The ever-private Redbone still delights in old-timey music

By JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 23, 2008 1:17 PM PDT ∞

In our age of celebrity, when people are famous not for anything they've actually done, but simply for being, well, famous (see Paris Hilton), Leon Redbone is that rarest of all creatures: a famous private man.

His real name, his place and year of birth, any family he might have ---- all remain a mystery more than three decades since he first hit the national consciousness with his 1975 debut, "On the Track." His gravelly voice, Frank Zappa-styled facial hair and ever-present Panama hat and white jacket have made Redbone into a permament presence on the pop music scene ---- even though his repertoire is drawn almost entirely from the 1920s to '40s. Heck, in the 1980s Redbone was so popular that a major brewer hired him as spokesman to pitch its suds.

And yet, as mentioned, Leon Redbone (playing Friday in Temecula and Saturday and Sunday in San Diego) is as much a character as a musician; when he's offstage, Leon Redbone is as private as any of us. To pull that off in a culture where we have news programs devoted to what celebrities are doing 24/7 is a remarkable achievement.

But when asked about his success at separating his public and private lives, Redbone is modest at his success at fending off pesky reporter types.

"The problem with being stubborn is that you're stubborn," he said with a laugh by phone from Montana, where he was on tour. "I've always tried to persuade people to think in a different manner than the prescribed manner. I do my best, but it doesn't quite work. And some people are not too pleased with my response to some of their questions. But over the years, they've come to accept it."

If he deftly sidesteps any questions about his personal life or history (when asked in a 1989 interview what musical influences he'd had as a child, he quickly replied, "I was never a child growing up"), he will gladly talk about music.

While his play list is drawn, as mentioned, largely from the Depression era, he said he's always adding to his repertoire.

"I'm always interested in hearing something I've either forgotten or never heard, because that's what keeps things interesting. I don't know if that's true of the general audience." He said that even though he plays all older songs ---- examples could range from "Ain't Misbehavin' " to "When I Take My Sugar to Tea," "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" to "Sweet Lorraine" ---- he still has to play the songs he's had on his records in order to keep his audience happy.

"If I went onstage and did completely different tunes ... if you change it totally, I don't know. There's always a curmudgeon out there who wants to complain about something."

While most modern music holds little interest for Redbone (he said Paganini remains his favorite songwriter of all time), he did sing the praises of the late Tiny Tim. While best known for his novelty hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" sung in his famous falsetto, Tim shared Redbone's passion for old-timey American music.

"He would have made an excellent radio host dealing with the music of the 1920s," Redbone said of Tim, who died in 1996. "He was quite knowledgeable. I did hear him on radio one time, and I was going to make that suggestion to him ---- but he died. He should have been a radio host, because he would have been quite good."

As for his own music, Redbone's last release of new music was "Any Time" in 2001. As to whether fans might see another record out of him, he said, "I think about it every once in awhile, but every time I think about two or three years go by! It's amazing how time flies."

Leon Redbone

When: 8 p.m. Thursday

Where: The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano

Admission: $25

Info: (949) 496-8930 or thecoachhouse.com

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main Street, Temecula

Admission: Sold out

Info: (866) 653-8696 or temeculatheater.org

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: Anthology, 1337 India Street, San Diego

Admission: $18-$56

Info: (619) 595-0300 or anthologysd.com

Web: leonredbone.com

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