Song of the Week: Some People by Alice Howe |Inspired By Jim Bouton’s Ball Four

The Bushwick  song of the week was inspired by one of the most critically acclaimed sports books of all time Jim Bouton’s Ball Four.

Published in June of 1970, Jim Bouton’s “tell all behind the scenes style” story about his 1969 season with the Seattle Pilots was pretty controversial for the time.  So much so that then Major League Baseball  commissioner Bowie Kuhn issued an official statement declaring that “Ball Four” was “detrimental to baseball.

Bushwick performed original music inspired by Jim Bouton’s Ball Four at Columbia City Theater on October 13th 2014.  Alice Howe was one of the many talented artists  that night who read the book, wrote a song inspired by it, and played it live for house full of readers.

Her tune is called “Some People” and you can listen to it below (or even download it for FREE!).

Here is what Alice had to say about her inspiration for the song.

As I watched my fellow musicians explain their experience with Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four,” it became clear that many of them had connected with the book on a personal level, drawing on their love of baseball and their reverence for a well-known pitcher. But for me, truth be told, reading this particular book was a struggle. I did not grow up as a sports fan, and am woefully ignorant of baseball lore and terminology.

I spent many hours in frustration with “Ball Four,” and at first I wondered what on earth I would write about. But something amazing happened in the writing of my song, “Some People.” For the first time in a long while, I allowed myself to let go of the solemnity that can often accompany my songwriting process, and I found that I could tap into a funny, sarcastic tone that truthfully reflected my experience with the book. And in the process of writing that humorous song, I found that I had connected with the memoir after all. Once I got past all the baseball terminology, I could see Bouton as an artist pursuing his dream, a path that is inevitably studded with challenges, disillusionments, and rewards. And as an artist, albeit of a different sort, I can wholeheartedly relate to that struggle.

— Alice Howe

Download the Bushwick Song of The Week – FREE!

For more information about Alice Howe visit here website — alicehowe.com