Eric Wolfson on Elvis, the man who admired Nixon, and Elvis, the American brand On June 9, 1972, Elvis held a press conference about his upcoming shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City. By this point, Elvis had already begun his Vegas tenure and was largely viewed as part of the establishment. Midway […]
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Eric Wolfson on Elvis becoming an American cultural icon From the moment Elvis entered the Army, he rarely skirted controversy for the rest of his career. To do so threatened to divide the coalition of fans he spent his whole career building, and his domineering manager, “Colonel” Tom Parker wouldn’t have that. Specifically, the Colonel
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Eric Wolfson on the contested history of “The Memphis Boys” Elvis Presley recorded From Elvis in Memphis at one of the most unheralded sites in rock and roll history, American Sound Studio. The studio was founded by a maverick guitarist/songwriter/producer named Lincoln “Chips” Moman (his nickname came from a love for gambling), who helped launch
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Eric Wolfson on why he wrote about From Elvis in Memphis for the 150th book in our series Until now, Elvis Presley was the single most influential figure in modern popular music who did not yet have a volume in the 33 1/3 series. And at the same time, despite countless books about Elvis’s life,
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Zach Schonfeld on the significance of 24-Carat Black’s legacy I realize that 24-Carat Black’s 1973 soul-funk masterpiece may seem like an unlikely choice for the 33 1/3 treatment. I also realize that much of the target audience for this book series may not be especially familiar with 24-Carat Black. As I write in the book’s
Zach Schonfeld on the various dimensions of sampling When I tell people about my book about 24-Carat Black, I often mention that the group’s music has been sampled hundreds of times throughout hip-hop. If you’ve listened to, say, Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN, or Nas’s double-platinum album It Was Written, you’ve heard bits and pieces of 24-Carat
Beyond 24-Carat Black: A Sample Revenue Reading List Read More »
Zach Schonfeld in conversation with Jerome Derrickson While researching and reporting my 33 1/3 book about 24-Carat Black’s progressive funk masterpiece Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth, I tracked down and interviewed ten surviving members of 24-Carat Black. (Some from the group’s original lineup, others from the group’s Chicago-based second lineup.) These interviews were long and fascinating, full
An Interview with 24-Carat Black’s Saxophonist and Road Manager Read More »
Today’s the day! We are thrilled to announce the next batch of 15 books for the 33 1/3 series. From Kendrick Lamar to Britney Spears to Earth, Wind & Fire, we have a variety of new artists and albums to add to the series lineup. We look forward to seeing what our brilliant authors have
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Santi Elijah Holley on the story of Allen Britt and Frankie Baker While most murder ballads traditionally center on the murder of a woman by a man, a few notable ballads flip the script. The most immediate one that comes to mind is, of course, the classic ballad of the spurned woman, “Henry Lee” (or
When Frankie Shot Johnny Read More »
Santi Elijah Holley on the story behind Nick Cave and PJ Harvey’s ballad duet For young Americans living under the specter of the Cold War and imminent nuclear annihilation, where the ideological divide between younger and older generations was growing wider and wider, an obscure collection of bluegrass, country, folk, blues, and gospel music was
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