Shel Silverstein

[Tyler]

I'm pretty sure that Shel Silverstein has never been mentioned here as a bald celebrity, and I really can't believe it.  Honestly, he's probably the first person with a shaved head that I ever saw a picture of.  How is that?  I read his books constantly and he has his picture on the cover of all of them.

Here's a picture of him:



If you don't know who Shel Silverstein is, then you probably didn't grow up as a kid in the USA in the 1970's or later.  His books, A Light In the Atic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Giving Tree, are probably in every elementary school classroom in the country.

One thing you probably didn't know about Shel is that besides being a Grammy Award winning author, he was also a Grammy Award winning Country Music Writer.  That's right!  He wrote "A Boy Named Sue" which was sung and made famous by Johnny Cash!

I've been reading his books to my daughter and I think you'll like this poem:

Wavy Hair

I thought that I had wavy hair
Until I shaved. Instead,
I find that I have STRAIGHT hair
And a very wavy head.

Shel died in 1999 of a heat attack, but his legend will live on through every kid in the USA that reads his books and every parent like me that will read his books to their kids.

[Glen]

I'm a big fan of his books as well.

[Slyfive]

Shel is, and has always been one of my idols. I was raised on his books, I met him in '94 when I was I little'un. I actually composed a piece of music to his poetry in my final year of university.

[Paul the Headblader]

nice!

[Frontier Guy]

If you don't know who Shel Silverstein is, then you probably didn't grow up as a kid in the USA in the 1970's or later. 

Sheesh Tyler, makin' me feel older than my rheumatism.

[good to be bald]

i was awsome mine 7 year old love's him

[Slynito]

He is missed very much.

[Hingatao]

The only one I've read is A Light In the Attic. Good book.

[Razor X]

One thing you probably didn't know about Shel is that besides being a Grammy Award winning author, he was also a Grammy Award winning Country Music Writer.  That's right!  He wrote "A Boy Named Sue" which was sung and made famous by Johnny Cash!

He also wrote Loretta Lynn's "One's on the Way."

[marshd1000]

Before my beard went grey I had some tell me I looked like him!

[marshd1000]

I know this is digging up a old thread, but I found this YouTube video of Shel Silverstein with Johnny Cash.  This is from about 1970.  The only other two celebs that I remember who were sly about that same time would be Yul Brenner and Telly Savalas.  Here's the video:

[baldjoeg]

I don't recall him although I grew up in the 50's

Tyler, it is great that you are reading to your daughter. It is so important. Sounds like he wrote some great books as welll as
Country music.