Gammons keeps one foot in jock world, one in music

By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer

It’s been said that every professional athlete wants to be a rock star and every rock star wants to be a
professional athlete.

Peter Gammons straddles both worlds, putting down the cell phone he uses to speed-dial baseball bigwigs and picking up a guitar for his first CD, “Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old.� Backed by an all-star cast — including two actual baseball all-stars — Gammons provides a bluesy collection of covers and the
original “She Fell From Heaven,� which keeps pace with the pros.

The CD’s release comes as Gammons, an inductee in the writers’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame,
recovers from a June 27 brain aneurysm. He remains at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“He’s making good progress, and everyone’s encouraged with how he’s doing at this point,� Vince Doria, the ESPN news director who was also Gammons’ boss at The Boston Globe, said Thursday.

The sportswriter turned ESPN analyst mingles between the cynical rock of Warren Zevon’s “Model Citizen,� the bouncier rockabilly offerings of Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land,� the country-twanged “Carol� and a church hymn from his childhood, “Come, Labor On.�

Proceeds of the record will be donated to the Foundation To Be Named Later, the charity formed by Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and his twin brother, Paul. Theo Epstein is in the credits for playing the electric guitar on one song, for clapping on another and as “Executive Vice-Producer
of Baseball Operations.�

“Peter and I both joke about our musical ability, but the difference is he’s actually really good,� he said. “I think he made a terrific record and is incredibly generous to donate the proceeds.�

As a sportswriter, Gammons developed a reputation for immersing himself in baseball’s fine print — the
minor league prospects, the trade rumors, the contract talks. His weekly full-page notes columns, replete with players’ hometowns and musical references, pioneered the form that has now become a staple in the newspaper industry.

From the liner notes, clearly the 61-year-old Gammons has embraced his recording career in the same
way.

He dedicated “Death or Glory� to Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, “the biggest Clash fan I know.� On “NyQuil Blues,� he described the first time he heard Alvin Crow play — with Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk in a North Dallas honky-tonk in 1976 on the night Boston manager Darrell Johnson was fired.

So it’s no surprise that a list of contributors to “Never Grow Old� reads like a baseball box
score, including All-Star pitchers Jonathan Papelbon of Boston and Bronson Arroyo of Cincinnati. Red Sox players Tim Wakefield, Lenny DiNardo, Trot Nixon, Gabe Kapler and Kevin Youkilis also have cameos.

“Anybody else and I probably wouldn’t have done it,� Nixon (pictured above) said. “I don’t think I’m musically inclined. ... I knew it was for Peter, so it didn’t bother me one bit. (I’ll) help him that way if I can.�

But this wasn’t just a vanity project for Gammons and his baseball buddies.

The musical lineup includes keyboardist Phil Aiken, Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz, and Mike Gent, Ed Valauskas and Pete Caldes of The Gentlemen. They’re backed by pinch-hitters George Thorogood on Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land,� Juliana Hatfield on “Cinderella Superstar,� and Letters to Cleo’s Kay Hanley on three songs, including “She Fell From Heaven.�

Gammons composed “Heaven� a few years ago and trotted it out while rehearsing for one of the baseball-themed “Hot Stove, Cool Music� concerts he helps organize for Epstein’s foundation.

Although he calls it a Little Feat tribute, it also shows the influence of Zevon (pictured above) in the refrain, “She fell from heaven, and landed on her face.�

For the past 30 years, fans who followed baseball through Gammons’ work have wondered whether he fell from heaven.

In his recording debut, he landed on his feet.

PS: Amazon.com has the CD in stock for $12.97 (just do a music search for Peter Gammons), and as usual, it allows you to sample each song. Friday, it was ranked No. 874 in the list of music purchases. The online clearing house also has a silly package deal: Buy Gammons' CD and the book "Game of Shadows" for $29.35 together. Can't seem to seperate Gammons from breaking baseball news.