As a young New York based song writer, Rich Black had "A Very Close Friend of Mine" published in Broadside issue 112 in 1971. The song has an anti-drug message that was supported by the editors of Broadside, who criticized rock music and the hippie culture for their pro-drug messages. Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen felt that a person who "dropped out" and did drugs was one less person to fight the good fight for social change. Black wrote this song about a drug addict named Lenny he remembered from when he was sixteen years old.