Alva Review-Courier -

Shel Silverstein, who died in 1999, was a creative genius who published numerous cartoons while writing plays, poetry, children’s books and songs.

As I noted last week, perhaps the greatest of Silverstein’s talents was as a songwriter. And while he wrote several serious ballads, the majority of his songs are humorous in nature.

The most famous song Silverstein composed is “A Boy Named Sue,” which became one of Johnny Cash’s biggest hits. Released in 1969, the tune zoomed to the top of the country music charts and crossed over to No. 2 on the rock charts.

It won Grammy Awards for Silverstein as...