Posts From Jeff Tamarkin

Jeff Tamarkin

Jeff Tamarkin

Best Classic Bands Editor Jeff Tamarkin has been a prolific music journalist for nearly five decades. He is formerly the editor of Goldmine, CMJ and Relix magazines, has written for dozens of other publications and has authored liner notes for more than 80 CDs. Jeff has also served on the Nominating Committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and as a consultant to the Grammys. His first book was 'Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane.' He is also the co-author of 'Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.,' with Howard Kaylan, and 'Carlos Santana: Love, Devotion, Surrender: The Illustrated Story of Santana's Musical Journey.'
The Scene: The Classic Rock Legacy

Seals and Crofts: Diamonds in the Rough

Their ’70s top 10 hits–“Summer Breeze,” “Diamond Girl” and “Get Closer”–told only part of the story. The soft-rockers had been around for years by then.

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FEATURES: Interviews

Beach Boys’ Al Jardine Interview—’Pet Sounds’: ‘Ahead of Its Time’

The Beach Boys’ founding member Al Jardine speaks with Best Classic Bands on the making of the group’s iconic album, ‘Pet Sounds’

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FEATURES: Spotlight Feature

A World of Their Own: Australia’s Seekers Gave Us More Than ‘Georgy Girl’

The Australian folk-rock quartet’s big hits also included “I’ll Never Find Another You” and “A World of Our Own.”

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NEWS PLUS: RIP – Rock In Perpetuity

Jimy Sohns, Shadows of Knight Singer (“Gloria”), Dead at 75

The singer was only 16 when he co-founded the Chicago-based garage-rock band that would record one of the great covers of the ’60s.

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REVIEWS: Films/DVDs

Linda Ronstadt Documentary Review: ‘I Have to Sing’

From the beginning of her career, Ronstadt was never not going to be a sensation. Only the natural course of life could make her stop singing.

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FEATURES: Interviews

Little Feat’s Paul Barrere On the Band’s Legacy

“The most important part is the music itself. When we get together and we play these songs, it always brings the best out in you.”–Paul Barrere

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NEWS PLUS: RIP – Rock In Perpetuity

Cynthia Plaster Caster, Groupie Who Made Art From Rockers’ Genitals, Dead at 74

Using a substance utilized for dental molds, she immortalized rockers’ “junk,” with Jimi Hendrix, Eric Burdon and other musicians posing for posterity..

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NEWS PLUS: RIP – Rock In Perpetuity

Art Rupe—Label Owner Who Signed Little Richard and Sam Cooke—Dies at 104

A gospel music fan who moved into the fields of R&B and early rock ‘n’ roll, his Specialty Records label gave us some of the greatest classics of the era.

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FEATURES: Interviews

Idol Chatter: An Interview with the Late Bobby Rydell

“They wouldn’t pull the hair so much, but they would go for a tie or a cufflink.”–The 50s/’60s teen idol on his over-enthusiastic fans.

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NEWS PLUS: RIP – Rock In Perpetuity

Bobby Rydell, ’50s/’60s Singer, Actor and Teen Idol, Dead at 79

Part of a wave of young, Philadelphia based teen idols, his hits included “Wild One” and “Volare,” and he starred in ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ with Ann-Margret.

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