A report on Neal Cassady, Beat Generation and Beat (King Crimson album)

Lawrence Ferlinghetti
1944 Denver mug shot of Cassady
A section devoted to the beat generation at a bookstore in Stockholm, Sweden

Neal Leon Cassady (February 8, 1926 – February 4, 1968) was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic and counterculture movements of the 1960s.

- Neal Cassady

According to the Trouser Press Record Guide, the album was inspired by the history and work of 1950’s Beat literature, spurred on by the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

- Beat (King Crimson album)

The 'Jack' of the title is Beat writer Jack Kerouac, while 'Neal' is Kerouac's best friend Neal Cassady.

- Beat (King Crimson album)

Neal Cassady, as the driver for Ken Kesey's bus Furthur, was the primary bridge between these two generations.

- Beat Generation

The progressive rock band King Crimson released a song named "Neal and Jack and Me" on their album Beat (1982).

- Neal Cassady

Laurie Anderson featured Burroughs on her 1984 album Mister Heartbreak and in her 1986 concert film, Home of the Brave. The band King Crimson produced the album Beat inspired by the Beat Generation.

- Beat Generation

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King Crimson at the Sapporo Culture Arts Theatre in Japan, on December 2, 2018. From left to right: Pat Mastelotto, Tony Levin, Bill Rieflin, Jeremy Stacey, Jakko Jakszyk, Gavin Harrison and Robert Fripp (Mel Collins not shown)

King Crimson

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King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England.

King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England.

King Crimson at the Sapporo Culture Arts Theatre in Japan, on December 2, 2018. From left to right: Pat Mastelotto, Tony Levin, Bill Rieflin, Jeremy Stacey, Jakko Jakszyk, Gavin Harrison and Robert Fripp (Mel Collins not shown)
Band logo
Fripp performing in 1974
Later versions of Discipline featured this knotwork design by Steve Ball.
The band performing in 2003Left to right: Trey Gunn, Adrian Belew, and Robert Fripp (Pat Mastelotto is hidden)
Belew performing in 2006

This group lasted three years, resulting in the trio of albums Discipline (1981), Beat (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984).

The album had a linked theme of the Beat Generation and its writings, reflected in song titles such as "Neal and Jack and Me" (inspired by Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac), "Heartbeat" (inspired by Carolyn Cassady's "Heart Beat: My Life with Jack and Neal"), "The Howler" (inspired by Allen Ginsberg's "Howl") and "Waiting Man" (inspired by William Burroughs).