Posts From 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 Beatles’ Forgotten Top 20 Hit: A ‘Sweet’ Story

A top 20 hit in the U.S., yet it has received virtually no radio airplay in decades and is almost never mentioned in accounts of the band’s early days.

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Woodstock Performers: Where Are They Now?

Many are still creating brilliant music. Here is a brief guide to the status of most of the artists who performed at the legendary 1969 festival.

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Bobby Whitlock—Derek & the Dominos Keyboardist—Dies at 77

In addition to his work with Clapton, he also contributed to George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass.’

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Sweet Dreams: 13 Timeless Early ’80s British Earworms

Those hits by Tears For Fears, Human League, Eurythmics, Duran Duran and others still grab us four decades after we first heard them.

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They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!

It was bizarre but an instant smash hit. Then there was a backlash. Read the strange tale of Napoleon XIV and hear the song that drove people mad.

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Terry Reid, British Singer Who Turned Down Led Zeppelin, Dead at 75

When passing on Jimmy Page’s invitation, Reid recommended a singer he knew named Robert Plant.

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The Great Lost Rock Festival of 1969

In a way better than Woodstock? Atlantic City Pop Festival – two weeks before the famed fest in Upstate NY – had a more diverse line-up, and really rocked.

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Rolling With Jerry: When Garcia Welcomed a College Kid to the Dead’s HQ

In the summer of 1971, the author and a friend decided to go visit the Grateful Dead. What resulted was an afternoon they’ve never forgotten.

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1971—The Year in 50 Classic Rock Albums

Bands that had only recently performed in ballrooms and college gyms now played arenas and stadiums—and sold millions of albums.

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Bob Dylan’s 1966 Brush With Death

He was living in bucolic Woodstock, having sought sanctuary from the noise, chaos—and drugs—that had consumed his life during the past year. Then he took his motorcycle for a spin.

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