Here’s a true piece of music history we’ve just listed: Janis Joplin’s first recording contract, with Mainstream Records, signed by Janis and her Big Brother and the Holding Company bandmates on September 13 1966. From On the Road With Janis Joplin by John Byrne Cooke: Big Brother was first approached by Bobby Shad, the owner […]
Here’s a remarkable Grateful Dead collectible we’ve just listed: a set of four 10″ 2-Track tapes from the mixing session of the ultra-rare Grateful Dead single, “Dark Star/Born Cross-Eyed,” with nearly two hours of unreleased–and very different–mixes. As Dead collectors know, this single (with picture […]
Here’s a handbill advertising arguably the most important shows in Bob Dylan’s long career; his two-week stand opening for The Greenbriar Boys at Gerde’s Folk City in Greenwich Village. The first of these shows, on September 26, 1961, resulted in a rave review in The New York Times—the first article ever written about Dylan—and his […]
@ Mojo. It’s an early 20th century word meaning “a magic charm, talisman, or spell.” Muddy Waters sang “Got my mojo working.” And mojo is exactly why I collect records that were owned by my favorite musicians. The music of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, the Velvet Underground, the Grateful Dead and […]
Join me on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 1:00 PM Pacific Time for a virtual launch event for my new book, Sittin’ In: Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s. Mark Ruffin of SiriusXM’s Real Jazz will be interviewing me, followed by a question and answer session. Signed books will be available. Register here. For more […]
We’ve just posted a 3 1/2 minute video ‘trailer’ for Sittin’ In: Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s, which will give you an excellent idea of what my new book looks like (more info here.) And here’s some more great pre-release reaction (see more in the previous post). Vivid and beautiful Los Angeles Times […]
It’s less than three weeks until the November 17 release of my new book, Sittin’ In: Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s, and some great early feedback is coming in. The book is based on a newly discovered archive of jazz club souvenir photographs and memorabilia. Many jazz clubs of the era had in-house […]
Jazz giant Charlie Parker was born August 29, 1920; one hundred years ago tomorrow. The worldwide celebrations marking his centennial show just how much of a mark he made on music in his short 34 years on the planet. Parker looms large in my forthcoming book, Sittin’ In: Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s […]
I’ve been meaning to write about the almost incomprehensible death of Hal Willner (of Covid-19 complications) since his passing on April 7, but to be honest, I couldn’t figure out what to say. There have been some high profile obituaries and tributes (just google his name). My wife just sent me Elvis Costello’s moving remembrance, […]
Hello everyone, I hope you’re all well, washing your hands frequently, and staying sane. I’ve been meaning to write about the proliferation of fake sealed records being offered on EBay, particularly ones with bogus “hype stickers”. Resealed records have always been a problem. In the 70’s, I was friendly with an employee at Tower Records […]
OK record nerds, time for more Hendrix pressing minutiae. For many decades, like most of the rest of the world (or at least Hendrix collectors) I accepted the conventional wisdom that the first pressing of Hendrix’s 1966 debut single, “Hey Joe/Stone Free” on UK Polydor had red labels and a black and white logo. Yes, […]
It’s been two weeks since Gary Stewart, my dear friend of 44 years, took his own life, and I’m still trying to process it. We met as teenage college students and music fanatics; I was a clerk at the Rhino Records Store in Westwood and Gary was an enthusiastic customer. He was a management trainee […]
It’s a bit over the top, but here’s an article just published on Longreads about my discovery of previously unknown Stooges live and studio tapes (in 2002). For those interested.
A large percentage of the items we see advertised as having been signed or inscribed by Bob Dylan are forgeries. We’ve seen many fake signed albums, inscribed albums, magazine pages and handwritten lyrics offered online*. Some are being offered by shady dealers, and others from reputable sellers with no idea they are selling fakes. Just […]
Yesterday was a terribly sad day, the memorial service for my friend Robert Matheu, rock photographer, raconteur, author, music historian and above all loving family man. With his wife Sheryl he had three beautiful young daughters, Ruby, Rose and Veronica. Bob died of an accidental drowning on September 21, at the age of 63. Bob […]
For years, Hendrix collectors have argued about which version of the UK Electric Ladyland came first–the one with the white type or the blue type. In 2014, I posted what I hoped would be the final word on what I called ‘The Blue Type Hype’, about the mistaken notion that the blue type version was […]