eden ahbez - Nature Boy

eden ahbez - Nature Boy

Author: Simone Whitlow July 13, 2021 Duration: 15:29
There was a boy, a very strange, enchanted boy - both his prototypical hippie lifestyle, long before the summer of love - and the ethereal song he left us in 1947 have fascinated me endlessly since first reading his Tale. Today, we discuss eden ahbez, and how the song Nature Boy came to be.  Patreon episodes will start next episode, to help me make the show please show some love here!   Read the blog post of this episode here. Please leave a like. Follow the show. Share the channel – it helps Tales grow. I post a new episode every fortnight, Wednesday night New Zealand time. Follow Tales of History and Imagination on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest. I also write a weekly Wordpress Blog. Support the show on Patreon for exclusive, extra content.    Music, writing, narration, mixing all yours truly. I normally write the music - this week I’m just vamping over a couple of phrases taken from ahbez’ song Nature Boy. Hear Nat King Cole’s version here!    Main texts: I don’t know… I think I got this story from a Vanity Fair article. Of course I consulted the LA Times, as I often do first with anything based in Los Angeles. Andrew Hickey’s podcast ‘A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs’ tuned me in to the Petrillo strikes. I cannot recommend Andrew’s show too highly, go check it out.   About the Author: Simone Whitlow is an academic, competitive quizzer, songwriter and musician.  Transgender, she uses she/her pronouns.

Simone Whitlow hosts Tales of History and Imagination, a podcast dedicated to unearthing those peculiar, overlooked stories that conventional history books often skip. Each episode feels like a conversation about a fascinating secret, whether it's delving into the life of an obscure figure who tried to alter our very concept of time or examining the panic caused by a legendary beast in eighteenth-century France. You'll encounter the clever pranksters and the enigmatic side characters-the individuals who played brief but unforgettable cameo roles on the world's stage. Rather than re-treading well-worn narratives, this show seeks out perspectives rarely considered, finding the extraordinary within the ordinary march of events. Listening to this podcast is an exercise in curiosity, where major historical moments are often reframed through a surprising, human lens. It’s for anyone who suspects the past is far weirder and more wonderful than they were taught, blending rigorous research with a storyteller's sense of wonder. The result is a consistently engaging mix that sits at the crossroads of history, culture, and sheer human imagination.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Tales of History and Imagination
Podcast Episodes
The Hammersmith Ghost [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:44
Last week when I covered the Tale of Spring Heeled Jack, I mentioned a couple of people in passing without explanation… Apologies all, I’ll be coming back to a few of those people sometime in the near future… But with re…
Spring Heeled Jack [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:35
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to an episode from the first season to give it a new coat of (red) paint… speaking of, we’re going back to London in 1837 to discuss newspapers, the death of ‘Silly…
Murder in Belgravia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:28
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we discuss a murdered nanny, the murderer… his awful ancestors, and said murderer’s mysterious disappearance. Trigger warnings: murder. Sources Include: A Different Class of…
The Batavia: Part Four - Batavia’s Graveyard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:34
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return one last time to the wreck of the Batavia. This is where things, finally, go all ‘Lord of the Flies’ on Batavia’s Graveyard. This is part four of a four parter - th…
The Batavia: Part Three - The Longboat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:48
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to the wreck of the Batavia. In part two we follow the adventures of the 48 in the longboat as they make their way along Australia’s Western coast; learn a little m…
The Batavia: Part Two - The Heretic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:00
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to the wreck of the Batavia. In part two we discuss heresy, and the harrowing life of under-merchant Jeronimus Cornelisz. This is part two of a four parter. Trigger…
The Batavia: Part One - The Shipwreck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:39
This week on Tales of History and Imagination we return to Australia for a real life soap opera that was considerably more bloody than Neighbours or Home and Away. First we need to take a cruise on a Dutch VOC flagship c…
The Ballad of Tom Wills [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:06
This week we travel to Australia for a game of Marn Grook, to discuss origin stories; perhaps the archetypal troubled sportsman - and horrific massacres. Trigger warnings: Murder, suicide, colonialism, and to the Aborigi…
The Cancellation of Ilda Orme [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:40
The American actress Ilda Orme knew a thing or two about being cancelled, a long, long time before social media put the cancel button in the hands of the public at large. Her cancellers, she suspected were two hateful fo…
Archias The Exile Hunter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:04
On, or around 11th June 323 BC Alexander the Great died in Babylon. While there are mysteries surrounding his passing - did an Indian holy man prophesy his passing a year prior while self immolating in Alexander’s presen…