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In 1966, Jimi Hendrix – who was then still an obscure musician going as Jimmy James -- wandered into a club near Times Square called the African Room. On stage he saw a tall, muscular black man in a black leotard, boots with eight-inch heels, and a spider monkey on his shoulder, doing a voodoo-inspired dance in front of a rock band. Mike Quashie, from Trinidad, had once been famous as the Limbo King. He now helped Jimmy James become Jimi Hendrix, as well as inspiring Lou Reed, the New York Dolls, and David Bowie. Excerpted from my book, "The Village."

#jimihendrix #greenwichvillage #ledzepellin #davidbowie #loureed #mikequashie #rockmusic

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Ronald Reagan was the first television celebrity to become President. That was quite remarkable in the 1980s, when no one knew what the 21st Century would bring. A handful of rehearsed poses, he was less the country's leader than its logo.

#Reagan #Trump #history #presidency #election #WhiteHouse #celebrity #politics #JohnStrausbaugh

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Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven was one of the oddest characters in Greenwich Village in the 1910s. Her bizarre outfits and outlandish behavior were legendary. Was she just a troubled eccentric, or a pioneering feminist and artist? An excerpt from my book, "The Village."

#BaronessElsa #GreenwichVillage #MarcelDuchamp #WilliamCarlosWilliams #art #Dada #fashion #JohnStrausbaugh