A Brief History of Rock and Roll [Paperback]

Nick Johnstone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 2007

Rock and Roll was born in 1956. In that year, Elvis released Heartbreak Hotel; Chuck Berry sang "Roll Over Beethoven;" Little Richard blurred the boundary with "Tutti Fruitti;" Janis Martin sang for women with "Drugstore Rock and Roll;" while pop music hit the big screen with "Rock Around the Clock." In one year the youth quake went overground. Music journalist Nick Johnstone charts the events of this turning point and the origins of rock and roll, showing how the DNA fused in that one burst of creativity persisted for the next 50 years.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Exceptional, immensely touching... compulsory reading.' The Face 'One of the most courageous and moving books published in a very long time.' Uncut" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Nick Johnstone is a music journalist for Mojo Uncut, Melody Maker, and writer. He is the editor of The Melody Maker History of 20th Century Popular Music. He has interviewed all the major names in pop, rock and country including Keith Richards, Lou Reed, Richard Hell, John Cale, Elliott Smith, The Flaming Lips, Ronnie Wood, Ryan Adams, Rickie Lee Jones, and Rod Stewart. He lives in London, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (November 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786720514
• ISBN-13: 978-0786720514
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,292,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shake, Rattle and What?, February 3, 2009

By 

K. Williams "Codger from the Black Lagoon" (Douglasville, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Brief History of Rock and Roll (Paperback)

The first thing that any potential purchaser of this book should know is that the author is apparently from Canada or Great Britain. While nothing in the book directly states this, phrasing such as "attending university" (instead of "college") and spelling color with a "u" (colour) tells me he is not a native of the U.S.A. Does this matter? Maybe or maybe not. What it does mean is that this is an outsiders version of the history of a music genre that was created wholly in this country and so some of the authors views may be slanted a bit. The good news is that some parts of the book are very informative. For instance, if you thought Elvis breezed into Sun Records and Sam Phillips heard him and made him an instant star, then you are in for a shock. The bad news is that other areas and artists of the time are not so well documented. A lot of print is expended on Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent (who were very influential in England) while the Everly Brothers and Pat Boone are barely mentioned. Also, the structure of the book bounces around in time to an extent that it can be rather confusing in terms of how events relate to each other. Overall, I'm glad I read this book, but I have to tell you that when I finished it I was a little depressed. We all know the fate of most of the early rock and roll stars and it's all brought to bear in the closing pages. All in all, a worthwhile read as long as you're prepared for what you're getting.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Riddled with Errors!, October 7, 2010

By 

Charles Marlow Dorrough - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Brief History of Rock and Roll (Paperback)

Although the book was a good overall introduction to early rock n roll, it badly needs a proofreader. I've never seen so many glaring mistakes in a history book. Here's a sample - the wrong birth date for Elvis (p.86), Wynonie Harris was white (p.105), the Rolling Stones single "Little Mother's Helper" (p.130). There are many more, just read the book and they'll leap off the page at you. In fact, let's compare notes.