Dennis McNally

Author, Historian and Music Publicist

  • Home
  • Books by Dennis McNally
    • The Last Great Dream: How Bohemians Became Hippies and Created the Sixties
    • Jerry on Jerry: The Unpublished Jerry Garcia Interviews
    • On Highway 61: Music, Race and the Evolution of Cultural Freedom
    • A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead
    • Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, The Beat Generation & America
  • Upcoming Appearances
  • Me and the Music Biz
  • Blog
  • Contact

College Rock: from Sgt. Pepper’s to Jethro Tull

August 25, 2014 by Dennis McNally

Loud, it turned out, wasn’t too terrifying, and following my first step into a real rock concert with Herman’s Hermits, I stayed interested. Of course, for the next year plus I was in Dexter, Maine, and that did not offer a lot of musical possibilities. So what I found interesting had to come … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Rock 'n' roll Tagged With: Jethro Tull, Music, Rock, Sgt. Pepper

My First Real Rock Concert

August 1, 2014 by Dennis McNally

Sorry for the delay on this…much happening on the book front (which I’ll share with you in the next newsletter, out next week), and I even took a fast but delightful vacation back east to see family… if you’ve never been to Casco Day (always the last Saturday in July!), well, you’ve missed America … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Rock 'n' roll Tagged With: British Invasion, Paul Revere and the Raiders

The Deep Roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll, part 1

June 28, 2014 by Dennis McNally

I started out talking about “On Highway 61” as “what white people learned from black music from minstrelsy to Bob Dylan,” and that certainly holds true. But as I’ve gone along – and as I’ve gotten tired of saying the same phrase over and over – I’ve come to realize that it’s also accurate to say … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Rock 'n' roll Tagged With: Elvis

Recent posts

  • Returning from the Writing Zone
  • Another Opening, Another Show…
  • On Highway 61 wins prestigious ASCAP music writing award!
  • What I was so mysterious about
  • Making Great Music — Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Copyright © 2025 · Dennis McNally

Return to top of page