Everybody should have a hero.  Not having a hero is like not having a goal.  I have music heroes, sports heroes, spiritual heroes and personal heroes among others.  These are people I look up to.  These are the people whose qualities I try to emulate.

Derek Jeter and President Obama and Tom Hanks and Joe Montana and Guatama Buddha and John Williams and Indira Gandhi and Christ Jesus — all people whose lives reflect a grace, beauty and character beyond their accomplishments.

When our heroes bite the dust, we bite it with them.  We rise when they rise; we fall when they fall.  And so we look for heroes that won’t let us down, who we can depend upon to maintain their heroic nature.  It ain’t easy in this world.

Unfortunately, especially in America, we tend to push many a people up on to their pedestals and then the minute they get there we begin to tear them down.  I don’t know why we do this.  It’s reflective of a confused society.

Don’t get me goin’ here.  One of our greatest confusions is our penchant to place actors or celebrities upon these pedestals.  It’s a national shallowness that this country’s aristocracy is made up of Hollywood movie stars.  Like I said, don’t get me goin’ here.

Occasionally an actor is both recognized for his or her talent and for their ability to handle the most difficult demands of stardom.  I think Tom Hanks is one of the rare ones whose egos do not seem to be blown out of proportion.  For these reasons, he’s one of mine.

For Watchfire Music artist, Jenny Burton, it was Katherine Hepburn.  Kate, as we knew her, did not lead a perfect life – she was no saint – but she carried with her a grace, style and integrity in her work, not to mention a rare beauty and talent, that charmed us all.

For Jenny, the discovery of Kate’s work was always a surprise and a joy, and Kate became, for her, a true personal heroine.  We met her once many years ago when she came to our recording studio and did a vocal overdub for something unremembered and she was nothing but gracious and hard working.

At one point, in her dance music days, Jenny turned to me, her producer, and said, “Why don’t you write a song for me about Kate?”  “Bette Davis Eyes” had been a big hit several years before and so the idea struck me as being both commercial and fun to work on.

I immersed myself in Kate’s movies and life stories and became a huge fan myself, especially fascinated with the relationship between Kate and Spencer Tracy.  For me, and, of course, for Jenny, she lit up the screen with her Eastern manner and her original beauty.

They say she never saw a movie she ever made – couldn’t stand to watch herself.  I think she was probably the only one.

So I wrote this song for Jenny about this most inspirational lady.  Jenny would always gush like a teenager about Kate, and I wanted to capture that quality in the song.  I think I did, and then Jenny in the recording took it several steps forward in her singing and characterization.  I also grabbed several famous quotes of the great Kate and stuck ‘em into the song.

Everybody loved the song by the time we finished recording it – musicians, singers, engineers, insiders – everybody said, “That one’s the hit.”

Then Atlantic Records made a real dumb decision.  Some executive jerk decided that since Jenny was African-American, she should not have a heroine who was white.  The song was cut from the CD.  This was one of the great “DUH” moments of my life.  Needless to say, we were all crushed.  The song went on the proverbial and literal shelf.

All these years later we have finally mastered and released this song that kicks off a CD of Jenny’s previously unreleased recordings recorded over the years.  I always have to laugh when I listen to it.  It defines the fun and excitement we had when we made it.

The CD is entitled Released. You can buy it right this minute at Watchfire Music. Just go to Jenny’s Artist page.

You can also listen to the song by clicking right here.

Just Like Katharine Hepburn
Music and Lyrics by Peter Link

Popcorn junkie
Hooked on the celluloid
Strung out on the front row
Of the motion picture show

Star fixated
Trapped in my fantasies
Scene after scene
Falling through the silver screen

In a past life
I got to be Bogey’s wife
An’ in my next life
I get to be Spencer’s wife
Oh just like Katharine Hepburn
Just like Katharine Hepburn
Slipping through the hole in my imagination
Right into the role of my latest incarnation
And I am Katharine Hepburn
Just like I always wanted to be
Just like Katharine Hepburn
Living in the soul of me

So elusive
Wrapped in her dignity
Known worldwide
But oh what a mystery

Head strong high class
Tough like a leather glove
Fearless in the face of
Life’s unforgotten love

In a past life
I got to be Carey’s wife
An’ in my last life
I want to be Spencer’s wife
Oh just like Katharine Hepburn
Just like Katharine Hepburn
Slipping through the hole in my imagination
Right into the role of my latest incarnation
And I am Katharine Hepburn
Just like I always wanted to be
Just like Katharine Hepburn