WANTED: A HEAVYWEIGHT SONG WRITER!
Instructions: Write a gutsy melody with heart to the lyric below. (Rock, jazz,
salsa, hip-hop—your choice.)
This song, along with other boxing songs of the past, will be performed at the
legendary Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn when they open their doors September 29-30 to
all artists during an annual art festival weekend.
Here’s the lyric:
“Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom�
Lyric by Peter Wood
A fighter’s life is full of woe,
They reach the top & then they go.
Battling Siki
Benny Briscoe
Bad Kid Dixie
Johnny Risko
Louie Firpo &
Zora Folley
Curtis Cokes &
Evander Holy
A fighting life is all they know,
So pity the wife of a pro.
Billy Papke
Eddie Viruet
Patsy Perroni
Benny “Kid� Paret
Cha Cha Cabrara
Jumbo Cummings
Chu Chu Malave
Dougie Demmings
Quick comes the night—his big punch lands!
“What a great fight!� say all the fans.
Joe Gans
Beau Jack
Max Baer
Johnny Mac
Sammy Goss
Barney Ross
Percy Pough
Scott Ledoux
The crowd cheers her champ with every tongue!
No more a tramp—it’s good to be young!
The youngest man in the room,
Makes her smile & makes her swoon–
Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom!
Graziano
Giardello
Marciano
Mauriello
Jimmy Wilde
Love Allotey
Ronnie Lyle
Sam McVey
A fighter’s life is full of woe,
They reach the top & then they go.
Tiger Flowers
Lazlo Papp
Johnny Powers
Willie Pep
Joe Gans
Beau Jack
Max Baer
Johnny Mac
Now he’s old & rather slow,
And hears the tiptoe of his foe.
Sammy Goss
Barney Ross
Percy Pough
Scott Ledoux
Kid Filipino
Tennessee Lee
Jersey Joe Walcott
Muhammad Ali
A fighter’s life is full of woe,
They reach the top & then they go.
Gypsy Joe Harris
Rube Olivares
Eddie Viruet
Benny “Kid� Paret
The youngest man in the room,
Made her smile & made her swoon.
What is written on your tomb,
Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom?
“Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom� was inspired by Rosenbloom himself, a great Jewish
battler who fought 299 bouts (223 wins, 42 losses, 32 draws.) “You couldn’t hit
him in the backside with a handful of buckshot,� said trainer Cus D’Amato of
Rosenbloom.
The lyric was also inspired by David Fishberg’s song “Van Linge Mungo�. Fishberg
simply strung together old baseball players’ names to create a lyric.
Most importantly, the lyric was inspired by prizefighters. After following boxing
for 45 years, I see a melancholic pattern: Boxing is a young man’s game and after
his exciting career ends, where does a prizefighter go? A fighter’s career is
short. Too short. Too many times his final years are harsh and relentless.
The other boxing-related songs which will be performed at Gleason’s will be: The
Boxer by Paul Simon, The Hurricane by Bob Dylan and Ally Oop by The Hollywood
Argyles. Who is Ally Oop? He was the original heavyweight champ…
…He had a chauffer who was a genuine di-no-saur,
And he’ll knuckle your head before you count to fo-ur!
Send your song demo to: Peter Wood, 38 Timber Ridge, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549.
Gleason’s Gym will become an Exhibition space and gallery during the 11th Annual
“Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival.” The weekend is September 28-29-30, 2007.
If you wish to exhibit your art, photographs, sculptures, painting – any type of art
- then contact Bruce Silverglade at 718 797 2872. There is no charge to show your
work and no commission when you sell your work. The only requirement is that the
work has something to do with Boxing.
(For more information about Gleason’s art weekend, visit their website.)