Writers have connections

Ralph Ellison wrote about Duke Ellington. Truman Capote wrote about George Gershwin. Authors provide the ties in a "Six Degrees of Separation" game on the PBS American Masters Web site.

Not all connections are so direct. The blacklist binds Dashiell Hammett and Stanislavsky method actors. Connecting the non-authors is more of a stretch. Here's the path from Willie Nelson to Robert Capa:

1. Willie Nelson covered Joni Mitchell's song Both Sides Now.
   
   
2. Joni Mitchell performed on Quincy Jones' 1986 book/recording, Children First.
   
   
3. Quincy Jones composed the music for The Wiz (1978), starring Lena Horne.
   
   
4. Lena Horne entertained troops during World War II.
   
   
5. Robert Capa was a war photographer during World War II.