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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZAHBEZ, Eden(b George Alexander Aberle, 15 April 1908; d 4 March 1995 of injuries suffered in a car accident) Singer-songwriter known as eden ahbez (lower case), known to friends as ahbe. He lived outdoors on raw fruits, vegetables and nuts, wore sandals, long hair and a beard, and a white robe. He was said to live in a cave under one of the Ls in the HOLLYWOOD sign; and was said to have walked across the USA several times, sometimes hopping freight trains. He said that in New York City he lived in best hotel in town: Central Park. Stopped once by a policemen, he reportedly said, 'I look crazy but I'm not. And the funny thing is that other people don't look crazy but they are.' He became a famous mystery man when he turned up at the Lincoln Theater in Los Angeles asking to see Nat King Cole, who was playing there. He didn't get to see Cole, but left a song sheet; Cole's manager showed it to Cole, who liked it, and 'Nature Boy' became Cole's second number one hit in 1948, one of the biggest hits of the year. It has allegedly been covered more than 2200 times. The composer was said to have been an orphan, living in various foster homes, never staying in one place very long; his aim was to be self-sufficient. His lifestyle foreshadowed the hippie movement and more generally, the counter-culture. On the subject of racism, he said, 'Some white people hate black people, and some white people love black people, some black people hate white people, and some black people love white people. So you see it's not an issue of black and white, it's an issue of Lovers and Haters.' The final words in 'Nature Boy' are 'This he said to me...The greatest thing you'll ever learn...Is just to love and be loved in return.' When the counter-culture caught up with him, he was sought out by the likes of Grace Slick, Donovan, Alex Chilton and Brian Wilson. He had songs recorded by Eartha Kitt and Sam Cooke; his 'Lonely Island', recorded by Cooke, was his second and last song to reach the Top 40, in 1957. He himself played bongos and flute. His only solo album was Eden's Island, on Del-Fi Records in 1960, mixing beatnik poetry with exotic arrangements; it sold poorly, in 2016 allegedly reissued on Bear Family called Wild Boy, perhaps also as a bootleg in Switzerland. He released five singles in the 1960s. In Los Angeles in 1974 he was recording as Eden Abba on his own Sunland Records. In the late '80s he was working with recording engineer Joe Romersa, who reportedly still had unreleased material. An album called Echoes From Nature Boy was released posthumously. (Thanks to Joe Moondad for much of this information.) |