SECTION THREE
EMAIL PAGE TWO
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COLUMN
114, FEBRUARY
1, 2005
(Copyright © 2003 The Blacklisted Journalist)
RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOTT
RAMBLIN' JACK VISITS AUSTRALIA
Subject:
Ramblin' Jack
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 02:17:29 +1100
From: Stan Jarin stanley_@tpg.com.au
To: info@blacklistedjournalist.com
Sir,
Your
website is, in my opinion, an extraordinary chronicle and archive. Thank you for
making this good thing for us all to share.
Apropos
of nothing... I am in Melbourne, Australia. My lifelong hero since I was
thirteen in 1965 has been Ramblin' Jack Elliott, for whatever reason causes us
to have heroes. Naturally enough, after all those decades I despaired of ever
having the chance to see him perform, never mind meeting him.
Imagine
my surprise to have Jack stay at our house for a month this year.
It
was an amazing episode. Jack comes just as advertised, of course. Sometimes the
grand old sailor cowboy, sometimes, when he is in his tweed jacket browsing an
antiquarian bookshop, he seems the grand old man of letters, sometimes when
loping Groucho-like down a Sydney street on spying a strapping, scantily clad
blonde, the grand old man of lechers.
Anyway,
he remembers you well, when I asked, when the tide of conversation happened to
drift to New York and Bob (which he didn't make a point of doing, unless
prompted).
Jack's
stories are connected to each other only as tangents, which, collectively and
geometrically, create a wonderful, fragile crystalline structure.... of no shape
at all, but beautiful to observe.
In
the Sydney hotel cocktail bar, the day we picked him up at the airport... the
bar's walls are covered with framed photos of celebrities who have stayed there.
There is a picture of Dylan near the door. As Jack strides out to the bathroom,
in passing he takes a pistol shot with his index finger at the picture and snaps
"Bob!", without turning his head, breaking his stride or otherwise
apparently noticing it. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen.
Dunno
why I'm sending you this, just felt like it.
Best
regards,
Stan ##
*
* *
CHERYL LIKES MY BOBBY DARIN BOOK
Subject: Re: Bobby Darin Was a Friend of Mine
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 18:40:38 -0800 (PST)
From: Cheryl cc20201@sbcglobal.net
To: info@blacklistedjournalist.com
Hi Mr. Aronowitz,
Thank you for your biography of Bobby Darin. I enjoyed Dodd Darin's book very much, and it was a treat to read about Bobby from another real insider's
viewpoint. Also, I thought it was telling that your book, of the current releases, was the one that had Steve Blauner "speaking."
By the way, if Bobby wasn't such a great chess player to begin with, perhaps there's still hope for me!
Best always,
Cheryl ##
* * *
JODY SAYS MY 'BOB DYLAN AND THE BEATLES' IS A GREAT READ
Subject:
Great read
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 19:25:22 -0600
From: "Jody Denberg" jdenberg@texas.net
To: info@blacklistedjournalist.com
Hello
Mr. Aronowitz -
A
friend gave me your Dylan/Beatles' book a few months ago and my life finally
slowed down enough for me to read it. What a great read!
I
am a 45-year-old New Yorker who programs a radio station in Austin, Texas. I
have lived here since college days, written for mags like Texas Monthly, Austin
Chronicle etc etc. I have been on the air since 1981. My station is very
eclectic (you mentioned the Old 'HFS - visit www.kgsr.com if you get the
notion...)
I
also produce interview discs with artists as promo CDs for the major labels (BB
King, McCartney, Ringo, Tom Waits, Joni, Yoko, Steely Dan, Emmylou etc etc). The
interviews are transcribed at our site if you wanna take a peak.
Anyway,
I appreciate your role in my r-n-r history. Several names in your book (Bob
Neuwirth, Steve Leeds, Loudon Wainwright) re people I have crossed paths with
recently. Reading your book was like meeting an old friend I never knew I had
(except I did know your name through Lennon's Alaronowitz mumbles during his
poetry reading!).
I
hope you have found some peace in your life. Bless ya. Thanks for sharing your
experiences.
Jody
Denberg
Austin, Texas.
PS I have Mr. Taylor's Genesis Publications book. I especially enjoyed your tales of Derek and the unsung Mal and Neil. And George H---a saintly as one would like to think yet human like us all. Glad you 2 reconnected in 1992. I attended the Concert For George and felt his spirit their very strongly... ##
*
* *
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
". . .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
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
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