Former President Jimmy Carter, left, jokes with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter at a signing event for his new book. (Matt Rourke, The Associated Press)
Jimmy Carter certainly seems like a cool guy, as far as former leaders of the free world go. Last week, Reverb’s John Wenzel talked to Carter ahead of the former president’s visit to Denver on July 26 supporting his new book, “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety.”
Naturally, Wenzel
Q: Your old buddy, Willie Nelson, has that story about smoking pot on the roof of the White House when he visited you in office.
A: (Laughs) I’ve been on stage with Willie six different times, as he always asks me to come up and sing the final song with him, which is either “Georgia on My Mind” or “Amazing Grace,” and he carefully and wisely turns the microphone more toward him. But I love Willie, and as he points out in his autobiography, he went up on the roof after we finished running five miles with some people and smoked pot. One of his main things is his affinity for marijuana and I think he’s actually going to sell marijuana legally in some form. But he’s a good guy.
Q: You’ve got a natural way with entertainers. I know, for example, you’ve been friends with Bob Dylan for some time.
A: Recently I went out to Hollywood and helped present a lifetime achievement award to him, and he only agreed to accept the award — which is something he rarely does — if I presented it to him.
Read the full interview here.
