I started mailing in reviews to Rolling Stone in the fall of 1968, about a year after it started, and they were printed. I began talking to the editorial staff—managing editor John Burks, editors Charles Perry and Ben Fong-Torres, all of whom also wrote and did interviews, and Jann, who I’d first met in early 1964, when we were both 18-year-old freshmen at Cal...
So much great stuff here, Greil. But from the bottom: I was interviewing Frankie Valli for the "Jersey Boys" phenom 10 or so years ago and we were talking about great songs. And he thought that "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was the greatest song: he recited every verse--and the Shirelles record the greatest record, partly because Goffin and King were so subtle, or the censors so clueless, that in his opinion, a song clearly about screwing was never red-flagged on the radio.
Bravo, Greil, for wandering into this melee and saying so eloquently and articulately what so many of us deeply feel — about the magazine we worked on together and so profoundly cared about.
Christine Doudna
ps… and how about Ellen Willis’s amazing article about a rape case, published in 1975?
Wow! This is a real treasure of insights. Thanks, Greil. I appreciate your highlighting Lester's piece on Dylan's "Desire" - I had never read it before. Brilliant!
Love this: "... just chording, as if stripping the strings as he plays down to some phantom string only he can touch." Sounds like a line out of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice!
Wow. I was totally blown away by the Wenner commentary. I often ask people if they could pick one person from the music community to judge us all upon our death, and my example is Willie Nelson. Just strikes me he would get it mostly right. I think I would now also consider Greil Marcus after what I just read. It is not lost on me that I chose two old, white guys but then in most people's book, that's what I am.
For those who might want to seek out the novel TRIPLE PLATINUM, the author is Stephen Holden (not Hoden).
Re: Michael Robbins's comment, Israel currently spends about $23-24 billion annually on its military, so the IDF is not "almost completely funded" by $3.8 billion a year in US aid, much of which is spent buying US weapons and munitions and thus subsidizing the US arms industry.
The idea that Greil ever wanted to write the "authorized joint biography" of any band, much less The Eagles, gave me a much-appreciated laugh today. Thanks, Don Henley!
Looking into that novel will be easier said than done, as it's currently out of print. You once recommended Ben Fong-Torres's book on the Doors. Are you sure you wouldn't do the same for his work on the Eagles?
Thanks for responding to my Daniel Wolff question; I loved the answer. But I should have clarified myself (my fault, not yours): are there any musical voices today such as Guthrie or Dylan that can address the current climate in a similar manner?
So much great stuff here, Greil. But from the bottom: I was interviewing Frankie Valli for the "Jersey Boys" phenom 10 or so years ago and we were talking about great songs. And he thought that "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was the greatest song: he recited every verse--and the Shirelles record the greatest record, partly because Goffin and King were so subtle, or the censors so clueless, that in his opinion, a song clearly about screwing was never red-flagged on the radio.
Bravo, Greil, for wandering into this melee and saying so eloquently and articulately what so many of us deeply feel — about the magazine we worked on together and so profoundly cared about.
Christine Doudna
ps… and how about Ellen Willis’s amazing article about a rape case, published in 1975?
It’s touching to hear from you. Thanks for writing.
I should have added, re the second question here, that the first edition of ‘The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll’ is the one.
Do you mean you consider the first edition preferable to the second edition?
Yes.
For any who are interested, it looks like the Ed Sanders Eagles book is in the Princeton University archives -- https://findingaids.princeton.edu/catalog/C1703_c63073-60135?fbclid=IwAR30W_QzAr2nyycB1q29VY3CDIc13n0_7qgfOVIywimve4dlNKffzU6ViuI
Wow! This is a real treasure of insights. Thanks, Greil. I appreciate your highlighting Lester's piece on Dylan's "Desire" - I had never read it before. Brilliant!
Love this: "... just chording, as if stripping the strings as he plays down to some phantom string only he can touch." Sounds like a line out of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice!
I love that book. And I can even hear what you mean.
The movie is worthwhile, too. They had me at "Vitamin C" on the soundtrack
Whitten gives me chills when he sings about going downtown.
Wow. I was totally blown away by the Wenner commentary. I often ask people if they could pick one person from the music community to judge us all upon our death, and my example is Willie Nelson. Just strikes me he would get it mostly right. I think I would now also consider Greil Marcus after what I just read. It is not lost on me that I chose two old, white guys but then in most people's book, that's what I am.
This was a great read.
For those who might want to seek out the novel TRIPLE PLATINUM, the author is Stephen Holden (not Hoden).
Re: Michael Robbins's comment, Israel currently spends about $23-24 billion annually on its military, so the IDF is not "almost completely funded" by $3.8 billion a year in US aid, much of which is spent buying US weapons and munitions and thus subsidizing the US arms industry.
The idea that Greil ever wanted to write the "authorized joint biography" of any band, much less The Eagles, gave me a much-appreciated laugh today. Thanks, Don Henley!
Thanks. Hoden was a typo. Will fix.
Looking into that novel will be easier said than done, as it's currently out of print. You once recommended Ben Fong-Torres's book on the Doors. Are you sure you wouldn't do the same for his work on the Eagles?
Sorry if my asking this went against protocol. You can edit it out and hold it over for the next AskGreil if you want.
Thanks for responding to my Daniel Wolff question; I loved the answer. But I should have clarified myself (my fault, not yours): are there any musical voices today such as Guthrie or Dylan that can address the current climate in a similar manner?