New Jersey Stage Issue 70 | Page 14

On Gethsemane, the album that hooked Stephen King, there’s a storytelling song called “The Idler, The Prophet, and a Girl Called Rain” which is an abso- lutely breathtaking nine-minute tune that features characters who would have fit in well with those on Bruce Springsteen’s first two albums. It’s easy to see how King made the comparison between the artists. Years later, lyrics from McDermott found their way into King’s book Insomnia and a char- acter in Rose Madder wears a shirt that reads, “I’m in love with a girl called Rain.” Looking back, McDermott thinks his career and his life would likely have turned out differently if he did not have signs of success with his debut album. Music writers called him a generational talent and com- pared him to artists like Dylan and Springsteen. You can actually trace the path of his life through the titles of stories in his hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune. Fol- lowing early profiles of a star in the making, there were later pieces Listen to “The Idler, The Prophet, and a Girl Called Rain” NJ STAGE - ISSUE 70 INDEX NEXT ARTICLE 14