Dear all: I’ve been working on a new book for the past few years, which will explain my silence. It’s about the deeper roots of the Haight Ashbury and the ‘60s counterculture, going back to the poets and abstract expressionist painters of the ‘40s, then all kinds of ‘50s culture … [Read more...]
Making Great Music — Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia
Today the Songwriter's Hall of Fame will induct, among several others, Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia into their exalted ranks. The Daily Beast asked me to write about them. They had a remarkable relationship, and it turned into a very interesting assignment. I touch on their time together in … [Read more...]
B.B. King, the Last Giant, Leaves Us
I’m still learning about this blogging thing, to put it mildly. Writing is fairly hard work (well, it ain’t digging ditches, but it takes effort), and I like to be lazy. So when word came that B.B. King had finished his run on the planet, I didn’t automatically say, “Ah hah, I have a column!” as so … [Read more...]
1958 to 1964: From Surf to Folk to Jazz to the Beatles
We came back to the states in 1958 and settled in Los Angeles, and my musical experiences toned down considerably. Even though I was in the San Fernando Valley, light-years away from the beach, we all – at least privately - thought of ourselves as surfers, and the music du jour was the Beach Boys … [Read more...]