Best Of

A selection of our top stories, for your reading pleasure…

MY BOYS: STERLING LORD ON JACK KEROUAC, LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI AND KEN KESEY

Benito VilaJuly 22, 2019

The longtime publishing insider and agent Sterling Lord is still keeping the Beat flames burning for Kerouac, Ferlinghetti and Kesey. PKM's Benito Vila spent a memorable day in New York with the 99-year-old prince of letters, the man to whom Jack Ker...

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TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS: KEITH MOON & WAYLON JENNINGS

Pamela Des BarresJuly 11, 2019

Could any two musicians appear to be more different than the solidly grounded country music "outlaw" Waylon Jennings and The Who's manic, sometimes maniacal drummer, Keith Moon? Pamela Des Barres found something to love in each of these men and remem...

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VIVIEN GOLDMAN AND REVENGE OF THE SHE-PUNKS

Eric DavidsonJuly 8, 2019

From her pre-punk perch as a record company publicist and journalist in London, Vivien Goldman immersed herself in the sounds that most moved her--reggae and then punk--and began making music of her own. She was the author of the first books on Bob M...

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‘WHERE’S THE BAG, MR. KARDASHIAN?’: OR, HOW I EXPOSED O.J. SIMPSON’S ACCOMPLICE AND SET THE STAGE FOR A TV EMPIRE

Burt KearnsJuly 3, 2019

Four weeks after the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, a tabloid news producer made a discovery that stunned the world and turned a family name into a billion-dollar brand. Twenty-five years later, Burt Kearns tells the story of his gr...

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ON THE ROAD WITH BOB DYLAN, REVISITED: A ROLLING THUNDER REVUE STORY

Larry Ratso SlomanJuly 1, 2019

Larry Sloman covered the Rolling Thunder Revue for Rolling Stone, and he got more than he bargained for, including his nickname "Ratso," courtesy Joan Baez. He shares some amazing memories with PKM from his time in the front row of rock & roll hi...

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PRIDE TV: THE QUIET GAY HEROES OF SIXTIES SITCOMS

Burt KearnsJune 28, 2019

The faces of these three actors were familiar to Baby Boomers raised on TV situation comedies. Their private lives were not. In a way, though, they helped to blaze trails for which they were never given credit. by Burt Kearns & Jeff Abraham W...

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HERE’S WHY KAREN CARPENTER MATTERS

Alan BisbortJune 20, 2019

The singing/drumming half of the 1970s' hitmakers the Carpenters died at age 32 in 1983 of health issues related to anorexia. As popular as she was in her lifetime, Karen Carpenter has, according to a new book, Why Karen Carpenter Matters, “generated...

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WHAT WAS THE FIRST ROCK & ROLL RECORD? DEKE DICKERSON SAYS IT’S ‘ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK’

Deke DickersonJune 14, 2019

In Part 1, Deke Dickerson lays out his belief that the template of Rock & Roll was forged by the jumping Rhythm and Blues combo The Treniers in the early 1950s. That magic spark happened in the seaside resort town Wildwood, New Jersey, in the sum...

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EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG: ROCK & ROLL WAS INVENTED IN WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY! – BY DEKE DICKERSON

Deke DickersonJune 12, 2019

Deke Dickerson charts the birth of Rock & Roll music—as we know it—to the early 1950s, and a little seaside resort town called Wildwood, New Jersey. Long before Elvis stepped inside Sun Studio, Dickerson says it was a criminally underrated musica...

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JACK CASADY: THE BASS MAN SPEAKETH

Benito VilaJune 11, 2019

One of the most distinctive bass players in rock history, Jack Casady came to prominence with Jefferson Airplane, but his resume stretches back to Little Anthony & the Imperials and forward to Danny Gatton, David Crosby, Warren Zevon and a memora...

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SEASON OF THE WITCH: WHEN AN AMERICAN RESHAPED BRITISH POP MUSIC

Richie UnterbergerJune 6, 2019

Promoter/producer/club owner Joe Boyd, with his production company Witchseason, introduced the world to some enduring artists in its time (1967-70): Fairport Convention, the Incredible String Band, Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan. He also produced Pink Flo...

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UNKNOWN PLEASURES: JOY DIVISION’S MASTERPIECE AT 40

David ChiuMay 30, 2019

The Manchester quartet navigated the post-punk waters on their own, self-releasing an EP and then giving the world what is now considered a classic album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979. Peter Hook, Joy Division’s bassist, and Jon Savage, author of new o...

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PETER LAUGHNER: AN UNFINISHED LIFE

Todd McGovernMay 23, 2019

Cleveland's vital and unsung punk scene would not be complete without a chapter on Peter Laughner. Laughner, who died in 1977 at the age of 24, co-founded legendary bands Rocket from the Tombs and Pere Ubu, among others. An amazing singer and songwri...

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Women of Rock Unite!: Oral History Project founder/director Tanya Pearson Explains How

Sharon M. HannonMay 7, 2019

Frustrated over a lack of sources about women rock musicians, a Smith College grad student decided to go to the sources themselves. Five years later, Tanya Pearson—writer, musician, archivist—has amassed a world-class archive of digital interviews an...

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Carol Kaye started as a jazz solo guitarist, working the club scene of 1950s LA, when she was asked to work on some studio tracks for Sam Cooke. Though she loved the bebop jazz scene, Carol was a single mother with three kids and so to the studios she went, eventually switching to bass. She ultimately changed the very sound and role of that instrument in pop music as a member of what drummer Hal Blaine dubbed The Wrecking Crew (but which Carol has called The Clique). By any name, these were the session musicians who shaped some of the biggest hits of the 1960s, after which she went back to playing live gigs and working in movies and television, writing and teaching, which she is still doing in her 80s. Michael Shelley talks with the amazing Carol Kaye for PKM. Read more!

John Battles on JOHNNY THUNDERS IN COLD BLOODAntonia expresses her motivation to write a Thunders biography in clear and concise terms , here. Though it's good that her book is being released again in any form , it's a gross injustice that there is not a readily available , affordable version that you can hold in your
John Battles on DADDY COOL: AUSTRALIA’S UNSUNG ROCK & ROLL GREATSI found a copy of "Daddy Who ?" recently , and it really does sound like The Flamin' Groovies on a more Doo - Wop tip. Much praise to Laing for such an exhaustive overview.
Juan howard on PRETENDERS DRUMMER MARTIN CHAMBERS REMEMBERS GUITARIST JAMES HONEYMAN-SCOTTI still watch the “kid” video with that pink Gibson non reverse Firebird guitar. Gone too soon, Rest In Peace.

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JOHNNY THUNDERS IN COLD BLOOD

DADDY COOL: AUSTRALIA’S UNSUNG ROCK & ROLL GREATS

SCANDAL! THE 1927 CASE THAT JUMP-STARTED THE TABS!

Best Of

FRED WILLARD WAS FOREVER YOUNG: AND REALLY REALLY OLD

SHOOTING STIV BATORS AND LORDS OF THE NEW CHURCH

DENNIS HOPPER’S BLUE PERIOD: THE MAKING OF OUT OF THE BLUE (1980)

Best Of

MY BOYS: STERLING LORD ON JACK KEROUAC, LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI AND KEN KESEY

TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS: KEITH MOON & WAYLON JENNINGS

VIVIEN GOLDMAN AND REVENGE OF THE SHE-PUNKS

‘WHERE’S THE BAG, MR. KARDASHIAN?’: OR, HOW I EXPOSED O.J. SIMPSON’S ACCOMPLICE AND SET THE STAGE FOR A TV EMPIRE

ON THE ROAD WITH BOB DYLAN, REVISITED: A ROLLING THUNDER REVUE STORY

PRIDE TV: THE QUIET GAY HEROES OF SIXTIES SITCOMS

HERE’S WHY KAREN CARPENTER MATTERS

WHAT WAS THE FIRST ROCK & ROLL RECORD? DEKE DICKERSON SAYS IT’S ‘ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK’

EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG: ROCK & ROLL WAS INVENTED IN WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY! – BY DEKE DICKERSON

JACK CASADY: THE BASS MAN SPEAKETH

SEASON OF THE WITCH: WHEN AN AMERICAN RESHAPED BRITISH POP MUSIC

UNKNOWN PLEASURES: JOY DIVISION’S MASTERPIECE AT 40

PETER LAUGHNER: AN UNFINISHED LIFE

Women of Rock Unite!: Oral History Project founder/director Tanya Pearson Explains How

JOHNNY THUNDERS IN COLD BLOOD

DADDY COOL: AUSTRALIA’S UNSUNG ROCK & ROLL GREATS

SCANDAL! THE 1927 CASE THAT JUMP-STARTED THE TABS!

MY OWN PRIVATE BASKETBALL DIARY: MEETING JIM CARROLL

HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT: UNRAVELING A MYSTERY