More
with George "Shadow" Morton
Goldmine:
It's interesting that, at that time, when the baby boomers moved out
to the Island, they had an entirely different mentality...
"Shadow"
Morton: Entirely different. It was a shock. You know, by the time
I moved out of Brooklyn, I'd already been stabbed once--nothin' serious
but you know, it was over nothin', for no reason. It was common, like
saying, "Okay honey, I'll pick up milk on the way home"--I'd been
shot at, I was tossed through a candy store window because I would
take no bull. And this was a good neighborhood, just south of Flatbush
Avenue. My gang was The Red Devils. There was The Little Red Devils
and there was The Big Red Devils. One night there was a big fight
and the next night, they came to me and asked me to become the youngest
member of The Big Red Devils. That's when it was exit time. In one
of my new songs, there's a line "I got my education in the alley of
St. Tom's..." That was my school, St. Thomas Aquinas. I got more education
in the streets than I did from the sisters.
Goldmine:
You moved out to Hicksville. Was life better?
"Shadow"
Morton: Oh, yeah. I was living there about two weeks when my mother
bribed me to leave the room. She gave me a few dollars and said, "Go
down to the diner and get yourself a cup of coffee. Get out of the
house, you're driving me crazy." I walked down the road, I came over
the hill and I came across a sight...I couldn't believe what I saw.
There had to be at least 150, 200 kids at this diner. Bikers, hot
rodders, gum smacking ladies--not careful at all about their language
and what they had to say. I was dumbfounded. I couldn't believe it.
I found in Hicksville the toughest gang you could ever imagine. All
the kids were from the city--they were yanked from Queens, The Bronx,
Brooklyn--and a lot of them because they'd been in trouble, they were
going the wrong way. They all gathered around this diner, mostly hot
rods...about a dozen bikes. Bumpy was the man. He was the head guy.
He was my inspiration for "The Leader Of The Pack." He took me under
his wing as I was one of the newest kids around. I became his pal.
I became like his little brother. He handed me the keys to his car...I
was fourteen years old driving a Mercury with the big wheel on the
back. One night, we locked four guys in the trunk of that car and
drove around all night. (laughs)
Goldmine:
Some tough guys!"Shadow" Morton: Believe me, that was the least of
it. By the way, that diner--that, to me, is the diner Billy Joel was
talking about in one of his songs. I don't know if Billy hung out
there, but in one of his videos, there is a diner and that's it. Everything
he showed--the bike, the redhead, the Chevrolet--maybe he's talking
about a different redhead, but I know a redhead and that Chevrolet
and that diner--it's right down Bloomingdale Road.
Goldmine:
Do you think that Billy Joel was referring to you?
"Shadow"
Morton: Look, I'm a storyteller. I do soap operas. The best, the very
best man around at it, as far as I'm concerned, is Billy Joel. In
my opinion, he's the best songwriter. He, too, tells stories. He manages
to do it very melodically. I never had that talent. I can tell stories.
I might be able to tell my stories, to some degree, more melodramatically
but he has the ability, with ease, to tell a story with a tune. I
love to look at his stuff. He makes me smile and curse at the same
time. I smile and curse and I say, "He wrote that song about me!"
Of course, I'm one of sixteen million people who just bought the record
and are saying the same thing! (laughs) He's great! What a gift!
Goldmine:
Yeah, but your songs have great melodies...
"Shadow"
Morton: Nah. Not like Billy. I'm not melodic. And I never wrote songs
with anybody else. I write melodies but I don't have the gift. I'm
not as melodic as he is...He writes easy-to-sing. I write stories
to tell...
Goldmine:
Early rap music?
"Shadow"
Morton: Ha, ha! Maybe?
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