They say it’s hard to be a hero in your hometown, a notion that apparently extends to guitar heroes as well. Fresh evidence comes via a recent thrifting expedition that unearthed a 50-cent copy of Nils Lofgren’s 1972 album with Grin, All Out. The back cover features the musical mighty mite staring rather abstractly at the viewer. To this image, the disc’s former owner appended a red magic-marker word balloon. Coming from Lofgren’s lips is this childishly scrawled inscription:

Since a lot of what

you listen to

sounds terrible

and since THIS

sounds terrible

I thought it must be

your kind of music!

Happy last day of

High School

DAD

6/81

As junior was only 9 when All Out was released, perhaps he was really hoping for a copy of the ’81 smash “Jessie’s Girl”; “Dad” was probably still humming along to Perry Como’s 1956 chart-topper “Hot Diggity.” Undaunted, Lofgren continues to record and tour. CP