Only Golden Fingers Could Play So Heavy

by Roger D. Linder
This rock opera was conceived and written in 1974, and initially arranged for MIDI in December, 2000 and January, 2001. It has never been formally produced or performed. The associated play was written in 1974 as a first draft for a drama class at California State University, Sacramento, and placed online in February, 2001. The music (but not the lyrics) is also the basis for 40 Days - Resurrection to Ascension, a musical production based on the events following the resurrection of Jesus Christ, until his ascension and the Day of Pentecost. It was first performed on May 6, 2001, at Calvary Lutheran Church, Rio Linda, California. Think of it as a "Jesus Christ Superstar - Part II." This music was initially prepared using Finale 98 on a Macintosh computer, and subsequently manipulated using Midigraphy v. 1.4.3 and other custom software written by Roger Linder. The produced MIDIs were imported in GarageBand and the resulting MP3s placed online here.
Act I	Act II
Prelude to I's Birth The Dream I.B.C. News Three Kings of the East Presidential Proclamation Are You Gonna Stay? Can't Take It With You Music Will Be My Life Clarinet Player	When The Kid Gets Heavy Golden Fingers Theme Today A Most Amazing Man Only Golden Fingers Could Play So Heavy Rock and Roll Fool A Most Amazing Man? If It Wasn't For You World Reform Soap Box Story A King's Farewell Finale (The New King)

The Golden Fingers Trilogy Novels

I wrote the first novel in November 2008, to qualify as a winner for National November Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). My goal was to expand the story of the play, providing additional depth to the characters, and discover what additional story was to be told. The basic plot was maintained, but a lot of backstory was added. Some dialogue was directly lifted from the play, and some of the songs were turned into dialogue and rephrased.

Read online, chapter by chapter (as originally published in 2008)
Download a PDF - December 29, 2014 edition
Download the Kindle edition - December 29, 2014 edition
Experience the live reading from April, 2020 by the author

Only Golden Fingers Could Play So Heavy - The Missing Years

I began the second novel in November 2009, also in an attempt to win another NaNoWriMo. I got to about 25,000 words and due to time constraints, was unable to complete it. I vowed to complete it in November 2013, writing an additional 50,000 words so that the new content would qualify me to win NaNoWriMo again. I succeeded.

The first novel covered some very specific time periods, but skipped over a number of years. The focus of the second novel was to continue events in the "missing years." The basic structure was to cover each year, and base the theme of that year on the title of a contemporary hit song from that same year. The song itself nor the original artist doesn't figure into the plot, it was just a technique to give me ideas.

Read online, chapter by chapter (as originally published December 2, 2013, including typos and plotholes)
Download a PDF - December 29, 2014 edition
Download the Kindle edition - December 29, 2014 edition
Experience the live reading from May, 2020 by the author

Only Golden Years Could Be So Heavy

The final novel in the Golden Fingers Trilogy is nearly complete, and will be published here soon. It qualified for my third NaNoWriMo win on November 30, 2014 at just over 50,000 words. I'm finishing the final three chapters and proofreading and editing the entire content. I'm also continuing to edit and refine the first two novels, and will also be posting revisions as they continue to evolve.

It continues the story from the end of the first novel, beginning in the year 2020. As of the date of writing, the entire novel takes place in the future. I made up some stuff.