New-age poet Rod McKuen was 'King of Kitsch'
Rod McKuen, the husky-voiced "King of Kitsch" whose music, verse and spoken-word recordings in the 1960s and '70s won him an Oscar nomination and made him one of the best-selling poets in history, has died aged 81.
1933-2015
Rod McKuen, the husky-voiced "King of Kitsch" whose music, verse and spoken-word recordings in the 1960s and '70s won him an Oscar nomination and made him one of the best-selling poets in history, has died aged 81.
McKuen died on Thursday morning at a rehabilitation centre in Beverly Hills, California. He had been treated for pneumonia, had been ill for weeks and was unable to digest, said his half-brother, Edward McKuen Habib.
Until a sabbatical in 1981, McKuen was astonishingly successful and prolific , turning out hundreds of songs and poems and records, including the Academy Award-nominated song for the 1969 film .
Sentimental, earnest and unashamed, he conjured a New Age spirit that captivated those who didn't ordinarily like "poetry".
His best known songs, some written with the Belgian composer Jacques Brel, include , , and , a chart-topper in 1974 for Terry Jacks. He was nominated for an Oscar for and for , the title track for the beloved movie.
Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Dolly Parton and Chet Baker were among the many artists who recorded his material, although McKuen often handled the job himself, in a hushed, throaty style he had honed after an early career as a rock singer.
