"Chronicles the life and music of one of the greatest British singers of her time and the first female singer-songwriter to produce a substantial and enduring body of original songs, laying down the marker for folk-rock and collaborating with the likes of such bands as Led Zeppelin before her tragic and untimely death in 1978,"--NoveList.
Becoming Elektra tells the incredible true story of the pioneering Elektra Records label and its far-sighted founder, Jac Holzman, who built a small folk imprint into a home for some of the most groundbreaking, important, and enduring music of the rock era. Placing the Elektra label in a broader context, the book presents a gripping narrative of musical and cultural history that reads like an inventory of all that is exciting and innovative about the 60s and 70s: The Doors, Love's Forever Changes, Tim Buckley's Goodbye & Hello, The Stooges, The MC5's Kick Out The Jams, Queen and Queen II, The Incredible String Band, Carly Simon's No Secrets, and many, many more. First published in 2010, Becoming Elektra was praised as 'eye-opening' (Q) and a 'dazzling narrative' (The Sun), and for 'perfectly encapsulating the enigmatic, unpredictable spirit' of the label (Record Collector). This fully revised and expanded edition includes a brand new foreword by John Densmore of The Doors and draws on extensive new interviews with a wide range of Elektra alumni, including Tom Paley, Judy Henske, Johnny Echols, Jean Ritchie, and Bernie Krause, as well as further conversations with Holzman himself. It also adds two new chapters: a look at Elektra in Britain in the 60s and a reappraisal of the label's 70s output.
A candid frontline account of an illustrious gonzo career as an independent music publicist during the post-punk heyday of the 80s and 90s, featuring an introduction by Bill Drummond and new cover artwork by Jimmy Cauty.
'Many people who love music - or think they do - aspire to the A&R; role. Some are chosen. Very few succeed. Hardly any succeed as significantly and consistently as Andrew Lauder' Richard Williams