Nat King Cole recorded "Nature Boy" in 1948 which was an immediate major hit. Rumour had it that the lyrics were apparently written by a homeless man who tried without success to present them personally to Mr. Cole, who did receive them in due course and was impressed enough to want to meet the author, but alas, the man was never heard from again.
Turns out that Nat King Cole did indeed track the man down. His name was Eden Ahbez* [pictured right with his wife and son in the 40's], a songwriter and recording artist who was something of a personality in southern California, living a bucolic life, traveling in sandals and wearing shoulder-length hair and beard, and white robes. He became the focus of a short-lived media frenzy when Cole's version of "Nature Boy" became a hit song. He continued to live on the street, or in his van or with friends. He died in 1995 at 87 of injuries sustained in a car accident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bReW4LQ3Yc&feature=related
*Reference: http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hoohoohouse.com/.a/6a00e55395d127883301156e8e2b07970c-800wi&imgrefurl=http://www.hoohoohouse.com/hoohoo_house/2009/03/eden-ahbez.html&h=542&w=432&sz=61&tbnid=yPjxNdp0ywApuM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3DEden%2BAhbez&hl=en&usg=__eLAJlN-syKANvKR_LU_V96ogCow=&ei=oG75Sp7DL83jlAeYy9G7DQ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=6&ct=image&ved=0CBMQ9QEwBQ
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