'Return to Thunder Road' author appearance

This non-fiction book by Alex Gabbard profiles the real-life story of moonshining in the southern Appalachians, as seen in the 1958 ROBERT MITCHUM film 'Thunder Road.' Gabbard will be speaking at the March 17 Literacy Luncheon in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

From the Amazon profile: "This is a powerful saga of an age gone by ... Alex Gabbard tells the story of moonshining in the mountains where he grew up and how it influenced the rural south and fledgling stock car racing, giving the sport its most colorful and enduring characters."

'Thunder Road' was one of Mitchum's most personal films. He came up with the idea for the film, produced it, chose the director and cast his son, Jim, as his younger brother. He also sang the hit title track, 'The Ballad of Thunder Road.'

Keely still singing classics from Rat Pack days

Story at SF Examiner.

"For Smith, those old songs have a lot of history. "Yeah, there’s about 40 men that I think of when I sing certain songs!" she says, laughing. "I used to think a lot about [Frank] Sinatra, but not so much these days. I think of [Prima]. I think of ROBERT MITCHUM, and a couple of other people I can’t tell you!"

She’s saving that for her autobiography, on which she has been working in a stop-and-go fashion."

Keely performs daily (except Mondays) at The Rrazz Room in San Francisco through April 5. She costarred in Thunder Road with Mitchum.