The Rockabilly Legends: They Called It Rockabilly Long Before It Was Called Rock 'n' Roll (Book & DVD)

Book Description

In five brief but glorious years, a handful of young, animated performers set the entertainment world on its ear. The Rockabilly Legends - They Called It Rockabilly Long Before It Was Called Rock and Roll celebrates the rebel forefathers who created this raw, driving sound that continues to influence and inspire musicians. This unique volume - part tribute, part first-person recollection, part history, and all fascinating - provides a complete picture of the times. It features hundreds of original rare and captivating photos, including Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and others. Candid interviews with music legends and personal reflections. Stunning design. Includes a one-hour DVD sampler of rockabilly music to immerse the reader into those heady days from 1954 through 1959 when a new, high-energy sound and spirit instantly captured the hearts of fans around the world.

Customer Reviews:

A really great book and DVD.......2007-08-23

This is probably the best book I have ever read on the history of rockabilly and its origins. The graphics are great and make the book a really fun one to read. When I bought it, I didn't realize there was a DVD inside and the DVD is worth the price of the book itself. So it feels like a two for one. Jerry knew most of the people in the rockabilly world and the first hand experience brought a breadth and personal feel to this book. I was also so glad that the Johnny Burnette Trio was in this book too as often they are left out of the rockabilly discussion and were an important part.

I do wish however, that Jerry would have included some females in the story. Wanda Jackson especially - she is not included in this book and I think she should have been. Also I think that Chuck Berry's influence in the rockabilly world and Little Richard could have been highlighted in this book as well. It seems odd they are written about in this book. Maybe some discussion on the pre-Elvis influence of Bill Haley too where he crossed over into some pioneering sounds of rock and roll/rockabilly prior to Elvis.

This is still a great, great book and I am so glad it was written.

Where's Ricky?.......2007-07-03

Jerry Naylor is to be commended highly for his exhaustive research and commitment to what I understand was a seven year labor of love. He truely captures the essence of the talent that made the 50's Rockabilly era so special and created the roots of rock n' roll.The addition of the DVD to complement this volume makes it even more desireable for any student of music history! My only complaint is that Ricky Nelson was not included, since he too was a pioneer in rockabilly and idolized Carl Perkins as his musical mentor!While I realize Jerry may not have worked with him directly he still deserved honorary mention! That aside though, this book/dvd is a must have!

great fun.......2007-06-08

This book is so much fun to read! Looking back, rock 'n' roll has grown to be such a standard genre of music that we don't often think about how it came to be, but this book goes through and shows you step by step how it came about. There are some great pictures and great stories and it even includes a DVD! This book is wonderful!

A must-own book for rock'n'roll historians.......2007-04-15

This is a great book that is not only easy to read, and has an abundance of great early photos from 1954 - 1959, but tells the definitive beginnings of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison. It connects them all through stories of how they all played together or ran into each other during the mid-50s.
Elvis was just a 19 year old truck driver who was talked into going to a cheap recording studio in Memphis in 1954 to sing some gospel songs, and met session player Scotty Moore there. Producer Sam Philips didn't like what he was hearing, until Elvis started singing (during a break) an old blues tune from the 40s called "That's Alright Mama." Philips loved it, and rockabilly (which is what early rock'n'roll was called) was born. They soon after got a slot on the Grand Ole Opry to play just one tune, and Elvis got a positive response from the females. Teenaged Roy Orbison saw Elvis from the front row in January 1955 at a west Texas concert, and he immediately dropped his hilbilly singing of Hank Williams tunes, and started doing rockabilly. Buddy Holly saw early Elvis as well, and it influenced him to start his Crickets. There's stories of Johnny Cash (how he tried to get Roy Orbison on the Sun label), and Jerry Lee, and Carl Perkins, and how they all got influenced each other, and even played together.

Get this book....it's great!

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood

Average customer rating:

Couldn't put it down - I grew up admiring these characters...
Juicy and exciting read
Not Recieved, No Refund
Great in spite of itself
The Godfather of New Hollywood Books

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
Peter Biskind
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Direction & Production | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Industry | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Reference | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film
Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System (P.S.)
Gods and Monsters: Movers, Shakers, and Other Casualties of the Hollywood Machine
New Hollywood Cinema
You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again

ASIN: 0684857081

Amazon.com

Not only is Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls the best book in recent memory on turn-of-the-'70s film, it is beyond question the best book we'll ever get on the subject. Why? Because once the big names who spilled the beans to Biskind find out that other people spilled an equally piquant quantity of beans, nobody will dare speak to another writer with such candor, humor, and venom again.

Biskind did hundreds of interviews with people who make the president look accessible: Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, Geffen, Beatty, Kael, Towne, Altman. He also spoke with countless spurned spouses and burned partners, alleged victims of assault by knife, pistol, and bodily fluids. Rather more responsible than some of his sources, Biskind always carefully notes the denials as well as the astounding stories he has compiled. He tells you about Scorsese running naked down Mulholland Drive after his girlfriend, crying, "Don't leave me!"; grave robbing on the set of Apocalypse Now; Faye Dunaway apparently flinging urine in Roman Polanski's face while filming Chinatown; Michael O'Donoghue's LSD-fueled swan dive onto a patio; Coppola's mad plan for a 10-hour film of Goethe's Elective Affinities in 3-D; the ocean suicide attempt Hal "Captain Wacky" Ashby gave up when he couldn't find a swimsuit that pleased him; countless dalliances with porn stars; Russian roulette games and psychotherapy sessions in hot tubs. But he also soberly gives both sides ample chance to testify.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is also more than a fistful of dazzling anecdotes. Methodically, as thrillingly as a movie attorney, Biskind builds the case that Hollywood was revived by wild ones who then betrayed their own dreams, slit their own throats, and destroyed an art form by producing that mindless, inhuman modern behemoth, the blockbuster.

When Spielberg was making the first true blockbuster, Jaws, he sneaked Lucas in one day when nobody was around, got him to put his head in the shark's mechanical mouth, and closed the shark's mouth on him. The gizmo broke and got stuck, but the two young men somehow extricated Lucas's head and hightailed it like Tom and Huck. As Peter Biskind's scathing, funny, wise book demonstrates, they only thought they had escaped. --Tim Appelo

Book Description

When the low-budget biker movie Easy Rider shocked Hollywood with its success in 1969, a new Hollywood era was born. This was an age when talented young filmmakers such as Scorsese, Coppola, and Spielberg, along with a new breed of actors, including De Niro, Pacino, and Nicholson, became the powerful figures who would make such modern classics as The Godfather, Chinatown, Taxi Driver, and Jaws. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls follows the wild ride that was Hollywood in the '70s -- an unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll (both onscreen and off) and a climate where innovation and experimentation reigned supreme. Based on hundreds of interviews with the directors themselves, producers, stars, agents, writers, studio executives, spouses, and ex-spouses, this is the full, candid story of Hollywood's last golden age.

MARTIN SCORSESE ON DRUGS: "I did a lot of drugs because I wanted to do a lot, I wanted to push all the way to the very very end, and see if I could die."

DENNIS HOPPER ON EASY RIDER: "The cocaine problem in the United States is really because of me. There was no cocaine before Easy Rider on the street. After Easy Rider, it was everywhere."

GEORGE LUCAS ON STAR WARS: "Popcorn pictures have always ruled. Why do people go see them? Why is the public so stupid? That's not my fault."

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't put it down - I grew up admiring these characters..........2007-02-23

Firstly - I don't think that this book should be mistaken for a spiteful Paul-Johnson-type of takedown of Great Men...Biskind's not a curmudgeon, and I see no evidence of a Grand Thesis in this book smashing down facts to fit the preconceived mold...

I'm made to remember, as I first read & then occasionally re-read this book, that the Seventies was not just the time in which the putative counter-cultural forces stormed & took the tired old film studio citadel (and in the process became, many of them, boring old farts struggling for relevance); nor was it simply the time in which Spielberg & Lucas hatched the modern Big Blockbuster--but it was also the age of the invention of the super-auteur, the well-advertised & vaunting "maverick" filmmaker who compulsively pointed up to the stands every time he came up at bat (Bogdanovich & Coppola, most egregiously)...The super-stardom of these people arrives with the mainstreaming of know-how fetishism, and the over-valuation of the film artiste - the ascension of film-schools, making-of docs, horserace reports on box-office grosses, and so on...Much of what has been taken for slimy "gossip" in this book seems, on reflection, to be intimately connected with the films themselves: and in some wild cases ("Days of Heaven"; "Apocalypse Now"), the prodigal wasn't bankrupted & chastened, but came back home a star...

That said - I'm grateful for Biskind's hard treatment of Altman, and of Paul Schrader--they were begging for it...I don't understand why he treats Robert Towne's "Personal Best" as an ignominous all-'round failure--it REALLY wasn't that bad!

Juicy and exciting read.......2007-01-17

This book reads straight from the gossip columns. It's a fun, juicy read that you won't be able to put down. Peter Biskind gives you a sneek-peek behind Oz's curtain to see the nitty gritty lives of people like Scorsese, Speilberg, Copolla and Lucas. This won't be "classic literature," but you will find it exciting, addicting and a definate page-turner! Read this book just for the fun of it!

Not Recieved, No Refund.......2007-01-04

They say they sent it to my address, but i never recieved it. I called them. they told me they sent it, and did not offer further help.

Great in spite of itself.......2006-09-17

Peter Biskind's EASY RIDERS RAGING BULLS is destined to become a pop-culture classic, of a problematic sort for sure, but a classic still.

Biskind's research is formidable - the current academic revival of interest in the career of the late Hal Ashby was probably instigated by this book - this alone is an indication of how throrough a cultural chronicle of 70s 'New Hollywood' this work really is. It has obviously been taken very seriously in some quarters, and for all of its' academic impact, it also managed to become an improbable bestseller.

It's also one of those things that you love, and slot into a sort of 'guilty pleasure' category; Biskind balances his exhaustive cinema-historical research with equally exhaustive tales of sex-and-drug debauchery, though ultimately the avalanche of tittilating tawdriness does serve something of a purpose, in illustrating how certain individuals responsible for reinventing and reinvigorating Hollywood at the beginning of the 70s were also sowing the seeds of their own demise by the end of the same decade.

Biskind structures the book in emulation of one of the key players illuminated within - the entire book is structured like an Altman film, shifting gradually between a great cast of contradictory, combative characters (Hal Ashby as the moral center of it all), with the many historical narratives weaving together at the end. Along the way, he engages in a little bit of analysis (not enough, but understandable, given all else that is going on here), tracing the shadows of Nixon and Vietnam through films as seemingly disparate as "The Exorcist," "Jaws," "The Godfather," "Star Wars" and "The Conversation."

Overall, an essential piece of American cultural history.

-David Alston

The Godfather of New Hollywood Books.......2006-06-23

One can tell just by watching the films of directors such as Coppola, Scorcese, Friedkin and all the others that made up the New Hollywood of the 1970's, that they were infused with a streak of arrogance. Many films that were full of pretence and repulsive characters, but that nevertheless embodied a new spirit of American auterism, brought about by a new found European sensibility and a shift in power from producers to directors. So its no surprise that Peter Biskind's detailed and intriguing read, reveals these directors to be monstrous human beings. Power hungry, tin pot dictators fuelled by drugs, alcohol and sex. Somehow despite the lines of coke and the absurd sums of money that went flowing around, some of the greatest films in American cinema appeared. Biskind's enthusiasm for this period comes across and it helps that he lived through it and his book is filled with a great deal of insightful social commentary, his reading of STAR WARS for example is quite interesting. However he does tend to overcook the political and allegorical side of his critique. At times the book becomes a bit too gossipy and academics and film students might be put off by the tales of back stabbing and drug abuse. But, this does give the book a spark, which separates it from the more impenetrable and theory based books on the same subject. It is precisely because of Biskind's talky and down to earth prose that makes the book such a joy. There is a great deal of value to this book and after reading it you cannot view the films of this period in quite the same way. Enjoyable from start to finish.

Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll: Fourth Edition

Average customer rating:

Rock and Roll Poetry
Don't believe the hype
I will never read anything by this author again!
Dancing About Architecture, Yay!
I'm confused on what he focuses on the most...

Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll: Fourth Edition
Greil Marcus
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century
Crazy Horse (Penguin Lives Biographies)
1919: Volume Two of the U.S.A. Trilogy
The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes
Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock'N'Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock 'N'Roll

ASIN: 0452278368

Amazon.com

More than 20 years after its initial publication, Mystery Train remains one of the smartest, most provocative books ever written about rock-and-roll. Marcus puts his subjects--which include Robert Johnson, Elvis Presley, The Band, Randy Newman, and Sly Stone--into their proper context, which is the culture-at-large. He makes you understand why these musicians matter, and what they've contributed to the American imagination. In his introduction, Marcus confesses that he's no longer "capable of mulling over Elvis without thinking about Herman Melville"--to the benefit, I might add, of both parties.

Customer Reviews:

Rock and Roll Poetry.......2007-03-25

This book is an amazing look into the history and impact of rock and roll on pop culture. Greil Marcus writes about this artists and songs as a poet who has been deeply affected by this music. The lyrics seem to impact the very roots of his soul and diversly shape his world and view of America. This book is a must for any fan of rock and roll music or anyone interested on the impact rock and roll has had on American culture in general. Highly recommended.

Don't believe the hype.......2007-02-02

Uh, I'm not sure I agree a hundred percent with your detective work, there, Greil.

If he truly wanted to present and comprehensive view of what his subtitle purports, that is, American myths archetypes and how they inform and are presented by Rock and Roll, why is the scope of this book so narrow? The artists he focuses on are a motley crew. Elvis, Robert Johnson sure- but Randy Newman? The Band, but not Dylan? Harmonica Frank, but no Chuck Berry? Berry's oeuvre itself is a perfect microcosm of 20th century American Mythos. Speaking of myth, why is Pilgram's Progress invoked as a metaphor for The Band, but Faust isn't referenced at all in the Robert Johnson chapter. America is nothing if not Faustian. This book is 40 percent Rock-Geek trivia, and 60 percent pure ponderous speculation. Marcus occasionally drifts into a fugue and wanders far away from his (musical) subject, several times in the Elvis section whereupon he suddenly remembers what he was supposed to be writing about and tries vainly to shoehorn all of his speculations together. I think Marcus is a fine writer (we would not entertain his notions for a second if he wasn't), and this book certainly has its moments, but on the whole it does not nearly live up to its hype. He has done better, in The Old, Weird America, dealing with the same themes and sticking to one musical subject (Dylan's Basement Tapes).

I will never read anything by this author again!.......2006-10-05

I was SO excited about getting this in the mail to start reading, I had just read "This Wheels on Fire" by Levon Helm (which is AMAZING) and wanted to read more about that kind of music and read a critics take on it all and well...it was awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was pretentious and cliche...all of it. I cannot understand why this book is supposed to be so great. He makes all of these assumptions about what these musicians bodies of work are really about or are supposed to represent but even to someone who was not alive during the time period, it is obvious B.S.! Marcus tries to explain that The Band's whole body of work is some sort of metaphor...that is about a "worried man"...that their work is a story that they have made up to represent their fears and their vices. If you want to know what "the weight" is about, read Levon Helm's book which is honest, touching, inspiring AND informative.

Dancing About Architecture, Yay!.......2005-11-02

This was one of the first music criticism books I ever read. Sometime since I read someone scoffingly say, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." Well yes, this is true, and this is what makes Greil Marcus so great -- his writing his half dancing, half architecture. Even though the TONE of his writing makes a foray into claiming authority, he never loses his subjectivity. You always have the feeling that this is just another guy talking about music, except that he's incredibly smart and knowledgeable about music, literature and culture. I've heard some people complain about his choices for subjects here, that Robert Johnson does not deserve to be singled out, and that Dylan should have his own chapter, or even his own volume. But this book doesn't pretend to pick the greatest artists of all time and write about their greatest hits; there's dozens of other books for that. Read those books first, and then come to Marcus if you want something deeper. He does something different, and his books shouldn't be judged by those standards. At the end of the day, the best thing I can say is that I wish this book included a chapter about every artist that I love, and that reading this has deepened my appreciation of every figure involved.

I'm confused on what he focuses on the most..........2005-03-07

Is it the music or the events surrounding the music? In any case, Greil Marcus' MYSTERY TRAIN is perhaps the most unusual rock criticism book in existence. I purchased this volume because of my interest in the Band (who are by far the greatest artists in the whole story). And that point makes me wonder why the Band's records weren't scrutinized and explained even more. Where else can you read about the song "Across the Great Divide" and then tell people you know what it's about? I love the chapter on the Band, although I am not a fan of Marcus' writing, and I wish that he would have cleaned up his word choices and focused on the Band days instead of the Hawks' days (and some people can't see that artistic growth?). Anyway, anyone who says no one has heard of these artists needs serious medical attention. If anyone hasn't heard of the Band, I recommend that the get their head back into the real world. To call the Band's music siginificant and worthwhile is the understatement of the century. However, I never felt that Elvis did much for music (well, he didn't do much for me), and if you really want to get confused read the chapter on Sly Stone. Who the heck is Stagger Lee and why is he mentioned here? Did Marcus see WOODSTOCK? I think he spends too much time comparing things with classic authors from days gone by and he even draws paralells between old movies. That is fine with me, and I can certainly see the way music influences movies and vice versa, but a lot of that seems to be overblown. I didn't know if I was reading about Randy Newman or Raymond Chandler. He devotes a surprising amount of time to the Kinks, and while I find some of their material interesting, their place as one of the greatest bands in history is probably in question. I really don't like the words that Marcus uses to describe musical ideas that he hears, nor do I care for his admitting to having a perverted Elvis dream and his declaration of Ray Davies' homosexuality and his sensitivity towards murder and violence. If you want to, you can get confused. I am enthused by pop culture but particularly the music, and I love the sixties and would love to write about that decade myself, and I have purchased Levon Helm's THIS WHEELS ON FIRE, and have been fascinated by THE TWILIGHT ZONE COMPANION, WAITING FOR THE SUN, and I even bought the films EASY RIDER, DON'T LOOK BACK, and WOODSTOCK. Yet somehow, MYSTERY TRAIN doesn't seem to fit either in the forties or in the seventies, so I really don't know how to label it--but I suppose I am just grateful for the Band pages, but mind you I wasn't terribly impressed with those or Marcus' all-too-brief run down of a song called "The Rumor". At least he acknowledges it in detail later on, but what is his point in doing so?

Blue Monday: Fats Domino And the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll

Average customer rating:

We waited...and finally saw...
Stunning research and compelling writing about one of the first great rock stars
IT'S ABOUT TIME FATS GOT HIS DUE
The Fat Man From New Orleans
The complete Fats Domino story.

Blue Monday: Fats Domino And the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll
Rick Coleman
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus
Big Boss Man: The Life and Music of Bluesman Jimmy Reed
Live from Austin, Texas [Region 2]
Always Magic in the Air : The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era
Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke

ASIN: 0306814919

Book Description

The first ever biography of New Orleans rock 'n' roll legend Fats Domino by a writer who obtained exclusive access to the reclusive singer

Rock 'n' roll defined the last half of the twentieth century, and while many think of Elvis Presley as the genre's driving force, the truth is that Fats Domino, whose records have sold more than 100 million copies, was the first to put it on the map with such hits as "Ain't That a Shame" and "Blueberry Hill."

In Blue Monday, acclaimed R&B scholar Rick Coleman draws on a multitude of new interviews with Fats Domino and many other early musical legends (among them Lloyd Price, the Clovers, Charles Brown, and members of Buddy Holly's group, the Crickets) to create a definitive biography of not just an extraordinary man but also a unique time and place: New Orleans at the birth of rock 'n' roll. Coleman's groundbreaking research makes for an immense cultural biography, the first to thoroughly explore the black roots of rock 'n' roll and its impact on civil rights in America.

A true music lovers' biography, Blue Monday, includes new revelations about the politics behind the music labels of the 1930s and 1940s, and provides a searing indictment of the great white myths of rock 'n' roll. Coleman also brings the African-American culture of New Orleans to life, and his narrative is passionate, compassionate, and authoritative. Blue Monday is the first biography to convey the full scope of Fats Domino's impact on the popular music of the twentieth century.

Customer Reviews:

We waited...and finally saw..........2007-06-14

I guess if Antoine "Fats" Domino could keep the President and First Lady waiting, then he could keep us waiting for his first biography - this is a Natural Born book about a musical genius, intriquing personality, and unassuming cultural revolutionary.
The author tells his story and includes many entertaining anecdotes about life at home and on the road with several sets of support players - the greatest names of course being Dave Bartholomew, Herb Hardesty, and Lee Allen. We get a strong picture of the smiling, "safe" rock and roller, as the often defiant man's-man. And a complex artist/showman: he could sing The Rooster Song while flashing rings to make Freddie Blassie envious.
A great bunch of previously unpublished black and white photographs from Look magazine, among other handsome prints of lesser known shots really bolster the text.
A serious ommission for the audiophiles: not even a selected discography and no sessionography. [Though there are "Notes" in the back of the book on the mysterious Broadmoor recordings, including personnale and dates!]. Of course the '50s period sessions can be found as a booklet in the Bear Family 8-CD set, and in a European book, "Jazz Records"; also in a fairly recent issue of Goldmine magazine. But Fats Domino ABC-Paramount, Mercury, Broadmoor and Reprise FD session data has never, to my knowledge, appeared in print, and what a fabulous component that would have made.
Speaking of the ABC-Paramount tracks, the author did not mention in the text a very important 4-CD set, "The Paramount Years", which included the *incredibly* rare fourth l.p. for that label, plus the 1980 "If I Get Rich" from another record company!
The idea that "The Fat Man" is the first R & R record also doesn't agree with me. Yes, the elements are there, the upbeat shuffle and bright lead vocal, but that powerful sound (and many others by Fats in that '49 to '54 period) were not *primarily* for the youth. The first discs to be produced for teenage tastes came much later. I wouldn't even include "Tutti Frutti" in that category, as it too, lyrically and instrumentally echoed an earlier, "swingin'" sound. [It was "Ready Teddy" folks which screamed out...Rock and Roll!!!].
Still, this book should be "required reading" for those dedicated followers of those Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

Stunning research and compelling writing about one of the first great rock stars.......2007-06-07

From his first record in 1949 until his harrowing escape from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Antoine "Fats" Domino has defined New Orleans and its culture. This book puts Fats, his city, and his music into perspective in amazing detail. In the process, Rick Coleman convincingly demonstrates that Fats and his collaborators--especially songwriter/arranger Dave Bartholomew and producer Cosimo Matassa--have as solid a claim as Elvis, Carl, and Jerry Lee with Sam Phillips in Memphis or Wolf, Muddy, and Chuck with the Chess brothers in Chicago as the prime architects of rock 'n' roll. The product of more than 20 years of exhaustive research, this is, surprisingly, the first biography of one of the greatest early rock stars. Coleman had his work cut out for him; Fats is notoriously reclusive. Nevertheless, you come away from this book admiring Fats's talent and drive, and Coleman's exhaustive research and evocative writing. All the other great Louisiana rockers are here--the bayou wild men, backwoods musical savants, and forgotten honkers, shouters, string-benders, and drum-thumpers who helped create the Crescent City sound. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the real, complete history of rock 'n' roll instead of the revisionist pap that passes for such. -Mark Hoffman, co-author of "Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf"

IT'S ABOUT TIME FATS GOT HIS DUE.......2007-03-13

Rick Coleman's new book "Blue Monday" is the first full biography of Fats Domino. Many interesting things are therein.
- Fats was the first black rock & roll star. His records made the pop charts before r&r's dawn in 1955.
- Kids did not buy albums in the 50s, but Fats' albums sold, meaning he had an adult following like Louis Armstrong's.
- Fats concerts were often scenes of teenage riots. He may be known for `Blueberry Hill,' but his fierce rolling piano ignited his audience.
- "Blueberry Hill" was the product of a botched session. Engineer Bunny Robyn edited together the best parts of several incomplete takes and simply repeated the chorus.
- The string-laden "Walkin' To New Orleans" was a big breakthrough which traditionalists lamented. But it hit R&B (#2) even higher than pop (#6).
- Roy Brown once ditched a plan to have Fats open for him on tour. Fats never forgot it, and refused to have Brown open shows for him when the tables were turned.

Of the Big Five (EP, FD, CB, JLL, LR), Fats is the least lionized because he was not a "rebel." Historians normally embrace only people with bold lifestyles.

The Fat Man From New Orleans.......2007-02-16

Boy ol Boy, Rick Coleman has written a great book on the TRUE story of Rock & Roll! I know as I was there and if you want to know what it was really like to be on the scene when true rock & roll was called race music on a juke box, Boogie Woogie and the down home blues was taking over the country then get this book and turn others on to it also. No one person was more responsible for the birth of R&R and R&B than the Fat Man! This was long before Elvis, Haley and the hand full of others came on the bandwagon. [...]

The complete Fats Domino story........2007-02-16

This book is so well documented! Rick Coleman did high quality research before writing this wonderful book about the most swinging rock 'n roller of them all.

The Cramps: A Short History of Rock 'n' Roll Psychosis

Average customer rating:

great book about a great band
god damn rock n roll
The Only Psychedelic Voodoo Rockabilly Band That Matters

The Cramps: A Short History of Rock 'n' Roll Psychosis
Dick Porter
Manufacturer: Plexus Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

How to Make a Monster
The Cramps - Live at Napa State Mental Hospital
Babylon's Burning: From Punk to Grunge
Fiends of Dope Island
Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed

ASIN: 0859653986

Book Description

Lux Interior (Erick Purkhiser) and Poison Ivy Rorschach (Kristy Wallace) formed The Cramps in the late 1970s. They quickly gained acclaim, notoriety, and hitmaker status for campy, sexy studio LPs like Songs the Lord Taught Us and Gravest Hits, as well as for their legendary, over-the-top concerts that brought to mind circus freak shows. This illustrated book with exclusive interviews presents a detailed examination of The Cramps' strange and terrible journey from sleazy, theatrical inventors of a mutant fusion of punk, garage rock, psychobilly, and rock 'n' roll to genuine cult icons with devoted fan bases around the globe.

Customer Reviews:

great book about a great band.......2007-08-27

The Cramps have always existed under the radar even in alternative circles, probably because they are pretty much the sole practitioners of "psychobilly" (traditional rockabilly with a junk-culture/horror movie aesthetic) and thus have bounced from label to label in the course of their 30 year career. this book sheds some well-needed light on their history, and is an entertaining read not just for fans but also for those interested in the struggles of 2 people (Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, who are married) to stay true to their personal vision and perservere in the face of adversity. includes great pictures of the band and a discography. highly recommended.

god damn rock n roll.......2007-05-09

Great book - a little short on info about the cramps recent history - Its got everything the Wild Wild World of the cramps has and a little more - Although if you already have the www of the cramps its not that necessary - A great read if your a Cramps fiend

The Only Psychedelic Voodoo Rockabilly Band That Matters.......2007-03-26

This book rocks! Made me pull out every Cramps CD I own and go nuts all over again.

Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix & The Post-War Rock 'N' Roll Revolution

Average customer rating:

Incomparable Analysis of Hendrix's Influence on Music and Society
Superb Analysis
An Excellent Book
Life R&R and the whole damn thing
The Most Insightful On Jimi Thus Far

Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix & The Post-War Rock 'N' Roll Revolution
Charles Shaar Murray
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Hendrix: Setting the Record Straight
Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy
Jimi Hendrix : The Man, the Magic, the Truth
ROOM FULL OF MIRRORS: A BIOGRAPHY OF JIMI HENDRIX
Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix

ASIN: 0312063245

Book Description

Called by "Entertainment Weekly" "The best book on Hendrix", "Crosstown Traffic" rode their A-list for over two months and won the prestigious Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award. Roots-savvy British critic Charles Shaar Murray assesses the lifework of guitarist Jimi Hendrix in the context of black musical tradition, social history, and the upheaval of the 1960s. of photos. (Music)

Customer Reviews:

Incomparable Analysis of Hendrix's Influence on Music and Society .......2005-08-04

This is not your typical chronological biography of an influential figure. In this outstanding piece of literary work, Charles Murray delves far beyond the superficial facts into far more profound terrritory. The author sets the standard by which all books dealing with the subject matter of Hendrix and era surrounding his meteorical ascension to the pinnacle of the fledging American rock culture should be judged. Thoroughly researched, the book is annotated with richly descriptive language that sheds new light on the role the cultural, social and political dynamics played in shaping Hendrix's life and the opposing impact he had on these dynamics. Paraphrasing an observation made by a prior reviewer, Murray transcends the almost inexplicable emotion evoked by Hendrix's art into eloquent, thought provoking prose. I found myself rereading many of the passages because I was so struck by the author's incisive and beautifully written statements.

The chapter's are as follows (possibly out of order and an omission or two as I recently lent my copy to a friend):

Chapter 1: The 60's, or the "We Decade". Murray delves into factors that engender the policitical, social, and musical climate of the late 60's within Britain and the United States. He astutely examines the contradictions, successes, failures, and outcomes from one of the most compelling eras of the last century. Hendrix's role as an iconic figure is also discussed in detail. The themes established here reemerge at various stages throughout the remaining chapters of the book.

Chapter 2: The Facts about Hendrix. The author reviews all the pubically known facts in a very straight forward fashion.

Chapter 3: Hendrix and women. Murray explores the background of women as the subject matter in rock and blues music and Jimi's volatile relationship with the female form. He analyzes how the influence of Jimi's "muse" manifested herself in various forms within his lyrics.

Chapter 4: Hendrix's role as a racial figure. Murray closely investigates all the elements encompassing the paradox of Jimi's cultural status: A black man playing to a white audience playing music popularized by whites rooted in the black musical tradition of blues.

Chapter 5: A critical comparison of his career with Robert Johnson's and Charlie Christian's; two fellow African American guitarists who similarily rose quickly to prominence, gained legendary status, and left a profound impact on Western Musical tradition.

Chapter 6: Hendrix and the Blues. An inciteful history (although brief by comparison since their are entire books on the subject) of the blues within the context of American and British culture as well as an exploration into how the african american muscial form influenced Hendrix and his place in history as one of its most important purveyor of the blues.

Chapter 7: Hendrix and Soul music. Describes the birth and growth of soul music, its influence on Henrdrix, and his corresponding influence upon the genre.

Chapter 8: Hendrix and Jazz music. Similiar to the previous chapter in its framework, it also explores what Hendrix might have done had been granted an opportunity to fulfill his musical potential and desires. Murray also establishes Hendrix as a seminal influence to the fusion movement.

Chapter 9: Categorizing Hendrix. A short but necessary acknowledgement using Hendrix as the definitive example of how it is impossible to categorize music without performing somewhat of a disservice to the artist.

Each chapter is carefully interwoven with quotes from Hendrix's comtemporary musicians, modern day artists (at the time of publication), other seminal literary works on music, as well as Hendrix's own lyrics and interview quotes. They provide an effective framework to buttress Murray's analysis and to serve as a transitional device between tangential arguements.

The size and depth of Murray's bibliography is as impressive as writing. It is another example of the level of scholarship at which he operates at. Also included is an exhaustive list of albums by other artists seperated by genre that either had an influence on Hendrix or were influenced by Hendrix.

Echoeing Robert Palmer's comments on the book jacket, "The artistry of this book is equal to that of its subject matter". If you want a traditional biography, this might not be exactly what you are searching for. However, if you seek to go beneath the surface of the iconoclastic Hendrix, his music, and the times he lived in, there is no better source. A truly illuminating experience and arguably the greatest book on rock'n'roll ever written.

Superb Analysis.......2004-05-03

Although most fans will be content with the 'Electric Gypsy' bio (which is equally good), "Crosstown Traffic" is more than a mere biography, and as such, invaluable for all Jimi fanatics.

The book is 1/4 bio, 1/4 Jimi's influences (as well as those subsequently influenced by him), 1/4 comparisons between peers and other black artists, and 1/4 conjecture based on his final days.

They've included a list of bootlegs (obviously out of date, but still pretty comprehensive) as well as all legitimate Hendrix material, and a guide to Jimiphiles on what artists to check out that might catch their interest.

An Excellent Book.......2003-03-01

This is my favorite book about not only Jimi Hendrix, but Robert Johnson and Charlie Christian too. Occasionally Charles Shaar Murray gets a little carried away during his wordy descriptions, but it doesn't matter. If you want to learn about the evolution of African American guitarists, this is the place to start.

Life R&R and the whole damn thing.......2000-06-13

Perhaps the best book written on rock music.

The Most Insightful On Jimi Thus Far.......2000-04-28

Unlike the usual gossip-laden rock bios (which I sometimes relish too, I'll admit), Murray's book is a serious piece of work. I've yet to come across a rock author as capable as Murray in analyzing the most important aspect of our Jimi-worship-- the MUSIC. Murray's book delves into the sociocultural groundwork of Jimi's musical style, and makes very astute leaps in connecting Jimi's music to various influences. Murray is perhaps the most intelligent rock biographer I've ever read (and I've read most of the major ones). At certain times, it's as though Murray's descriptive skill nearly matches his subject's musical genius. In any event, this book certainly does Jimi justice. Murray's descriptions of some of Jimi's well-known material are awesome. He describes an instance of Jimi's tight playing as (sorry if I slightly misquote) a "propulsive ball of rhythm, densely packed with ideas," and so forth. Murray is singularly able to verbally express what we deeply feel about Jimi's music, but have a hard time explaining to others. You know how tough it is to convince non-believers why you KNOW that Jimi is a genius, when they think that he was merely a hyped-up, noisy, wildman-clown, right? Well, read Charles Murray's book. I think it'll sooth your soul, and you'll come away with a deeper knowledge and appreciation of his subject. Hats off to Murray!

Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Stories

Average customer rating:

Critical mistake or typographical error?
Good Book; Deceptive Subtitle
One of the fluffiest books ever written.

Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Stories
Scott R. Benarde
Manufacturer: Brandeis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Jewish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Jews Who Rock
Rock 'N' Roll Jews (Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art)
Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish
From the Lower East Side to Hollywood: Jews in American Popular Culture
Funny, It Doesn't Sound Jewish: How Yiddish Songs and Synagogue Melodies Influenced Tin Pan Alley, Broadway , and Hollywood (Suny Series in Modern Jewish Literature and Culture)

ASIN: 1584653035

Book Description

What Grammy-award winning band's Jewish members recite kiddush before their Friday night concerts? What member of a world-famous band blows the shofar at his synagogue on the High Holy Days? What famous rock musician packed his menorah as well as his drum set when preparing to go on world-wide concert tours? How did Judaism's historic affinity with music--the Torah was meant to be sung--translate into some of the best-loved rock 'n' roll songs of the past century?

Inspired by a backstage conversation with David Lee Roth during which the rock star revealed that he first learned to sing preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, Scott R. Benarde spent five years combining his love of Judaism, journalism, and rock 'n' roll investigating the Jewish contribution to rock music from 1953 to the present. Noting that outside of the Christian rock genre the media had rarely (with the exception of Bob Dylan) dealt with a rock star's religion or spirituality, Benarde was determined to find out how Judaism influenced rock music and the people who created it. Jews kvell when they discover that someone famous or accomplished in any field is a member of the tribe, but wouldn't it really be something if these celebrities cared about being Jewish?

Focusing on these musicians, singers, and songwriters, Stars of David offers a highly readable collection of short vignettes that demonstrate the rich strand of Jewish belief and sentiment that underscores the work of many of the best-known rock stars of our time. Among those discussed or interviewed are the legendary songwriting teams of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, performers such as Bob Dylan, Melissa Manchester, Janis Ian, Randy Newman, Billy Joel, Kinky Friedman (of the Texas Jewboys), and David Lee Roth, and members of groups such as the Tokens, Jay and the Americans, Country Joe and the Fish, Yes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bon Jovi, Phish, the Wallflowers and many others.

Benarde reveals how Judaism has played a greater role in rock music than we realize and discovers that many Jewish rockers are more in tune with their Judaism than we would have imagined. Based largely on one-on-one interviews with the artists, the result is a surprisingly personal and introspective consideration of faith, art, and the relationship between pop culture and spirituality. Also revealed is the sheer variety of the Jewish experience in rock 'n' roll: from the deeply religious childhood of some to the late-in-life religious reawakening of others; from the explicit use of scripture in song to the subtle yet resonant religious motifs that influence this most secular genre of music. With entertaining anecdotes and personal revelations enhanced by more than seventy photographs, Stars of David is not so much about how Jewish these artists are but ultimately, how they are Jewish, and how their Jewishness has affected rock 'n' roll.

Customer Reviews:

Critical mistake or typographical error?.......2007-09-09

In the preview, page 18, third paragraph, the book states a glaring error, perhaps it is a typographical error, but if not, it is a BIG mistake.

The line reads:
"His parents had arrived in the United States abord the Lusitania in 1925...".

The mistake?
May 7, 1915, the Lusitania sailed near the coast of Ireland.
At 2:10 p.m., a torpedo fired by a German submarine hit the side of the Lusitania.
18 minutes later, the Lusitania was history, just another collection in Davy Jones's Locker.

Good Book; Deceptive Subtitle.......2004-07-10

This is a very interesting, at times spiritually moving book, although it is ill-served by its deceptive subtitle "Rock'n'Roll's Jewish Stories." This book is NOT an overview of Jews or the Jewish influence in rock or in popular music. Those expecting discussions of Alan Freed or the Chess Brothers will be disappointed. Instead this book features over 50 profiles (mainly interviews) with a wide variety of musicians, all of whom are Jewish by one definition or another, several of whom are rock n rollers only by the loosest definition. (Peter Yarrow?)
Among those profiled are Bob Dylan, Mike Bloomfield, Janis Ian, Kinky Friedman, Stan Lynch of the Heartbreakers, Max Weinberg, Barry Goldberg, Peter Himmelman and Johnny Clegg. With the exception of Dylan, living artists are interviewed. (Dylan fans will find little new here.)Interviews were conducted with family members of those who have passed on (Bloomfield, Marc Bolan, Randy California.)
Because the questions focus on spirituality and Jewish identity (or lack thereof) these interviews are not typical of what you'd read in the regular media. Many of the musicians' responses are passionate, heart-felt, thoughtful and often provocative. Because the criteria for inclusion was Jewish identity of some sort, rather than record sales, many fine musicians who do not receive the media attention they deserve are included. For me, it was worth the price of the book to read the moving interviews with the wonderful and under-appreciated Genya Ravan and Marcella Detroit/Marcy Levy.
What makes this book a 4 star rather than 5 star book is the somewhat arbitrary choice of profiles. There is no explanation given as to why certain Jewish artists are profiled and why others are barely mentioned or ignored. It seems to be based purely on the author's whim or personal preference but this isn't clear. It can't be because certain artists refused to participate because there's no interview or indication of participation from Dylan. So the question becomes, why Bob Dylan and not Paul Simon? Melissa Manchester but not Bette Midler? Leiber and Stoller but not the wonderful Doc Pomus? Why profiles of the Blues Project but not of the J. Geils Band, another group with heavy Jewish concentration?
That said, if you are interested in any of these musicians, in discussions of Jewish identity or of spirituality in general, this is a worthwhile, interesting book.

One of the fluffiest books ever written........2004-01-16

The author likely put a lot of time into writing this book and not really wanting to disparage his efforts and trying my best to be fair, I unfortunately would not recommend this book to anyone who is looking for anything other than a bit of fluff typical of a rock and roll fanzine. Almost every 3 to 5 page chapter follows an identical formula, example; the subject attended synagogue, didn't attend synagogue, Bubbe played music at home, Zayde worked as mattress maker, and all these rock & rollers always followed the golden rule of Judaism. Surely there must be more information, insight or dare I say original research available on these people being profiled? As my company's Editor-In-Chief often said, "news is a surprise", "tell me something I don't already know", which this book doesn't even attempt to do. Buy it if you must, put it in reading rack next to the Loo and enjoy yourself for the few pages you'll be able to tolerate everytime you need a short reading diversion.

Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock'N'Roll's Last Stand in Hollywood

Average customer rating:

Re-live the fabulous hey days of the Sunset Strip
Rock 'n' Roll's Last Stand?
Great Read, Coulda Been Shorter
Great book
The cover is deceiving. If you were a teen in 1965, you need to see this book!

Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock'N'Roll's Last Stand in Hollywood
Domenic Priore
Manufacturer: Jawbone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me
Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius
Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus
Eye Mind: The Saga of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators, The Pioneers of Psychedelic Sound
Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector

ASIN: 1906002045

Book Description

On the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles in 1965 and 1966, an electrifying scene appeared out of nowhere, exploded into creativity, and then suddenly vanished. From the moment The Byrds debuted at Ciro's in March of '65 - with Dylan joining them onstage - up to the demonstrations of 1966, clubs on the Strip nurtured and broke The Doors, Love, Buffalo Springfield, The Standells, The Mamas and The Papas, and many others. This book captures the excitement of this great artistic awakening and explains its tragic disappearance.

Customer Reviews:

Re-live the fabulous hey days of the Sunset Strip.......2007-09-24

This book is a great in-depth tribute to the people,places and atmosphere
that made the Sunset Strip the 'place to see and be seen' Great photos..and tid-bits about all the clubs..who played there and how the local Government felt and acted upon the whole scene..also provides a list of all the clubs and their addresses..Don't pass this book up!

Rock 'n' Roll's Last Stand?.......2007-09-12

Priore's book on the Strip isn't bad at all. Highly entertaining in fact. As long as you're on board with his agenda of everything from L.A. in the mid '60s was brilliant and everything from San Francisco was crapola then you're in for a treat as his research was extensive. The garage rock chapter unearthed tons 'O bands I'd never heard of and even if he doesn't really tell you anything you didn't already know about The Beach Boys, Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Doors, etc he still puts you right in the center of all the action in Hollywood circa '66-'67. Rock 'n' roll may not have died after that but he convinces you that his rock 'n' roll did.

Great Read, Coulda Been Shorter.......2007-09-10

I loved this book because of the way it put me right on the Sunset Strip in the mid 60s, making me feel like I was sitting at Canter's Deli with Gene Clark and then dancing to The Byrds at Ciro's later that same evening. I also love the argument it makes about San Francisco's elitist attitude about its own 60s bands, versus those of L.A. Ask me to choose between The Grateful Dead and Love, between Moby Grape and The Byrds, between any SF garage band and The Seeds or The Music Machine, and I'm going with the Hollywood "cream puff" act every time. The book also makes you feel the tragedy of the collapse of the Sunset Strip nightclub scene, after the police effectively shut it down because some influential people in town didn't like the idea of the Strip being a place for teenagers to hang out and dance to groovy music. You get to know what a magical time and place the Strip was in 65-66, and it makes you want to be there. The only complaint I have is that at times Priore is too expansive, too exhaustive - it's hard to care after a while when he gives you countless details about every band who happened to be around the Strip through the mid-60s. That's a minor quibble, though, because if you don't want to read all that detail, you can skip over those sections. Otherwise, this is a great book which definitely and delightfully puts you in a cool time and place. And I love the Sunset Strip mid-60s street map at the beginning of the book.

Great book.......2007-08-08

A few mistakes in the photo captions but the author's heart is in the right place and the text is scholarly and quite engaging. Loved it!

The cover is deceiving. If you were a teen in 1965, you need to see this book!.......2007-07-30

It's amazing how many music styles melded on one stretch of road in one city during just a two-year period! This is not an ordinary road but the main one - Sunset Strip (actually Sunset Boulvard) - and not just any city. It's HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA!

Sure there were hard rock bands - the image you get from both the title and the cover photo of this fascinating book - but there were also the Beach Boys, The Mamas and Papas, Petula Clark and lots of small comedy and folk clubs. This was the music I gravitated to during 1965 and 1966 and I found lots to reminisce about on as I read and looked through this book. Of particular interest to me was the section on Teen TV shows which emanated from the LA scene. Though, growing up in the Philadelphia area, I was more of an American Bandstand viewer, we did get Lloyd Thaxton in the afternoon and, of course, Shindig! in the evening. Then there was the T.A.M.I. Show film - which still has never been legitimately been released on home video - and it was filmed there. Fiore devotes a large section to this and I learned things we "kids" on the East Coast never knew. Just looking at the picture, and reading the captions, was an experience.

I can certainly recommend this - as a memory jogger - to anyone who was a teen in 1965-66 and it'll definitely be a must for anyone who watch Rock and Roll television in Southern California in the 1960s.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock'N'Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock 'N'Roll

Average customer rating:

Awesome Read!
The Pinnacle Of Music Writing
the man who ruined rock?
Bang for the buck
Bridge-burning genius

Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock'N'Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock 'N'Roll
Lester Bangs
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste: A Lester Bangs Reader
Let it Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic
Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll: Fourth Edition
The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music
The Sound and the Fury: 40 Years of Classic Rock Journalism: A Rock's Backpages Reader

ASIN: 0679720456
Release Date: 1988-09-12

Book Description

Vintage presents the paperback edition of the wild and brilliant writings of Lester Bangs--the most outrageous and popular rock critic of the 1970s--edited and with an introduction by the reigning dean of rack critics, Greil Marcus. Advertising in Rolling Stone and other major publications.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Read!.......2007-05-28

My husband loved this book! It is chalked full of rock n roll history and the bonus of this is how it was presented in a different manner. Lester Bangs' colorful descriptions keep my husband laughing, reading, and passing it on for the next person to enjoy.

This was a great buy and my husband recommends it highly!!!

The Pinnacle Of Music Writing .......2007-05-06

This is, hands-down, the best collection of music writing ever, regardless of genre, regardless of time. Why? Because it's a piece of music itself.

In his sharper articles, Bangs got to the very core of what Punk and Rock 'n' Roll should be - what it represented, what it felt like, what it should feel like. Rock 'n' Roll was a religion and a philosophy that his writing promoted, at times maybe even invented. His writing was never merely a collection of album reviews. It often complimented the subject matter itself - his style emobidied the music itself. It must also be said that much of the greatness of this collection is largely due to the sterling efforts of Greil Marcus who seems to have grasped the essence of Bangs's gift and presents not a "greatest hits" compendium, but a selection of works that when considered as a whole, brutally ram home that philosophy.

By implication both explicit and implicit, Psychotic Reactions... is also a rumination on the human condition and its timeless truths. Reading these pieces from start to finish, we see Bangs' progression from a rather juvenile, if no less entertaining, pseudo-Kerouac to a deep and understanding writer with sharp and articulate observations of this confused world and the frightened and irrational people in it. It's this more than anything that strikes me as being such a great shame that he died a premature death. It's clear that his best work was yet to come.

So, don't approach this as a collection of record reviews. Don't expect to come away with greater insight or appreciation of your favorite bands. Psychotic Reactions And Carburetor Dung is the record itself, the literary equivalent of The Velvet Underground And Nico, The Clash and Nuggets. It's the end result in itself.

the man who ruined rock?.......2007-04-24

Lester Bangs is guilty of being one of the most pretentious and detrimental rock critics in the history of the gloriously varied musical genre. His narrow-minded opinion and self-impressed need to pose as a tastemaker frequently undermined the efforts of truly talented and generous musicians. Bangs, himself an inept hack of a writer and a shallow wader in the ocean of wisdom, could only understand and praise simplistic music. Why do I villify him? Simple - because he was a villain.

Bang for the buck.......2006-10-19

Lester bangs really could write. This is what you notice at first whenever you read this book which has been lovingly compiled. It is also essential reading for anybody wishing to explore rock since he provides some very essential reading and insights into the music. Better than the second book that would come out.

Bridge-burning genius.......2006-09-17

The late Lester Bangs has become one of the more improbable pop culture icons out there - a posthumous star critic whose value as a cultural commentator (or literary figure) could be endlessly debated.

But Bangs' great virtue - and the reason he remains compelling - is strangely moral: in a cultural landscape in which culture has (even in Bangs' heyday - the 1970s, and definitely today) been commodified and Balkanized to within an inch of its' life, Bangs was anachronistically committed to the idea of music that was passionate, honest regardless of its' genre, and might actually serve some unifying purpose: witness his humanistic assessments of Elvis, John Lennon, or Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks.' To this end, he wrote with an absolutely psychotic glee and an enthused passion that had the energy (and occasionally the effect) of a bull in a china shop.

Reading Bangs is completely unforgettable: poignant on Richard Hell and The Clash, which highlights his talent as a writer, when he set his mind to it. Elsewhere, his demented eviscerations of star pomp were carried to extremes no present day editor would allow: a fantasy of James Taylor being gored to death, playing Jethro Tull to the president of South Vietnam, or a xenophobic rant directed at the Guess Who (Canadians, guilty of - to paraphrase - putting down our women). His legendary back-and-forth with Lou Reed ("Will Yoko leave Paul?") is greatness.

Bangs would be the first to admit that he was no saint - as he recoils at his own juvenile attempts at being Lenny Bruce (the casually racist language sparingly used in his younger days), he writes it out, in a conflicted apologia first published in 'Village Voice,' and his recountings of New Years' Eve debaucheries manages to be simultaneously riveting and a little spooky. But here Bangs recontextualizes a rock-n-roll conceit of the 1970s - confessional writing, which - in the hands of certain singer-songwriters swiftly degenerated into vague navel-gazing - in Bangs' hands becomes something more primal - a conversational chart of a smart man's attempts (successful and not) to transcend past transgressions.

And so it is - to anyone interested in American pop culture, or at least music - this is an essential piece of the great puzzle, and an immensely vital antidote to the musty self-importance of so very many other cultural commentators. Bangs was unhinged, and flung language like a weapon (definitely a spiritual cousin to the likes of Hunter S. Thompson and Richard Pryor), and then as now, a bit of that is very necessary.

-David Alston

Rebel Heart: An American Rock 'n' Roll Journey

Average customer rating:

Poor Bebe
Juicy!
(Fem) eyes, wide open
What a beautiful soul!
Could have been good....

Rebel Heart: An American Rock 'n' Roll Journey
Bebe Buell , and Victor Bockris
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie
Let's Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies
Backstage Passes: Life on the Wild Side with David Bowie
Take Another Little Piece of My Heart: A Groupie Grows Up
Faithfull: An Autobiography

ASIN: 0312301553

Book Description

Rebel Heart is Bebe Buell's no-holds-barred account of her life at the center of the rock scene in the '70s and '80s, when rock stars were royalty.A wild child model who took New York by storm, Buell captivated a generation of rock's greatest talents.Her relationships with musicians like wunderkind Todd Rundgren, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler--father of her daughter Liv-Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page and Elvis Costello played out against a backdrop of some of the most legendary locales of the era: Max's Kansas City and CBGBs in New York, the "Riot House" in Los Angeles and Tramps in London.Bebe's spirit informed some of the greatest songs of her time, and her book is bursting with the stories she was a part of, the fun she had, and the music she helped make.

Customer Reviews:

Poor Bebe.......2007-08-30

What a pathetic piece of flotsam. Never "anyone" but chose to sleep with "everyone", boy or girl, no difference - if she thought that they could help her "career" - such as that was. "Was" may be too kind of an interpretation. A zero of a "model" who chose to hook her wagon, or legs, around anyone holding a guitar. This is a fun read just for its prurient nature, but her whole "poor me, I'm so talented BS" is shameful. She was marginally recognized for the men with whom she slept - nothing more. Liv, I'm glad that you rose above your upbringing - lucky for you your "mother" had very little to do with it.

Juicy!.......2007-07-14

I never heard of this woman until I recently saw an E! "rocumentary" about Steven & Liv Tyler, and Bebe spoke about her role in their lives.

Bebe Beull has been there, done that & then some. By the end of the book her life has come full circle which is no surprise. The reality is that many women experience similar situations in their lives, just not on the grand scale of living the high life while sharing free love with rock stars. Bebe is the poster girl for free love in the 70s & 80s; everything you imagined that lifestyle to be really WAS. It was exciting yet emotionally painful. Doors opened for her because of her beauty but then she experienced a similar midlife crisis that many women do where you have to answer to the the choices you've made, while your beauty perks start to wane.

There's something somewhat admirable about her ability to have sex freely with so many men. Lots of women would like to experience that but aren't so gutsy. (I'm surprised that she never mentions whether any of her friends or lovers died of AIDS, if AIDS affected her lifestyle...with everyone sleeping with everyone else you wonder how everyone remained healthy.)

Back to the book: Through it all, it seems she kept thinking someone else was going to take care of her, when, just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, she had the power to do that all along for herself. A part of her seems to never believe that she alone was enough,important enough, creative enough, smart enough to hit the heights. She gave her power away too often. But for women of her generation, and even girls nowadays who believe 'the right powerful, rich, sexy man' is the answer to their prayers, that is often the case.

Bebe speaks of her great posture & impeccable manners; these attributes may have given her an edge others didn't have. She's "every woman" in that she has a many-faceted personality-sweet & evil, manipulative & fair, a giver & a taker. After all is said & done, she realizes her love for her mother, cousin, daughter---family---is what matters. I enjoyed the book.

(Fem) eyes, wide open .......2007-06-06

What a cool read! I was shocked to see so many dismissive, abusive reviews at Amazon; probably written by a bunch of pothead dudes. Hey, just look at the cover photo - that hair! I'm gonna faint! And Buell's text flows with more introspection and wit than I expected. She really conveys the uberfem existence, floating serendipitously along the power trails of megadaddies. Of course, I had to envy her charmed fortune. No bimbo, she knew the score and her place in it. Did rather well, all and all. (I will confess, looking at her lyrics, it was obvious to me why Buell couldn't get it on as a recording star. Too bad she didn't get herself some backing vocal action going with the Stones or Aerosmith to prime the career pump. But, anyway!) Name-dropping good fun (with some understandable defensiveness regarding her professional split with moviestar daughter Liv Tyler). A lovable read, and no doubt a lovable lady. Thrilling anecdotes, fascinating photos - and a real keen descriptive eye on all the boys' personalities. Very feminine assessments of her famous guys - that's probably why the Amazon reviews exhibit so much rancor. Plus her insights into her emotional (and, sure, sexual) giving as a livelihood and philosophy communicates a lot about the world all women know. Compassion for sale! Beull had (and saw) the fun part, but she tacitly and effectively suggests how, for lesser fem mortals, it is a brutally uncertain world women inhabit.

What a beautiful soul!.......2007-05-25

The first time I read Rebel Heart I kind of dismissed it. For some reason I took it out again and reread it and much to my delight and surprise I was pulled in- all the way in.
It is one of those books that you have to digest, think about and then redigest. When you do that it all becomes clear. Bebe Buell is a good person with a beautiful soul. Not once does she come off as bitter or damaged. The opposite rings true. She is a trooper she is.
My girlfriend is also a big fan of this book. She reads it on and off still to this day and it came out in 2001. Talk about hanging in there!
Rebel Heart is one of those bios that stays with you long after you've read it. So much so you return for another dose.
*confession*-I was also inspired to pull it out after reading the new Iggy Pop bio by Paul Trynka- Bebe shines in that too.
What a gal. One of music's true muses. No doubt about it.
It is obvious why Liv Tyler turned out so well. She has her mother's survival skills and class.

Could have been good...........2007-03-11

I loved the stories, being a huge rock fan. I wish I had been alive in the 70's so I could do the things she did! This book, however, is very poorly written, repeats itself over and over, and Bebe Buell is a thoroughly unpleasant braggart. Try Pamela Des Barre's book instead.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books