The singer-songwriter discusses his early folk days and the history of the Youngbloods, from ‘Get Together’ to ‘Elephant Mountain’ and beyond
Author: Jeff Tamarkin
Jeff Tamarkin
Best Classic Bands Editor Jeff Tamarkin has been a prolific music journalist for more than four decades. He is formerly the editor of Goldmine, CMJ and Relix magazines, has written for dozens of other publications and has authored liner notes for more than 80 CDs. Jeff has also served on the Nominating Committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and as a consultant to the Grammys. His first book was 'Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane.' He is also the co-author of 'Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.,' with Howard Kaylan.
From “Helter Skelter” to his ties with the Beach Boys, rock music was always a big part of the story of the now-deceased murderer’s life.
The drummer, who played with the Bay Area band from 1967-69, is said to have coined the “obscene” version of the famous “Fish Cheer.”
A mainstay of the Greenwich Village folk music scene of the 1960s, he started out playing traditional songs but then wrote his own.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee scored his first chart-topping hit in 1952 and continued to be a major presence for several years.
The winner of 23 Grammys–more than any other engineer in history–worked with Elvis, the Jefferson Airplane, Dylan, Sam Cooke, Steely Dan, and many others
Although best known for his work within the jazz field, Johnson’s tuba graced such classic albums as “The Last Waltz” and “Rock of Ages” by The Band.
His many hit compositions included “Winchester Cathedral,” “There’s a Kind of Hush,” “The Crying Game” and “Daughter of Darkness.”
Said country/bluegrass great Ricky Skaggs in a tweet, “”Tony Rice was the single most influential acoustic guitar player in the last 50 years.”
We spoke with Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and others as they look back at the masterpiece. “It didn’t meet Capitol Records’ expectations so they took it off the market.”