Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Yeah, sorry I sort of faded out these past couple of days. After
missing the annual Berlin Winter Crud, I got this year's strain and all
those smart questions I was waiting to ask Gavin are lodged in the
cotton between my ears. Beware, though: I may yet get to 'em!
  

    

One of the great things about the Internet is the opportunity for connecting
with people you've lost track of. In post (63) in this topic, I mentioned a
woman named Patti Spaziani, and how I'd always thought she was the
inspiration for "Tiny Dancer."

Last time my husband and I saw Patti (Patty, actually) would have been
perhaps 20 years ago. Then we just lost track of each other. But this
interview caught the attention of some friend of Patty's, who pointed her to
it. That triggered her to send me an email, part of which was info on what
she's been doing with her life over the past 20 years, the other was her
more thorough (and quite wonderful) explanation of her role (or non-role, as
it turns out) in the creation of "Tiny Dancer"

With Patty's permission, here's what she says:



   **********************

What a riot to read this.

In the true spirit of the truth being so much stranger than fiction,
here is the real story on the Tiny Dancer "Muse" and how it relates to me.

Way back in that magical world of the Sixties, there was a certain well
known musician/songwriter (who shall remain nameless as we are still in
touch and he would die of embarrassment if his buddies knew what a sap he
was) who was lusting after me (oh God! remember those days?) while I was
more into focusing my attention on Jim Morrison, Sam Andrew (from Big
Brother & the Holding Company) and some drummer whose name I cannot recall.

In an attempt to grab my attention and show what a romantic he was,
he told me that he wrote that song for me for my birthday and in a
"top secret deal" sold it to Elton and Bernie with the stipulation that they
get the publishing credit and no one could know who the true writer was. He
even bought me a vintage Morgan Roadster from that car lot next door to Ben
Franks on Sunset with part of what he said were the proceeds of the sale.

The car was around $3,000 which in those days might as well been
$100,000.

It was truly impressive and he made his point. (or should I say SCORED
his point)

Ironically, the only lie that I thought that he may have told was
that he did not write it for me but for Jeannie the Tailor, whom I
was sure he was also chasing at the time, and the bit about "the
headlights on the highway" could have been a reference to her
accident, though I am not sure on the timing.

However, being that I was also still dancing with a ballet company at
that time, the whole thing seemed totally plausible to a naive 16 year
old blonde.

While working at the Record Plant in the early '70s and learning the
ins and outs of publishing rights etc. I became certain that the
"ghostwriting" story was fabrication and just didn't think about
it for years.

I had never actually met Bernie face to face (that I recall) and many
years later, while working with Bill Graham, I found myself at the
same function and I persuaded a mutual friend to ask him about the so
called "deal" that he made years before with Mr. Hot Pants.

I believe that the reaction involved a very large guffaw and the spitting
out of some beverage through the nose.

So there you have it an Urban or Urbane Legend put to rest.


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I love the Well.
  

    
LMAO
  

    
That's so great! Thanks for reposting that, Cynthia.
  

    
Oh, those boys, those boys!
  

    

Great story!

Did she work at Winterland?  Maybe on the catering crew?  Reading her name
instantly conjured up a face in my memory.  Blonde?
  

    

whoops, I question got past me!

Yup, she did catering for Bill Graham -- assumedly that would have included
Winterland, and she was definitely a blonde back then.
  

    

I remember her.
  

    
Reading later in the year but I wanted to make sure that 'when i paint
my masterpiece' was added to the list of penis songs above.

great fun stuff...