The Rolling Stone Interviews: Talking with the Legends of Rock & Roll, 1967-1980

The Rolling Stone Interviews

by Rolling Stone Magazine, Ben Fong-Torres (Editor), Peter Herbst

Some rock journalism celebrates rock’s vivid personalities and their life styles; some rock journalism explores musical tradition and the meaning of rock & roll as a cultural fact and force. The best rock journalism, the classic Rolling Stone kind, pursues both paths. The Rolling stone Interviews are the quintessence of the best. For in the Interviews, the premier rock artists themselves are drawn out by the most knowledgeable and skillful of the journalists to talk articulately, frankly, and in great depth about themselves, each other, their music, their lives, our lives and times. This collection of the best of the Interviews, newly edited and with commentary by the editors of Rolling Stone, is the ultimate history of rock & roll as understood and told by the people who made it and made it big--the legends of rock & roll. The Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Donovan, Bob dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, Billy Joel, Elton oh, G. B. King, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Keith Moon, Jim Morrison, Van Morrison, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Little Richard, Keith Richards, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, Grace Slick and Paul Kantner, Phil Spector, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Pete Townshend, Stevie Wonder, and Neil Young. The Jann Wenner, Ben Fong-Torres, Ralph J. Gleason, John Carpenter, Jonathan Cott, Jerry Hopkins, David Dalton, Happy Traum, John Morthland, Robert Greenfield, Charles Reich, Jon Landau, Patrick William Salvo, Stuart Werbin, Robert Hilburn, Paul Gambaccini, Cameron Crowe, Peter Herbst, Greil Marcs, and Timothy White.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Essays

426 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Rolling Stone is a U.S.-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner (who is still editor and publisher) and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.

Reviews

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donovan is pure gibberish--other guys who don't say anything are Dylan (twice), Little Richard with his Hollywood Squares bullshit and Jerry Garcia--although he was interesting talking about his early years and the class differences down there in Palo Alto. And I did like Dylan's line to that Jonathan Cott asshole (a cliche Rolling Stone geek) about wanting a different interviewer: "Someone who's not so knowledgeable. You're too knowledgeable." Townshend babbled the first time but he was loaded. Best interviews were (all surprises) Keith Richards (back when he was still alive), Paul Simon and Linda Ronstadt. And Joni Mitchell was fun--despite the Art. Interesting to hear people talking often about how bad reviews bug them and get under their skin. And Little Richard was interesting talking about his early days--plus we find out he invented the piano. Still, there were inevitably times when Frank Zappa's definition of rock journalism came to mind.

[gazoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Killer late night reading. I can't believe I missed these interviews in my youth. You get to listen to Keef before he goes into Exile recordings. Townsend rambles on about this imagined opera called Tommy and how the horror of Cincinnati actually helped the Who. And Neil Young struggles with the death of his guitarist in an open interview with Cameron Crowe of Almost Famous Fame. Rolling Stone was the only rock mag at one time.

[Elyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this awhile ago and it's probably outdated now, but at the time I learned a great deal about some of my favorite musicians and celebrities. The interview with Elvis Costello is especially memorable.

[Megnificentfig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book best thumbed through lying in bed on a Sunday morning. Classic.