S4 Ep5: Lynn Castle: LA's first lady barber on Elvis, the LSD-soaked Sixties and her secret music career
Publisher |
House of Hutch
Media Type |
audio
Podknife tags |
Arts
Feminist
Music
Society & Culture
Categories Via RSS |
Arts
History
Society & Culture
Publication Date |
Aug 11, 2022
Episode Duration |
00:45:22
In the north of Los Angeles, in a neighbourhood called Glendale, an unassuming bungalow is home to one of the first women in Hollywood to cut men’s hair. Today she goes by the glitziest of names, Madelynn von Ritz, but back in the 60s she was called Lynn Castle and hung out with key people of the era, lopping off Jim Morrison, the Byrds, Sonny Bono and Neil Young's locks. She was also a secret musician. But despite her childhood friends being musical svengalis like Phil Spector – who she once dated – as well as Jack Nietzcshe and Lee Hazlewood, it took her a while to reveal her talent. Eventually, however, she cut a number of intimate, melancholy demos in the hazy 60s with Hazlewood, who later famously teamed up with Nancy Sinatra and helped define the decade’s psychedelic sound. Lynn is now 83 (going on 53!) and still writes music to this day, with a home studio tucked in the corner of her living room. Those old demos, meanwhile, were found by the label Light in the Attic and reissued as Rose Coloured Corner in 2017 – an album 50 years in the making – including her signature song, pop gem The Lady Barber.  In this episode of The Last Bohemians: LA, supported by Audio-Technica, Lynn discusses her 'friendship' with Elvis, her series of almost-famous moments with Bob Dylan and the Stones, her positive outlook and life, and unexpectedly digs out letters from an old flame... CREDITS Presenter/Exec-Producer: Kate Hutchinson Producer: Holly Fisher Photography: Lisa Jelliffe Theme music: Pete Cunningham, Ned Pegler and Caradog Jones With thanks to Light in the Attic Records. MUSIC Lynn Castle - Caroline Gary War - Bounce Four Gary War - Clouds That Went Away Philippa Dowding and Allister Thompson - Sequinned Mountain Ladies Ketsa - Another Day Dez Moran - August Events Psuche - Dance Dance Don Syke - Desert Blues Peter Crosby - Had To Move On Mara Carlyle - Nuzzle ABOUT AUDIO-TECHNICA In 1962, with a vision of producing high-quality audio for everyone, Audio-Technica’s founder Hideo Matsushita created the first truly affordable phono cartridge, the AT-1 in Shinjuku, Japan. Since then, Audio-Technica has grown into a world-renowned company devoted to Audio Excellence at every level, expanding the product range to include headphones, microphones and turntables. Audio-Technica’s commitment to the user experience and their devotion to high quality design, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution has placed them at the forefront of the industry for the last 60 years. ABOUT THE LAST BOHEMIANS Journalist and broadcaster Kate Hutchinson launched The Last Bohemians in 2019, pairing the audio with stunning portraits by photographer Laura Kelly. It stole hearts with 86-year-old Molly Parkin’s stories of self-pleasuring, LSD countess Amanda Feilding’s trepanning tales and Pamela Des Barres’ reflections on supergroupiedom. It won silver for Best New Podcast at the 2020 British Podcast Awards and was a finalist at the 2021 Audio Production Awards. Series two featured folk legend Judy Collins; British fashion icon Zandra Rhodes, dealing with the aftermath of losing her lover while celebrating 50 years in fashion; anarcho-punk innovator and illustrator Gee Vaucher; and the controversial witch at the heart of the 1970s occult boom, Maxine Sanders. In 2021, The Last Bohemians launched a lockdown special with performance artist Marina Abramović; it returned in 2022 with the UK’s greatest living painter, Maggi Hambling, as well as Bowie’s former best friend Dana Gillespie and theatre actor Cleo Sylvestre. thelastbohemians.co.uk patreon.com/thelastbohemians instagram.com/thelastbohemianspod twitter.com/thelastbohospod 
Lynn Castle was one of the first women in Hollywood to cut men’s hair and known as the first lady barber of LA – which she immortalised in her song 'The Lady Barber' with Nancy Sinatra producer Lee Hazlewood. Little is known about Lynn today but back in the acid-drenched 60s she hung out with movers and shakers of the era like Jim Morrison, the Byrds, Sonny Bono and Neil Young (and trimmed their long locks). In this episode of The Last Bohemians: LA, supported by Audio-Technica, she discusses her 'friendship' with Elvis, her series of almost-famous moments with Bob Dylan and the Stones, her positive outlook and life, and unexpectedly digs out letters from an old flame... Producer: Holly Fisher Presenter and Exec Producer: Kate Hutchinson

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