"On the Road" was published in 1957, and it made both Kerouac and Cassady famous. It did not do much to help their personal lives, however. Both men suffered from public overexposure, as the book became a best-seller. A mistake on the book's jacket made readers think that both men were much younger than they were. Their adventures in the book had happened years earlier, but many people thought they were recent. Some readers wanted to travel with them, or invite them to wild parties, or have sexual intercourse with them. Cassady enjoyed the attention for awhile, but it took its toll on him personally. Fame did not help his second marriage, to Carolyn Robinson, or the family they had together. Kerouac himself hated all the attention he got, and spent most of his time at home with his mother, working on new books, or drinking alcohol. In time, he became an alcoholic, and it ruined his health.
Cassady also partly inspired Allen Ginsberg's "Howl", and was mentioned in the poem as "N.C.", the "secret hero" of Ginsberg's latest writings. "Howl" became a landmark work of the 1950s, and added to Ginsberg's and Cassady's fame. Ginsberg handled fame more easily than either Cassady or Kerouac, and had a long public career.
Cassady himself wanted to become a writer, or a jazz musician, but he was not a success at either. He tried to take saxophone lessons, but did not stay with them very long. He mostly worked as a laborer or a brakeman on railroads, before and after "On the Road" was published. Some of what he did write was published as a memoir, titled "The First Third", but it was his only book. He was more successful at writing letters to friends. One was about his seductions of different women during a train trip. He recorded long talks with Kerouac and Carolyn, about their lives and thoughts, and parts of these went into a later book by Kerouac, titled "Visions of Cody". ("Cody Pomeray" became Cassady's new fictional name, as Kerouac changed publishers.)
Cassady also sold marijuana to help pay his bills. One customer turned out to be an undercover policeman, who arrested Cassady. He spent a long time in jail. Carolyn had to both work, and try to raise their children alone.
Freed from jail, Cassady began to travel again. During the 1960s, he joined Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, who traveled back and forth across the United States in a bus, holding "acid tests", a name for LSD parties. Cassady drove the bus. He acted as merrily as anyone, and as full of energy as a young man, when the Pranksters were around. In private, though, he was not enjoying his life, and old friends noticed he looked very tired.
Cassady had tried to commit suicide a few times when he was younger, and was unhappy. Once he tried to freeze himself to death, waiting outside in cold temperatures during a car trip, but it took too long, and he got back in the car. Early in 1968, while revisiting Mexico, he was found lying alongside a railroad track, where he had been for a long time. Exposure to harsh weather caused his death, just days short of his 42nd birthday. Nobody knew if he was trying to kill himself or not, this time. A few people who knew him felt that he wanted to die, and had for awhile as he got older, and that Cassady finally got his wish.
Cassady left an indelible mark on the world of the 1950s and 1960s, through his documented adventures in the works of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and their friends. He also turned up in Kesey's writings about the Merry Pranksters. He inspired later bohemian characters, like Jim Morrison of The Doors. People today still read about his life and times, and wish they were able to meet Cassady, or make friends with him. The people who knew Cassady remembered him fondly later, even if he let them down personally, because he was such a unique (special) person. People loved watching Cassady live his life to the fullest, while he encouraged them to do the same with theirs.
Neal Cassady: Behind the Myth (official site)
Riedholz
Riedholz is a municipality in the district Lebern in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. In 2011 Niederwil merged into Riedholz.
Northern Ireland (European Parliament constituency)
Northern Ireland is a constituency of the European Parliament. The Northern Ireland Members of the European Parliament are chosen using Single Transferable Vote. The constituency is all of Northern Ireland.
Feldbrunnen-St. Niklaus
Feldbrunnen-St.Niklaus is a municipality in the district Lebern in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.
Rodersdorf
Rodersdorf is a municipality in the district Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, on the border of Alsace, France.
Beat Generation
The Beat Generation was a movement of writers, poets, and artists during the 1950s and 1960s, who liked the beat of jazz and bebop music, which became a kind of soundtrack to much of their lives and work. People associated with the movement were called "Beats", or sometimes "Beatniks", a reference to Communism. (A few Beats supported Communism, but most did not.) The term came from novelist Jack Kerouac, who was sometimes called "The King of the Beats". Other Beat writers were William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
Brill Building
The Brill Building in New York City was a headquarters for many songwriters in the 1950s and 1960s. The building had offices for the writers, and also a small recording studio to make demo recordings. Don Kirshner hired the writers who worked there, and helped promote their works.
The Brill Building writers included many pop stars and future pop stars, including Jeff Barry, Neil Diamond, Carole King, Carole Bayer Sager, and Neil Sedaka. The Monkees recorded a large number of Brill Building songs, but they also wrote songs of their own.
Chris Stewart
Christopher "Chris" Stewart (born 1950), is an English musician and writer. He was the first drummer for rock band Genesis. He is now a writer and a farmer.
Stewart went to school with Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford and Anthony Phillips. The five of them formed a band called Anon. This band eventually became Genesis in January 1967. Stewart appears on the band's first two singles, "The Silent Sun"/"That's Me" and "A Winter's Tale"/"One-Eyed Hound".
Stewart was asked to leave the band in the summer of 1968, because he was not skilled enough. He was replaced by John Silver. After travelling and working throughout Europe, Stewart settled and bought a farm named "El Valero" in Andalusia, Spain.
He is now better known for his autobiograpical books: "Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia" (1999, ) and the sequels, "A Parrot In The Pepper Tree" () and "The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society" (2006, ). They are all about his work farming in Spain.
John Silver
Jonathan "John" Silver (born 1950) was the second drummer for the English rock band Genesis. He replaced Chris Stewart in the summer of 1968. Silver left the band in August 1969. He was replaced by John Mayhew. Silver appears on the band's first full length album, "From Genesis to Revelation" and on the "Genesis Archive 1967-75" box set.
Silver lives in London with his wife, Lucy, and children, Leo, Max, and Libby.
John Mayhew
John Mayhew (27 March 1947 - 26 March 2009) was an English - Australian musician. He was the third drummer for the progressive rock band Genesis. Mayhew was a part of the band from September 1969 until July 1970. He replaced John Silver as the drummer for the band in August 1969 . Mayhew appears on the album "Trespass" and the "Genesis Archive 1967-75" box set. He was replaced in 1970 by Phil Collins.