Naftali Kupferberg is finally dead. NYT - Bohemian and Fug, Dies at 86. On the Memorial Day in 1971 Tuli Kupferberg jumped off the Manhattan Bridge. Ted Berrigan and Anne Waldman wrote:
“I asked Tuli Kupferberg once, “Did you really jump off of The Manhattan Bridge?” “Yeah,” he said, “I really did.” “How come?” I said. “I thought that I had lost the ability to love,” Tuli said. “So, I figured I might as well be dead. So, I went one night to the top of The Manhattan Bridge, & after a few minutes, I jumped off.” “That’s amazing,” I said. “Yeah,” Tuli said, “but nothing happened. I landed in the water, & I wasn’t dead. So I swam ashore, & went home, & took a bath, & went to bed. Nobody even noticed.”
Here Tuli Kupferberg signs the “Nothing” song with the Fugs in 1989, on the 20th anniversary of the Woodstook.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.