Posts From Jeff Tamarkin
When Brownsville Station Were Smokin’
Back in 1973, lots of high school students took extra bathroom breaks since that was generally the only place they could light up. The backstory of a classic
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The Gentrys’ ‘Keep on Dancing’: Behind the ’60s Garage Classic
The Memphis septet took an obscure R&B tune and turned it into a top 5 rocker in 1965. The story behind the recording–and the band–is fascinating.
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Peter Asher Q&A: Producing Linda Ronstadt
In our detailed interview, the master producer talks about his work with Ronstadt, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and more
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Friend & Lover ‘Reach Out of the Darkness’: So Groovy Now
The peace-and-love message of the song resonated in 1968, a relic of its time
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Journey and the Final Scene of The Sopranos
One of the most highly anticipated, and nerve-wracking, episodes in TV history was the finale of this classic crime show. The music was supplied by Journey.
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The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday and Today’: Should It Ever Have Existed?
The album was slapped together from odds and ends by Capitol Records, without the band’s participation. And what was up with that cover?
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Iron Butterfly’s Classic ‘In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida’
The single and album signaled a shift from the psychedelic sound toward something more aggressive, loud and primal. Rock fans either loved it or hated it.
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Tom Jones: Sex Bomb on the Road—Concert Review
His voice is virtually indistinguishable from what it was when he first arrived well over 50 years ago with “It’s Not Unusual” and “What’s New Pussycat?”
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The Summer of Love, by Those Who Were There
In 2017, Graham Nash, Michelle Phillips and others assembled in New York to remember the headiest summer of all. “I was stoned all the time,” recalled Nash
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Jim Gordon: From A-List Drummer to Convicted Killer
He played on hundreds of hits but you wouldn’t find any gold records on his wall: Since the ’80s until his death in 2023, he was locked away for murder
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