Three Quarters of the Way to Hell

This short story from the collection Wild Child was originally published in Playboy.

It's the middle of a snow storm, and Johnny Bandon, a washed up crooner in the style of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, is getting ready to record a Christmas single. The session musicians are there, and so is his backup singer. Darlene Delmar is a down and out soul singer ravaged by cheating boyfriends and STDs. But for this one moment in time, maybe music can reach out and soothe both Johnny and Darlene's souls just one more time.