I really think you should read this book
I’ve just read Nik Cohn’s 1969 history of pop Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom.
What a brilliant book. If you haven’t read it, and you like music: buy it now and take it on holiday with you.
Cohn was just the right person writing exactly the right book at the right time. Aged only 22 (22!!!!), he was part of the first generation to grow up through the birth of pop: and he loved its energy and excitement. And he combined this love of the subject with a spectacular knowledge and understanding of the industry, and a writing style that crackles effortlessly from one idol to the next.
The timing was also important: Elvis was still alive, The Beatles were still together, The Stones had just released Beggar’s Banquet, and the Who had just put out Tommy. All these bands were huge, but all had lost the raw energy they started with - and gone into slightly more mature waters (something Cohn isn’t necessary a fan of).
He loved Highschool doo-wap, thinks the Beatles lost it after taking acid; that Dylan was good and had a huge influence on pop, but nothing like the Messiah figure he was claimed to be (”In my own life, the Monotones have meant more in one line of Book of Love than Dylan did in the whole Blonde on Blonde“); that after Brian Jones the Stones were all about Jagger. No-one is above criticism (except Aretha Franklin and Little Richard), but to him Pop as a phenomenon is much, much more than the individuals involved.
Partly because of his proximity to the subject, and partly because of his fantastic writing style: he manages to say more about all these artists at their peak in a few paragraphs than any 5,000 word feature you’ll read today.
He also shows an understanding of the realities of the pop industry that pre-dates Pop Idol by 30 odd years, when he says of The Monkees:
“How computerized can pop become? The simple answer is, very.
Always, it depends on exposure. If you have the basic equipment, meaning that you look good and you can talk and don’t pick your nose in public, if you are then hyped into something like your own TV show, you can hardly miss. If on top of that, you’re given a sustained press build-up and you don’t make dumb records, you’re foolproof”.
End of story. Now let’s move on.