Larry Beckett
Larry Beckett (born April 4, 1947) is an American poet, songwriter, musician, and literary critic. As a songwriter and music arranger, Beckett collaborated with Tim Buckley in the late 1960s and early 1970s on several songs and albums, including the critically acclaimed "Song to the Siren" which has been recorded by many artists, from This Mortal Coil to Robert Plant to George Michael and Jann Klose.[1][2] He has also collaborated with British group The Long Lost Band, and local Portland indie band Eyelids.
Larry Beckett
Beckett has had several books of poetry published including Songs and Sonnets, Beat Poetry, and a few book-length poems entitled Paul Bunyan, Wyatt Earp, and Amelia Earhart. American Cycle, a 47-year project, will be published in April 2021 by Running Wild Press.
Early life[edit]
Beckett was born in Glendale, California where his father was an English and speech teacher and his mother worked in the career counseling industry.[3] The Becketts moved around for the first decade of Larry Beckett's life, first to Ashland, Oregon, then back down south to Downey, California and eventually settling in nearby Anaheim when Larry was 10 years old.[3][4] Larry Beckett attended Loara High School where he developed a passion for writing and poetry. A high school English teacher helped change his mind from thinking he wanted to be a mathematical physicist, to realizing he was a writer.[3] Also while in high school Larry Beckett befriended classmates Tim Buckley and Jim Fielder, a relationship that would launch Beckett into music songwriting.
Songwriting[edit]
With Tim Buckley[edit]
Beckett, Buckley, and Fielder frequented Hollywood together where they were introduced to the area's art and music scene.[3] Buckley and Beckett started writing together in the mid-1960s as members of Southern California rock band The Bohemians, with Buckley on rhythm guitar, Brian Hartzel on lead guitar, Beckett on drums, and Jim Fielder (later of Blood, Sweat & Tears) on bass. They recorded a demo for Elektra Records, I Can't See You, but the company was only interested in Buckley as a solo artist, not the group.[12]
Beckett contributed to Buckley's first two albums, Tim Buckley and Goodbye and Hello, both as co-songwriter and as a collaborator on arrangements.[13] The lyrics Beckett wrote, such as "No Man Can Find the War", "Morning Glory" and "Song to the Siren", were characterized by their literary tone.[14] The title track of Goodbye and Hello was originally constructed by Beckett as a piece in which two voices would sing different words and melodies.[15]
Beckett and Buckley resumed their songwriting partnership for Starsailor in 1970, and Beckett was sporadically involved in Buckley's later work until Buckley's death in 1975.
Other collaborations[edit]
In 2014, Beckett began working with a group of musicians from Lancaster, England, The Long Lost Band. He toured with them in the UK in 2015, and contributed poetry and song lyrics to a full-length studio album, One More Mile.[16] The presence of Larry Beckett in the UK was covered in an extensive feature in Record Collector magazine [17] which also covered his relationship with Buckley. Beckett continued his working relationship with Stuart Anthony of The Long Lost Band in 2018, releasing a full-length album Love & Trial.[18]
An admirer of the 5-piece Portland indie band Eyelids, powered by singer-songwriters Chris Slusarenko, from Guided by Voices, and John Moen, of The Decemberists, Beckett began a collaboration with the band by opening his book of songs to them.[19] Beckett also wrote new lyrics. The resulting album, The Accidental Falls, produced by Peter Buck, from R.E.M., made several Best of 2020 lists. The album includes the lost 1966 Beckett/Buckley song "Found at the Scene of a Rendezvous That Failed" with Beckett on piano and Buck on bass.[20]
Personal life[edit]
Beckett has remained a poet and songwriter while working as a computer programmer and analyst, based in Portland, Oregon.[21] He is married to photographer Laura Fletcher and they have two children - Susannah Beckett (born 1990) and Liam Beckett (born 1999).[3]