Rock Journalist Receives Recognition of Achievement Award
The Luzerne County Historical Society, the oldest county historical society in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has presented Rock Journalist Maxim W. Furek with their 2022 Recognition of Achievement Award. Furek’s rock biography, Somebody Else’s Dream: Dakota, The Buoys, & “Timothy,” is recognized as a virtual encyclopedia of NEPA Rock & Roll as it celebrates the region’s most controversial song.
Penned by Tony Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes, “Timothy” was banned on radio stations due to “inappropriate content” — references to cannibalism connected to the infamous 1963 Sheppton, Pennsylvania, mining disaster.
Pictured (L-R) Director of Operations and Programs, Mark J. Riccetti Jr., and author Maxim Furek.
A cautionary tale of substance abuse, the pitfalls of fame, and the true price of the rock and roll fantasy.
The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the disturbing song “Timothy.” Banned by radio stations and called "the worst song ever recorded," its lyrics about cannibalism in a Pennsylvania coal mine eerily parallel the real-life Sheppton disaster. Written by playwright Rupert Holmes, the Billboard hit launched the career of The Buoys. They went on to perform at the legendary Whiskey a Go Go, Stone Balloon, and the Satsop River Festival which they kicked-off in front of 150,000 fans. The Buoys toured the Netherlands, got hustled in a pool game with Sly Stone—before his massive ten-mile traffic jam, hung-out with Blue Oyster Cult—before their riot at the Kingston Armory, received a lecture on libertarianism from musical genius Frank Zappa, and were mentored by Delaney Bramlett—before cocaine ruined his life.
Morphing into Dakota, and produced by Chicago’s Danny Seraphine and Rufus’s Hawk Woliinski, the band played on the same stage as the Beach Boys during the national Bicentennial Celebration. They were invited to replace the Pure Prairie League’s Vince Gill and joined Freddie Mercury and Queen on a sold-out 35-city tour ending in a three-day standing-room-only Madison Square Garden concert. Here is the story of an amazing AOR band with more than ten recorded albums who, despite the infamous “Dakota Curse,” achieved acclaim in Europe, Korea, and Japan. Their story also depicts a cautionary tale of substance abuse, the pitfalls of fame, and the true price of the rock and roll fantasy.
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