Book review – music history
A countercultural upheaval
‘New York stories in a way are always real estate stories,’ says the journalist Alan Light in Lizzy Goodman’s bustling…
Was 1971 really the best ever year for music?
According to David Hepworth, the year he turned 21 was also the year when ‘a huge proportion of the most…
Big names and broken souls: storm clouds gather over Woodstock’s summer of love
In 1963, when the bloom was still on the rose, Bob Dylan described Woodstock as a place where ‘we stop…
Everything you always wanted to know about Sixties pop —and more
It might seem an odd choice, but after reading Jon Savage’s new book, I think if I had a time…
The polyphonous Babel of global music
‘Following custom, when the Siamese conquered the Khmer they carried off much of the population, including most of their musicians,…
The times really were a-changin’ — when Dylan electrified his fans
Five songs, only three of which were amplified. Thirty-five minutes, including interruptions. That’s how long Bob Dylan played for at…
Copyright: the great rock’n’roll swindle
For a music fan, the quiz question, ‘Who wrote “This Land is Your Land”?’ might seem laughably easy. Yet if…
While I was wining and dining bands, the future of the music industry was stealing CDs in North Carolina
In 1994 I was working in marketing at London Records, a frothy pop label part-owned by the Polygram Group —…
The poor drummer is music’s goalkeeper — you only notice him if he screws up
Tony Barrell can’t play the drums, but he’s in awe of those who can. ‘A band without a drummer is…
Count Basie, Aretha Franklin, Elvis, Bob Dylan - all the greats ultimately owe their fame to the faceless ‘record men’
The crucial thing to remember about the music business is that it’s a business. If you happen to be creating…
Chris Barber should let someone meaner tell his story
Chris Barber, still going strong with his big band, was born in 1930. He heard jazz as a schoolboy on…
The yes-no-maybe world of Harrison Birtwistle
For better or worse, we live in the age of the talking composer. Some talk well, some badly, a few…
