13/14

It would be hard to overstate the impact it had on me

Scenario

Mink Deville's song "Mixed Up Shook Up Girl" on the radio when it came out in the late 1970's.

And yet, when I went to look for the record at the stores where I lived, it was like searching for the Holy Grail

I had no luck finding it or anything else by this mysterious artist.Eventually many years later I was overjoyed to find a compilation record by him called "Savoir Faire" that included not only the song that I had been obsessed with for so long but many other incredibly great tunes.The documentary Heaven Stood Still delves into the mystique that has surrounded Mink Deville frontman Willy Deville for all these years.

He later recorded in Europe and lived for a time in New Orleans

His first three albums were released by Capitol, but due to disappointing sales he was summarily dropped.

I suspected that drug use had contributed to the deterioration he suffered in his later years but I had no idea how pervasive it became , the singer from J

I was very impressed by the archival footage of the band's amazing early years, but found the warts and whole excavation of Willy's long slow decline to be emotionally crushing.

"Mixed Up Shook Up Girl" which I'd never seen before that literally gave me chills!

Geils Band.