In our lifetime, we are blessed with
only a few real friends, many acquaintances.
King Sonny was a
true friend, not only to myself but also to countless others.
I used
to call him Sonny Claus, because of his giving nature!
He was truly
a world class icon, one of the Venice All Stars.
People would come from
around the world to pay homage, not so much financially as Sonny was
famous for his giving of his music and his art.
Jimi Hendrix,
received Purple Haze as a gift from Sonny!
I personally witnessed
jams with Bob Dylan, who also has a guitar that Sonny painted for him.
Willie Nelson and countless other stars and musicians from around the
world would come to be a part of the Venice Beach scene.
The real tragedy was not in
his life, which was very productive and full, but in his death. Banned
from the beach because of his gypsy lifestyle, his dog, Pretty Boy whom
he treated better than himself (His dog drank Perrier water). The real
tragedy is Sonny died of a broken heart, what killed King Sonny was
S.A.R.S. and Yuppie complaints. People that would be attracted to Venice
for it's artsy qualities, cutting down our trees and anyone with
any real talent, to put in condo’s and mini malls in their place with
products made with cheap labor from foreign countries instead of local
artists. I call to mind Bob Mc Clain and his song The Day the Music
Died. Yuppies want homogenized music with no meaning and cheaper art
than what we are producing. The S.A.R.S. that I related to was Cholera
or the Plague.
In the past 28 years that I
have known Sonny we have been protesting for jobs for our community and
environment Where a lot of America’s so-called homeless who can’t get
work because they are over qualified. The yuppie concept of maximizing
profits with cheap labor and cheap parts to go along with their
artificial hearts. The fact is the pollution we are living in is killing
us all. King Sonny had a flu like condition for a month, and every time
I went to find him to give him treatment he was not at the place where I
treated him previously because the policed under the direction of a few
Yuppies that had complained and had him moved to another place. The last
few months prior to his death everywhere he went in town with his dog,
his cart and his art.
Yuppies and you know who you are would call
the police about someone resting in the grass or an alley or by a church
or by a community center to have him removed instead of helped by those
who are supposed to give him help and aid.
For those who knew and loved Sonny contact:
Gladys & Lisa Chase
889 Jennings Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
For any of his friends that have
art done by Sonny can donate it for auction along with the purchase of
his tapes for assistance in a decent burial and legacy for his family to
go to his sister and his niece.
In closing for all the yuppies
that called and complained:
There is a higher authority that
recognizes what you have done and are continuing to do those less
fortunate than yourselves.