Description

My first prophet was Curious George. His religion? Browsing. Following his steps for the last sixty years, I’ve collected many curiosities of my own. Some are legit. Mainstream. Archival pabulum. Others not so much. Today I offer a breezy tour of odd trophies from the Mormon wing of my walk-in vault. Most of these curiosities have the luster of association, whether with latter-day billboard-level heroes or with behind-the-scenes craftsmen of Mormon culture. Unexpected connections among every demographic will light up the session, from Willie Nelson to Chief Justice Warren Burger to . . . ?

Michael Hicks is a Professor Emeritus of Music at Brigham Young University, where he taught from 1985-2020. He has authored nine books—including five in the Music in American Life series of the University of Illinois Press—and dozens of historical and analytical articles for books and journals ranging from Musical Quarterly to the Oxford Handbook of Mormonism. A three-time winner of the Deems Taylor Award from ASCAP and two-time finalist for the Utah Book Award, he most recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Mormon Letters. For more go to www.michaelhicks.org