.
Apparently, Mailer’s singing career began and finished in school where “he was asked to become a listener.”
It’s not bad enough to make your ears bleed, but someone perhaps like George Melly should have sung it instead.
Norman Mailer - Alimony Blues | Listen for free at bop.fm