Jim Carroll

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Jim Carroll Seattle, WA (September 2000) Photo by Eric Thompson
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Jim Carroll Seattle, WA (September 2000) Photo by Eric Thompson

Jim Carroll (born August 1, 1950 in New York City) is an author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll is best known for his 1978 novel The Basketball Diaries, which was made into a movie in 1995 starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Raised in New York City, Carroll who attended several Catholic Grammar Schools from 1955 to 1963. In fall 1963, he entered public school, but was soon awarded a scholarship to the elite Trinity High School (a private school). He entered Trinity High School in 1964.

Apart from being interested in writing, Carroll was a passionate basketball player throughout his grade school and middle school career. He entered the "Biddy League" at age 13 and participated in the National High School All Star Game in 1966, hence the title of his most famous book.

As a teenager, Carroll was a heroin addict who sometimes prostituted himself to afford his habit. The novel The Basketball Diaries concerns his life in New York City's hard drug culture and his struggle to rid himself of his addiction.

Carroll published his first book, Organic Trains, at age 17. Several of his poems have been published in such magazines as Paris Review and Poetry. In 1970, his second collection of poems, 4 Ups and 1 Down was published. That same year, Carroll started working for Andy Warhol. At first, he was writing film dialogue and inventing character names; later on, Carroll worked as the co-manager of Warhol's Theater. Carroll's first above-ground publication, the collection Living At The Movies was published in 1973.

He formed The Jim Carroll Band, a New Wave/punk rock group, in 1980. Their biggest commercial success was the single "People Who Died," from their debut album, Catholic Boy. He has also collaborated with many influential punk and hard rock musicians, including Lou Reed, Blue Öyster Cult, Boz Scaggs and Rancid.

As of 2006 he is still at work on his first novel tentatively titled The Petting Zoo. The book has been in the works for well over a decade and is apparently near completion.

Contents

[edit] Books

[edit] Poetry

[edit] Diaries/Prose

[edit] Books influenced by Jim Carroll

[edit] Albums

[edit] Music by Jim Carroll and the Jim Carroll Band

  • Catholic Boy (1980)
  • Dry Dreams (1982)
  • I Write Your Name (1983)
  • Best of The JC Band (1993)
  • Pools of Mercury (1998)
  • Runaway EP (2000)

[edit] Spoken word/lecture

[edit] Music done in collaboration

[edit] Compilations and soundtracks featuring Carroll

  • Tuff Turf Soundtrack (1985)
  • Back to the Streets: Celebrating the Music of Don Covay (1993)
  • Sedated In The Eighties (1993)
  • New Wave Dance Hits: Just Can't Get Enough, Vol. 6 (1994)
  • The Basketball Diaries Soundtrack (1995)
  • WCBN Naked 2000 (2000)
  • Dawn of the Dead (2004)

[edit] Covers

  • Viva Zapata, 7 Year Bitch (1994)
  • Put Your Tongue to the Rail, various artists (1999)

[edit] Trivia

Carroll can be heard ordering drinks and enquiring about drugs on The Velvet Underground's 1972 live album Live at Max's Kansas City, based on an audience recording made by Brigid Polk. Carroll was sitting at the same table as Polk and so was close to the microphone.

[edit] External links

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