In 1985, I was named one of the most dangerous subversives living in the U.S. by the Russian newspaper Pravda, which singled me out with Prince as one of the two most dangerous people in Rock ‘n Roll. The article, which referred to me throughout as ‘Mr. Willis’, branded me a “happy gravedigger” and “priest of nuclear art” based on my writing of “Neutron Dance,” which they mistranslated as “Neutron Bomb”. I was scheduled to go to Russia with ten other American songwriters representing BMI to collaborate with Russian songwriters but it was requested I drop out to “avoid any problems”. Although my lawyer advised me to “stay under the radar” I celebrated my subversiveness by throwing myself a Borscht Belt Birthday party.
