She wrote about Sylvia Plath, “i have been where sylvia's been / she did not survive / came back from where she was / i'm still half alive.” The fact was that for therapy she was encouraged to write personal songs and these two albums, especially the first is the result. Everything was going along well until Mia Farrow, a very good friend of hers, fresh from getting rid of Frank Sinatra turned her gaze towards Andre Previn and thus waltzing off with Dory’s husband and giving poor Dory Pevin a nervous breakdown and a one way ticket to the mental hospital. She married the incredibly talented conductor/composer/pianist Andre Previn who excelled in both jazz and classical genres. Dory Previn wrote “Hollywood” music, including the theme for “Valley of the Dolls” for which she won an Oscar. The album, “On My Way To Where” was nigh impossible to find. I was listening one night and “Beware of Young Girls” came on the radio and from there I was hooked. She was sited as an exceptional songwriter by nearly all who heard her including, Dylan, Lennon, Cohen(now there is a collection Previn, Cohen, Joy Division, The Cure…see that in someone’s collection, run, save yourself), Simon, Mitchell and many, many others have all stated at some point what an influential writer she is. The other aspect of the songs, the more disturbing and heartbreaking the lyric, often the bouncier or sweeter the tune.ĭory Previn really should be famous.

Yet despite the pain, the lyrics have a sense of humour that threads everything together. They are still, especially the first album, the most harrowingly personal albums one can hear. She created two hauntingly brilliant albums after being released from a mental hospital, shock treatment and everything else that it entailed in the late 60's. One of my favourite artists died last week.ĭory Previn, after Tom Waits, is one of my favourite lyricists.

Dori man letters never read songs