Gregory Corso Re-Releasing ‘Die On Me’ via Shimmy-Disc

Gregory Corso—both the youngest and one of the most influential members of the Beat Generation—stood alongside literary icons like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg as a defining voice in American poetry. Now, DIE ON ME, the rare and intimate collection of his final spoken word recordings, is being re-introduced to the world by Shimmy-Disc, the cult-favorite label founded by legendary producer, multi-instrumentalist, and archival visionary Kramer.

Originally released on CD in 2002, DIE ON ME is now available for the first time ever on vinyl. Newly remastered and edited by Kramer, the collection spans archival recordings from 1959 and culminates in Corso’s final sessions, recorded by the late Hal Willner between January 7–10, 2001— just days before Corso’s death.

Within this deeply personal and revealing document are the last known voice recordings of Corso. Conversational, reflective, and raw, DIE ON ME captures Corso in dialogue with close friends and fellow legends—including Allen Ginsberg, Marianne Faithfull, and Chicago writer Studs Terkel—as he recounts stories, revisits formative memories, and reads aloud some of his most beloved poems. The result is an unfiltered self-portrait of an undersung literary giant.

Marianne Faithfull, in one of the album’s most striking moments, urges Corso to share stories—and, at his request, recites several of his own poems. The sessions showcase not only Corso’s voice and verse but his thoughts on mortality, love, and the poetic form itself. Produced by Hal Willner and lovingly reassembled by Kramer, DIE ON ME offers a rare and luminous insight into the mind of a poet facing the end.

Corso passed away on January 17, 2001, at the age of 70—just days after completing many of the recordings featured on DIE ON ME. On May 5, 2001, his ashes were laid to rest in Rome at the Cimitero Acattolico, at the foot of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s grave. John Keats lies nearby.

Gregory Corso ‘Die On Me’ album artwork

Today, Shimmy-Disc shares “For Homer,” a raw and haunting recording of Corso reading his poem of the same name, captured on January 5, 2001. Framed by ethereal strings and shimmering textures—hallmarks of Kramer’s signature ambient cinema creations—the track is accompanied by a black-and-white photo slideshow chronicling Corso’s life, lending visual context to a voice that remains powerfully alive.

As Allen Ginsberg once said of his closest friend:

“People say that I’m the greatest American poet of the 20th Century. I tell them they’re wrong. GREGORY CORSO is a far greater poet.”

DIE ON ME Track Listing:

Side A
1. For Homer (recorded January 5, 2001)
2. Ode to Coit Tower (recorded February 7, 1959)
3. Inner Outer Rhyme (recorded January 5, 2001)
4. Ode to The West Wind (recorded June 13, 1975)
5. A Bed’s Lament (recorded January 5, 2001)
6. Hair (recorded January 29, 1959) w/ Studs Terkel, Allen Ginsberg & Peter Orlovsky
7. Mythology (recorded January 5, 2001) w/ Marianne Faithfull

Side B
1. Bomb (recorded February 7, 1959)
2. The Truth (recorded September 13, 1994) w/ Allen Ginsberg
3. Don’t Shoot the Warthog (recorded January 6, 2001)
4. Prophecy (recorded January 7, 2001)
5. No Arrangement Was Made (recorded January 5, 2001) reading by Marianne Faithfull
6. As Rome Burned (recorded January 6, 2001) w/ Marianne Faithfull
7. Last Night I Drove a Car (recorded January 6, 2001)
8. Getting To The Poem (recorded January 6, 2001) reading by Marianne Faithfull