, and poems in the adult magazine. I feel this is a very strange thing for a children’s book author and illustrator to have done this kind of work before he wrote for children. It can make a person wonder if any of his ideas ever came from earlier works. In the early 1960’s Silverstein started becoming a respected composer in the folk genre. His works were used by many artists such as, Johnny Cash, Irish Rovers, Brothers Four, Lynn Anderson, Loretta Lee, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby Bore, and Dr. Hook. The most successful artists using Silverstien’s work was Dr. Hook. Dr. Hook produced a series of singles and records for the band. The biggest hit was “Cover of the Rolling Stone”. Silverstein started producing music around 1980. He produced a new folksong album entitled, The Great Conch Train Robbery. He also was a Grammy-winning composer and lyricist. He wrote many hit songs including “A Boy Named Sue” (recorded by Johnny Cash) and “Cover of the Rolling Stone” (recorded by Dr. Hook). The song, “A Boy Named Sue”, seems to be partly based on Shel Silverstein. The song is about a boy who was named Sue by his father who left him. The boy is made fun of and does not like his name. Shel Silverstein’s nickname was Shelly. I seemed to have found a connection between the girl-like names of the character in the song and Shel himself. Shel Silverstein never comes out and says he does not like his name, but from his writings it can be interpreted. Silverstein also received a Best Song Oscar nomination for “I’m Checkin’ Out,” from the film Postcards from the Edge. “…he utilises his unique voice to demonstrate his songs, and his style is a blending of energy, joy, a sense of rhythm, whispers, yelps and groans.” (Baggelaar, 353) Silverstein also wrote ten plays and co-wrote the 1988 screenplay Things Change with David Mamet...
