February 14, 2025
EDITOR'S NOTE: Our friend and Letters To You contributor Joe Amodei of Virgil Films - the production/distribution company behind great films such as Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am?, Broken Poet, and Just Around The Corner: The Bob Benjamin Story - is a big fan of acclaimed mystery writer James Lee Burke's novels. As Joe writes below, he's known for a while that Nils Lofgren is a big Burke fan, as well. What he didn't learn until more recently, however, is that Burke, in turn, is a great admirer of both Nils and Amy Lofgren. We'll let Joe take it from here...
My first experience with the novels of James Lee Burke came many, many years ago when my good friend Chris and I were having one of those “What are you reading these days?” discussions. We both were and still are avid readers and Bruce Springsteen fans. This was long before anything called the internet was a thought in anyone’s minds and "social media" became a familiar term. It was back in the days when, well, people read books. Physical copies, too; not on a computer screen or tablet. But back to that day. Chris disappeared into another room and came back with two paperback books in his hand, saying, “You gotta try this guy out. He’s incredible.” The books were Black Cherry Blues and In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead. They both carried the tagline “A Dave Robicheaux Novel.”
To say I devoured both books immediately is an understatement. I dove headfirst into the world of Cajun alcoholic ex-homicide cop Robicheaux and his sometimes partner and best friend Clete Purcell, as they moved like storms through the town of New Iberia, along the Bayou Teche area miles outside of New Orleans. Burke's words didn’t just jump off of the page for me. The seared themselves into my soul and took me on Robicheaux's journey through hell and back. The worlds he took me to were filled with crooked cops, sadistic gangsters, hardened criminals, and spirits rising up from the dead, haunting his every move. Robicheaux isn’t your average Sam Spade, but a character with a mixture of Jim Harrison, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler, all shook up in a bottle of booze and regrets. I had never read anything like this before. I became obsessed with his writing, going back and getting all of the books so I could read them in order. I have done so to this very day, with the publication of Clete, his latest in the Robicheaux series.
So it was a pure delight when I opened up the latest Burke masterpiece and saw a great tribute to Nils Lofgren and his wife Amy:
I knew Nils was a fan, but what I did not know was that James Lee Burke was a fan of Nils, as well, and a big E Street follower, too! I contacted Burke's folks and received the following letter shortly after…
Thank you for inviting me to contribute to your article about Nils.
Nils and I have never met geographically, but [I was] asked if I would send Nils a book. As I remember, the inscription was "Keep it in E-major." Then he sent me some of his recordings, and said he wanted to jam with me down the track. I thought that was one of the best compliments I ever received, somewhat similar to the inventor of the wheel asking me to take a spin. Since then Nils has supported and lauded my work all over the world, including making a video of a song he put together that was included with messages from other friends like Stephen King:
He's a good guy, and obviously kind and spiritual, as is Ms. Lofgren. So I was very happy to dedicate my book Clete, the newest book in the Dave Robicheaux series, to them.
Music is in all my work. I don't know how people can live without music. It's in the pulsing of our blood, the air we draw, the iambic beat in our words, and it's also in the spheres, and one of its greatest contemporary manifestations is the E Street Band. If you want to hear the red, white, and blue in four-four time, check out the video of "Johnny B. Goode"... I thought they were going to bring the stadium down.
Anyway, I'm proud to be a friend of Nils and Miss Amy. I've never met any of the E Street Band, but it's obvious their talent is enormous. As Shakespeare's friend Ben Jonson would say, these guys are for the ages.
All the best,
James Lee Burke
And as for Mr. Lofgren, well, here's what he had to say about James Lee Burke when Letters To You recently asked him:
Speaking of James Lee Burke’s magnificent books, I’ll start with clarity. He is my favorite author, ever. I fell in love with the Dave Robicheaux series decades ago. I’d order four at a time and nearing completion of the second one, I’d order the next four. Then of course, once I was current, I’d have to wait patiently for the next gem.
I believe my incredible wife Amy had befriended Jim’s daughter Alafair (another great writer) on social media long ago. Alafair was kind enough to put me in touch with her Dad, who I’ve greatly enjoyed corresponding with since. Having read just about everything Jim has written, I finally got my wife Amy, an avid, mostly non-fiction reader herself, to try House Of The Rising Sun, a Hackberry Holland book of that amazing series. Amy absolutely loved it, and it was so exciting for me to finally have my favorite person on Earth love and appreciate the genius of James Lee Burke. I’ve always felt a kinship with the characters in Jim’s books; their great internal struggles with the dark and light of the human soul touches me deeply. As I struggle with my own demons, they give me a roadmap and kinship in that rough journey we are all on in this magnificent, overwhelming life we’ve been blessed with.
James Lee Burke’s characters remain living, breathing spirits and companions that have helped light my way through the earthly darkness we all confront at times in our lives. Truly life-altering and lifesaving work. Bless you, Jim, for sharing your gifts, and the healing and solace they continually offer us all.
Love, Respect and Blessings to you and your family.
-Nils Lofgren
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Thanks, Joe... and Messrs. Burke and Lofgren, of course.
James Lee Burke fans can click here to read about and order his next novel, Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie, to be published in early June. (There's no doubt that mega-fans Nils Lofgren and Joe Amodei have placed their respective orders already.)
And, if you haven't done so already, be sure to check out Nils Lofgren's two most recent releases: Mountains, which includes guest performances by Ringo Starr, Neil Young, Ron Carter, The Howard Gospel Choir, Cindy Mizelle, and David Crosby, and Spares, a Tracks-like collection of ones that have gotten away over the years. Click here to learn more about them at Nils' official website.
Oh, and if you dig reading about guitar-slinging E Street Band members connecting with award-winning authors, you also might enjoy Stevie Van Zandt's recent online sitdown with James Patterson (currently available exclusively for subscribers to Patterson's Substack.) If so, click here.