OUR MOTTO:
IT'S GOTTA BE FUN TO READ OR HAVE A DAMN GOOD REASON WHY IT AINT

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A professional journalist since 1950, Al Aronowitz, founder, editor and publisher of THE BLACKLISTED JOURNALIST, has met and/or has known; or has had a friendship with and/or has had a close association with; or has interviewed and/or has written about some of the greatest figures to have ennobled our culture, including Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Michael McClure, Jerry Garcia, Phil Spector, Janis Joplin, Bobby Darin, Jane Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Barbara Streisand, William Carlos Williams, William Burroughs, Ernest Hemingway, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, David Bowie, Peter Townsend, The Band, Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride, Johnny Cash, Steve Allen and ad infinitum. Many of whom, if not all, are or will be featured in articles and stories on this website. 


A MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDREN OF AL ARONOWITZ:
Welcome Back to The Blacklisted Journalist
October 1, 2006

Several unusual events have impacted this site in the last 14 months since Al Aronowitz, the site's creator, passed away.

Shortly after his death, we posted an obituary announcement and updated the ads for our father’s now out-of-print books. We also reduced a few of his columns to excerpts, anticipating that these columns would soon be offered in book-form by a mainstream publisher.

Several months later, the Blacklisted Journalist site was “hijacked”. Passwords were changed blocking our access to the web server and email accounts. In addition, the updates we’d posted were lost and many of the later columns vanished. Apparently, the long-time server used by the site was compromised.

Then, late in August 2006 (a little more than a year after Al’s death) the “hijacked” version of the site was itself hijacked and re-directed to an inactive site rendering The Blacklisted Journalist defunct.

We apologize to Blacklisted Journalist fans worldwide who may have experienced frustration when trying to reach this site. However, we are pleased to announce that we are now in the process of reconstituting the site on a new secure server. Although it still is in the testing phase, we felt that the Blacklisted Journalist must be made available again on the web.

During this “testing” phase we will be:
• Activating new links and repairing broken ones
• Repairing formatting problems (ie. punctuation, font sizes)
• Implementing editorial updates (removing or amending some out-dated and/or redundant items and, in some cases excerpting some columns)
• Making minor navigational changes to help access the site more intuitively
• Creating new working links for our email addresses
• Upgrading the group email list for sending Blacklisted Journalist announcements

We will strive to preserve the look and intent of the site, making only minor updates. Once the testing phase is complete, we will submit The Blacklisted Journalist to search engines and make a public re-launch statement. We will actively seek links with “like-minded” sites, and occasionally post new columns, email submissions, and announcements.

We look forward to fully restoring The Blacklisted Journalist, and we thank you for your patience and support. Our stated intention was, and continues to be that:

This site will be posted indefinitely as a tribute to the legacy of Al Aronowitz, the "BLACKLISTED JOURNALIST", and will continue to offer readers compelling writing that's "Gotta be fun to read or have a damn good reason why it aint."

- Myles, Brett & Joel Roi Aronowitz


 

COLUMN 118, OCTOBER 1, 2005
(Copyright 2005 The Blacklisted Journalist)

Al Aronowitz,"Godfather Of Rock Journalism," Dies At 77


COLUMN 117, MAY 1, 2005
(Copyright 2005 Al Aronowitz)

SECTION ONE

MEMPHIS

SECTION TWO

THE WILD PALMS OF ETOWAH---IN PRAISE OF HOLY MADNESS

SECTION THREE

GUILT

WARNING!  FOR ADULTS ONLY!  PERSONS NOT YET 18 YEARS OF AGE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO READ THIS STORY.

SECTION THREE
EMAIL PAGE ONE
 


FOR AS LONG AS PEOPLE KEEP LISTENING TO BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES, PEOPLE WILL WANT THIS BOOK

"A masterpiece!" --- SALLY GROSSMAN, widow of Bob Dylan's brilliant original manager, Albert Grossman.

"This book is a must-read for all rock 'n roll aficionados!"---EAR CANDY

"An essential reference for demystifying what the author refers to as: 'one of the most self-destructive binges of creativity in cultural history.'"---HAMMOND GUTHRIE, COUNTERPUNCH MAGAZINE

"Required Reading for anyone and everyone who considers themselves fans, followers, students, or those just plain curious of the Golden Age of Popular Music"---GARY PIG GOLD, FUFKIN.COM.

"I love the book. I love the way you can open it to any page and start reading and it keeps you reading. The book is just fun to read." --LEVON HELM, Drummer of THE BAND from Big Pink.

"Ellis Paul and I love your book."---RALPH JACCODINE, Ralph Jaccodine Management.

". . .perfect for our times."---WOODSTOCK TIMES

"Adam Duritz (he's the lead singer and writer for the famed Counting Crows). . .was at my studio and couldn't put the book down."---STEWART LERMAN, RIGHTEOUS SOUND INC.

". . .a must read for anyone who loves, music, loves life, loves rock and roll."---TSAURAH LITZKY, author of The Motion of the Ocean, Baby on the Water, and  Goodbye Beautiful Mother.  

"I recommend it."---DOUGLAS HOLDER, IBBETSON STREET PRESS.  

".  . .It is a fascinating, insightful read. You are such a wonderful writer."---STEPHANIE LEDGIN, Music Journalist.

"I could not put this book of yours down for a minute."---ED GALING, POET LAUREATE OF HATBORO, PA.

"Quite simply, Al Aronowitz is a living legend"---JOHN FORTUNATO, THE AQUARIAN.

"Every student and fan of The Beat Generation, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones will want to read this book"---RON WHITEHEAD, POET

"Volume One Of The Blacklisted Journalist is the kinda tome what a fella can dip into at any given point and find oneself hooked within a couple paragraphs"---DUKE DE MONDO, BLOGCRITICS.ORG.


BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES, VOLUME ONE OF THE BEST OF THE BLACKLISTED JOURNALIST

The sometimes scattered chronicles of the rock journalist's friendship with a few of the most recognizable music icons in rock and pop history.

It certainly takes a bit of hubris to say that "the '60s wouldn't have been the same without me." But coming from Al Aronowitz, the former music columnist for the New York Post who was often called "the godfather of rock journalism," such sentiment is perhaps justified.  Here, in a compilation of many of his unpublished manuscripts, Aronowitz describes in candid yet affectionate detail his friendships with Bob Dylan and the Beatles.  As a music writer and fan who recognized the musicians' limitless potential early in their careers, Aronowitz decided to bring them together for the first time, in a New York City hotel in 1964, a meeting that also involved the Beatles' introduction to marijuana. His prescience was soon bolstered by the 1965 releases of Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited and the Beatles' Rubber Soul, both seminal albums that altered the landscape of pop music.  This landmark moment is just one of Aronowitz's colorful memories and musings of being a hanger-on with these legends and their associates, including The Band, Beatles manager Brian Epstein, poet Allen Ginsberg, deejay Murray the K and others.  Specifically provocative are the accounts of Dylan's erratic behavior and short temper, which often led to fitful confrontations and even the ending of friendships, including that between Dylan and the author.  It's also evident that Aronowitz was particularly fond of George Harrison, and the two remained friends until Harrison's death in 2001.  Most remarkable is the close proximity he maintained to these gods, whether he was at their homes, hoteI rooms, recording studios, or concerts.  Though his personal life certainly had its share of woes (particularly bankruptcy and his wife's death), Aronowitz exhibits a marked sense of pride---and rightly so---for playing a key role in music history,

An enticing backstage pass to the meeting of arguably the two most influential acts in rock history.


"BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES: Volume One Of The Best Of The Blacklisted Journalist is a golden stash box of Al's You-Are-There history of two thirds of rock's Holy Troika"---MICHAEL SIMMONS, LA WEEKLY.

". . .Amazing stories in this book" ---JAY LUSTIG, NEWARK STAR LEDGER

". . .Aronowitz has a place in the annals of history that nothing can erase"---DAVID DANKWA, GAZETTE LEADER

". . .Aronowitz has a simple, straightforward writing style that makes the reading go fast. . ."---JEFFERY LINDHOLM, DIRTY LINEN

"Aronowitz. . .witnessed things that most rock fanswould give an arm and a leg to see"---REGIS BEHE, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE REVIEW

"The best of Aronowitz's writing. . . offer riotous and rambling time capsules comprising detailed vignettes and told in a voice that's direct, disarming and self-deprecating"---MIKE MILIARD, BOSTON PHOENIX

". . .Addictive reading" ---GOLDMINE MAGAZINE

". . .If you are truly interested in the 'behind the scenes' events of people who spawned an entirely new direction in the time we identify as the sixties, this book is truly for you!"---JOHN ANDERSON, HOST OF THE "ON THE HORIZON" RADIO SHOW

IN THIS 615-PAGE PAPERBACK, AL ARONOWITZ, ACCLAIMED AS THE "GODFATHER OF ROCK JOURNALISM," TELLS YOU MORE ABOUT BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES THAN ANY OTHER WRITER CAN TELL YOU BECAUSE NO OTHER WRITER WAS THERE AT THE TIME. AS THE MAN WHO INTRODUCED ALLEN GINSBERG TO BOB DYLAN, BOB DYLAN TO THE BEATLES AND THE BEATLES TO MARIJUANA, ARONOWITZ BOASTS, "THE '60S WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THE SAME WITHOUT ME."


AND HERE'S ANOTHER BOOK BY AL ARONOWITZ!

THE MOVIE WAS FICTION. THE TRUE STORY IS STRANGER THAN FICTION: FOR MOST OF HIS SHORT BUT SPECTACULAR LIFE, BOBBY DARIN UNKNOWINGLY LIVED A LIE

". . .A highly entertaining and informative read"--HAMMOND GUTHRIE, THE THIRD PAGE

". . .Its 43 chapters provide snapshots of Darin's brief, sensational life" ---GOLDMINE MAGAZINE


CLICK HERE FOR PAGE TWO OF INDEX FOR COLUMN 117, MAY 1, 2005


CLICK HERE FOR

INDEX OF
THE BEAT PAPERS OF AL ARONOWITZ

ORIGINAL INTERVIEWS WITH BEAT GENERATION PERSONALITIES


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 1-10

The Beatles Meet Bob Dylan and Pot...Bird and Miles...Thanksgiving Story...Colin Powell Ducks Politics...A Left-Wing Jesus Freak...Behind Bars In Cuba...A True Ghost Story...The Great Jerry Wexler...Heart Attack High


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 11-20

Louis Armstrong...Marilyn Monroe...Jerry Garcia...A Non-Fiction Fairy Tale...More About The Beatles...Murray the K...Hanging Out With Dylan And The Beatles...A Quadruple Bypass


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 21-30

The Beat Papers of Al Aronowitz: Allen Ginsberg; Jack Kerouac; Neal
Cassady; A Beat Party; The Beat Prophet; The San Francisco Renaissance; Lawrence Ferlinghetti...The Death of My Sister Rose...Mick Jagger And The President


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 31-40

Persecution Of Bill Clinton...Paul Simon, A Giant...The Kennel Starr...Michael McClure...Amiri Baraka...Sacco And Vanzetti...Manuel Menendez...Ellis Paul...A Letter To Clinton...So Long, AT&T


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 41-50

More Beat Papers: Jack Micheline; Poets Invade Campus...The John McLaugh Group...Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell...Phil Spector...My Dylan Papers: The Woodstock And The Isle of Wight Festivals...Porn On The Web


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 51-60

A Columbus Day Poem...Do Teachers Need Guns...An Executioner's Story...A Childhood Memory...The Right Wing Coup...Jim Morrison...More Beat Papers: Philip Lamantia; The San Francisco Mission; Kerouac's Sacred Scroll


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 61-70

Angelina Jolie...GEORGEMANIA!...The Moons of Shakti (For Adults Only)...George Harrison and Me...The Young Jane Fonda...Embrace Islam or die!...The Central Ignorance Agency has some explaining to do to America...My last interview with George Harrison...George Harrison: A Mythic Hero...A Message From Allah...Call Me a Dylanite...Hate Your Government But Love Your Country


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 71-80

A Death in the Family...The Strange Case of Max Cantor...Does Bush Love Big Oil More Than He Loves America...Ray Bremser Memorial...Britney Exposed...The Ex-El Exigente of Pot...Wagging the Dog With a War...A Band of Hitlerites...Dennis McNally's Book About the Grateful Dead...The Velvet Underground


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 81-90

The Boy Emperor...John Lennon's Two Faces of Al Aronowitz...How I Nearly Made A Million in Rock and Roll...'The Dumb Sound'...A Very Bad Dream...We Are Being Ruled By Power-Crazed Madmen...Another G.O.P. Voting Swindle"...Who Owns Jack Kerouac...Blue Skies...May Is My Month


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 91-100

Bushies Knew More About 9/11 Than White House Will Tell...Back to the USSR!...Gregory Peck and Me...The Skin Cancer Plague...The 'Board' Will Oust Bush...Who Killed Amiri Baraka's Little Shani"...Voter Fraud...Chicago Will Be Nuked...A Bare Bones Version...Israelis Filmed As WTC Burned...


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 101-110

The 'Naked' Beatles CD...A Sizzling Baul...Our Boy Emperor Warns...Nader's Race To Be 'The More Despicable'...Jam Session And Booksigning Party...David Amram Makes Me A Living Legend...Ray Charles...Jungle Jim Flunks His Screen Test...Sleepwalking To Fallujah...Is Bush Fucking  Condi...


CLICK HERE FOR INDEX OF COLUMNS 111-120

Announcing A New Book, Volume Three...Lafayette Park Blues...A Sheep Is A Gift...Green Haven Correctional Institution, 4th Floor...Lean On Me...Sunday In A Red State...


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HYPERLINKED INDEXES OF SPECIAL TOPICS
RETROPOP SCENE
THE ART PAGES
SCHMAIKUS


ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

CLICK ON THE AUTHORS NAME TO GET TO A HYPERLINKED LIST OF THE AUTHOR'S CONTRIBUTIONS


LYDIA AISENBERG * GWEN ALBERT * AGITPROP BY MIKE ALEWITZ * PAT ANGELO * BRETT ARONOWITZRACHEL AVIV * BRETT AXEL * AMINA BARAKA * AMIRI BARAKA * JOE BAGEANT * MARGIE BURNS * CHRISTIAN BAUMAN * JOHN BENNETT * MAX BLAGG * ROBERT BOVE' * JOHN BRADFORD * RAY BREMSER * GERALD E. BRENNAN * RICHARD CAMMARIERI * B. J. CARRICK * PETER CHELNIK * TOM CHRISTOPHER * ANDY CLAUSEN * ROBERT C. COBB * CORDLEY COIT * PAUL CONANT * PETER COYOTE * ROBERT CREELEY * STEVE DALACHINSKY * EDUARDO DALTER * DAVID DALTON * PETER DARNELL * JOHN DAVID * MOHAMMAD DARAWSHE * DEEP THROAT * RICHARD DETTREY * ROBERT KLEIN ENGLER * TODD BRENDAN FAHEY * MIKE FARAHAY * PATRICK FENTON * DARLENE FIFE * NAT FINKELSTEIN * JOE FLATLEY * DENNIS FORMENTO * EM FRANCO * BRENDA FRAZER * JOSH ALAN FRIEDMAN * ED GALING * BARRY GARNEAU * DAVID GASCOYNE * BRIE GEIER * JERRY GELDZAHLER * GELSOMINA GILLESPIE * ALLEN GINSBERG * JESSE GLASS * GARY (PIG) GOLD * AARON SETH GOTRO * JOSEPH GRANT * JORDAN GREEN * HAMMOND GUTHRIE * BEV HARRIS * REG HARTT * RALPH HASELMANN JR. * RAUL HENAO * RICHARD X. HEYMAN* ART HINE * BOB HOLMAN * MIKHAIL HOROWITZ * TREVOR IRVIN * STEVE BEN ISRAEL * PETROCAN JACUZZI * ELIZABETH JASPER * DALE JONES * BIRGITTA JONSDOTTIR * ELIOT KATZ * GLORIA KLEIN * LUCY KOMISAR * MARK KRAMER * TULI KUPFERBERG * DAKOTA LANE * ERIK LA PRADE * LINDA LERNER * TSAURAH LITZKY * RON MARTINETTI * JOE MAYNARD * PAUL MCDONALD * PAUL MCKINNON * DENNIS MCNALLY * LEGS MCNEIL * MANUEL MENENDEZ * FRANK MESSINA * JOYCE METZGER * ESTEBAN MOORE * MERILENE MURPHY * MITCH MYERS * CHARLIE NEWMAN * MAGGIE NICHOLS * GERALD NICOSIA * CHARLES O'BRIEN * GREG PALAST * CHRISTOPHER L. PICK * WILLIAM PITT * CHARLES PLYMELL * MICHAEL DEAN POLLOCK * MARISSA POLNEROW * CHARLES POTTS * DOUGLAS PRINCE * MARK PUCCI * INDER DAN RATNU * EVAN RAVITZ * PANAMA RED * BOB RIEDEL * MATTHEW 'ANGEL' REMAK * WILL ROBY * JOHN ROCCO * LIONEL ROLFE * RICARDO SILVA ROMERO * LEW ROSENBAUM * BOB ROSENTHAL * MICHAEL C. RUPPERT * JACK SAUNDERS * LARRY SAWYER * RAVI SHANKAR * STEVE SHORROCK * SCOTT SHRUM * JULES SIEGEL * HERSCHEL SILVERMAN * MICHAEL SIMMONS * JOHN SINCLAIR * MARK SMITH * SOPHIA * STEVEN STANCELL * LAMONT B. STEPTOE * GARY STONECIPHER * JULIA TAVALARO * ASHLEY TOMBERLIN * JANINE POMMY VEGA * JOE VIGLIONE * KURT VONNEGUT * KHUN WAYNE * WEN CHU-AN * MICHAEL WHITE * BEN WHITEHEAD * RON WHITEHEAD * NICOLE WILLS * JOHN WILLIAMS * RAIN DENISE WILSON * A. D. WINANS * LEON WOFSY * ALEX ZOLA


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