Jim Carroll 1949-2009 R.I.P.

The legendary Catholic Boy was among the Manhattan hipster and punk elite.

By Fred Mills

Punk poet Jim Carroll has joined the list of people who died. The 60-year old New York City resident died Friday of a heart attack. Though he'd kept a low profile in recent years - his most recent book of verse was 1998's Void of Course: Poems 1994-1997 - he lived a full and vital life that dipped into multiple milieus, from the Beats and the punks to writing lyrics for classic rock acts and recording spoken word albums.

He came to international prominence, of course, with 1978's autobiographical The Basketball Diaries (subsequently adapted for the screen featuring a young Leonardo DiCaprio portraying Carroll), although prior to that he'd already found favor among Manhattan's hipster elite, among them Andy Warhol, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Smith, interviewed by the New York Times yesterday, said, "I met him in 1970, and already he was pretty much universally recognized as the best poet of his generation. The work was sophisticated and elegant. He had beauty."

Later, Carroll formed the Jim Carroll Band and had a hit with 1980's Catholic Boy, which contained the radio anthem "People Who Died." The group recorded two more albums, Dry Dreams and I Write Your Name before disbanding in the mid eighties. Carroll also recorded the solo album Pools of Mercury in 1998.

For an extensive online Carroll resource, check out CatholicBoy.com.

BLURT's Rev. Keith Gordon has a remembrance of the man, along with video clips, HERE.