But Mead has never sold many records, and after runs on two big labels (followed by brief stops on two minuscule ones), he's found himself starting over: Late last year, he released his new album (Almost and Always) through a service called NoiseTrade, on which listeners can either pay what they want or receive a free download in exchange for the email addresses of five friends.

NPR: David Mead: Warm And Bittersweet

When the bubble in government debt finally bursts under the pressure of rising rates and unsustainable interest expense, he said, the ratings agencies, as always, will be late to make the call.

FORBES: The Big Short Part II: Uncle Sam

And even while a leader in the late '60s rock scene, he didn't always fit in.

CNN: The not-so-slight return of Jimi Hendrix

His degree came late, and his accounts were always precarious until he married, at 34, Gail Rebuck, soon head of Random House.

ECONOMIST: Philip Gould

Much like his late mentor in Jack Kemp, Ryan has always given the impression that he supports light taxation, limited government and stable money values precisely because they would do the most to lift the economic chances of those least well to do.

FORBES: There's Nothing 'Small Government' About Paul Ryan's Balanced Budget Plan

He was teased by the late star's long-time manager, Joe Adams, about always losing chess games to Ray Charles.

BBC: Funeral of Ray Charles

As an aside, the late Judge Learned Hand, who sat on America's court of appeals, always said he would liked to have seen some particular words written by Cromwell placed over the portals of every church and courthouse and at every crossroads across the nation.

ECONOMIST: Don't mention God