The Great Daryl Nathan

The Great Daryl Nathan was (is) a musician and entertainer in Grand Rapids. He first attained noteriety with his appearances on the local public access television channels during the mid-90s with his program "The Great Daryl Nathan Entertainment Show."^[1] Although few people ever achieve fame by appearing on public access tv, Daryl quickly became a bit of a local celebrity and somewhat put GRTV channel 25 "on the map." Sara Howard, long time President of the International Lover Fan Club, has committed her life to preserving the legacy of Mr. Nathan.

Style

Part of Daryl's appeal was his eccentric visual impression. He would almost always appear wearing a long curly wig, eyeliner and flamboyant yet dated tuxedo while sitting behind a cheap keyboard, often in front of the public-access staple background of a curtain and fake plants.

Songs

Daryl's songs were usually built around the pre-set rhythm settings of his keyboard. Catchy, whimsical and bizarre, some of Daryl's songs include "Spinning Wheel," "She Put A Napkin On My Plate," and "Pretty Fine Girls," only to name a few. Daryl wrote many songs, mostly from "The Great Daryl Nathan Rehearsal Hall" (his bedroom.)

Daryl was also known for his offbeat poetry, such as "Silk and Velvet," involving a conversation between these two fabrics about their sensual properties.

Daryl still lives in Grand Rapids but apparently has not been performing since the early 2000s.

A number of videos of his tv appearances are on Youtube^[1], which occasionally results in brief attention from mainstream media, most recently a clip on VH1's "We Got To Do Better."^[1]

Legacy

Grand Rapids band Alexis payed homage to Daryl in the music video for their song "Feel 4 U", which was filmed in part at the GRTV studio.

Jefleppard 12:37, 19 January 2008 (EST)