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San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle

The San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper, founded in1865, serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. Its online edition is published under the SFGate identity.

141 articles

List of articles in the library

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Ramsey Lewis Trio: Basin Street West, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 October 1965

'In-Crowd' Leader Arrives ...

Ten Years After, Dancing, Food and Entertainment: Fillmore West, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 November 1968

New Group at Fillmore West: Jazz Is Wildly Abandoned ...

Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers Band: What Southern Boys Can Do With Rock

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 February 1971

THE SOUTH is the fatherland of rock. Though not specifically indigenous to that area, rock's basic roots are steeped in the musical lore and tradition ...

Captain Beefheart A Success?

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 December 1972

NOTE: Nobody was ever more fun to hang out with than Don Van Vliet. We took a number of dinners over the years, including one ...

Bonnie Raitt: "I Don't Want to Be a Star," Says Blues Singer Bonnie Raitt

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 December 1972

DON'T LET her looks fool you. Behind that golden-haired, dimpled face lurks a lusty, rowdy blues mama. So what if she went to Radcliffe, her ...

Tower of Power: It's More Starvation Than Success for Rock Musicians

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 January 1973

THOUGH THERE is plenty of big money floating around the recording industry, few rock bands ever see any. ...

Johnny Mathis: Superstar Johnny Mathis Still Thinks About Jazz

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 February 1973

WHEN JOHNNY Mathis takes the Circle Star Theater stage next Friday, it will be the George Washington High star athlete's first appearance here in over ...

Sopwith Camel: New Orleans House, Berkeley

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 May 1973

KEEPING ALIVE the best San Francisco acid-rock tradition, Sopwith Camel can't be pinned down into an easy category. A Camel performance is likely to begin ...

Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Mike Bloomfield — Superstar — Had It All and Didn't Know It

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 September 1973

"I DECIDED I didn't believe all that tortured genius crap," Mike Bloomfield, the 30-year-old musician explained, "that some how there was a corollary between pain ...

Graham Central Station, Sly & the Family Stone: Larry Graham Has Left the Shadow of the Family Behind

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 January 1974

SOME PEOPLE might call Larry Graham cocky. The 27-year-old soul musician seethes with talent and finally has the means to unleash it. No doubt he ...

Crosby and Nash: The Crosby-Nash Whale and Fieldworkers Benefit

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 December 1974

AT THE END of the Bob Dylan tour earlier this year, Asylum Records president David Geffen threw a party at the swank Beverly Wilshire Hotel ...

Harry Nilsson: Nilsson Ratings: Injured, Brilliant

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 April 1975

NOTE: The interview had to wait until we watched the latest episode of the PBS series, The Ascent of Man. I asked Harry about the ...

Elton John, Wings: Elton John: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (MCA); Wings: Venus And Mars (Capitol)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 June 1975

Two Instant Hit Packages Full of Extra Goodies ...

Toots & The Maytals: Toots' Soulful Reggae — Direct from Jamaica

Profile by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 October 1975

THE FIRST American album by Toots and the Maytals, Funky Kingston (Island 9330) introduces Jamaica's most soulful reggae to this country virtually as well as ...

Captain and Tennille: Sahara Tahoe, Stateline NV

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 October 1975

Gushy Tennille, Deadpan Captain ...

Kris Kristofferson, Barbra Streisand: Bill Graham Staged a Concert And Barbra Streisand Sang

Report by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 April 1976

TEMPE, ARIZ. – Phil Ramone, one of the country's top recording engineers, is rather unused to working in the mid-day sun, since recording studios, like ...

The Band: And The Band Played On... The Band's Last Waltz

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 November 1976

IT WAS UNDOUBTEDLY the single biggest collection of rock stars ever to perform on one stage: 17 musicians played Bob Dylan's ‘I Shall Be Released’, ...

The Meters, The Neville Brothers: It's Hard to Read the Meters

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 May 1977

"IF WE'RE SO good, how come we ain't rich?" reads the caption in The Figaro, New Orleans' underground newspaper, accompanying the story detailing the demise ...

Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe: England's Elvis — The New Sensation on the Rock Scene

Report by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 October 1977

OUT OF nowhere comes a musician with no apparent past who looks like a good bet to become the biggest new sensation on the rock ...

Nick Lowe: Provocative "Pure Pop" Emerges from British Rock

Profile by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 April 1978

WITH THE release of his first solo album, Nick Lowe steps forward as one of the most provocative new talents to emerge from the British ...

ABBA: The Phenomenal Swedes Have Yet to Conquer America

Profile by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 May 1978

FREQUENTLY dismissed as vapid and sterile, Abba may well be the world's most popular rock band currently, but the Swedish quartet clearly has a ways ...

The Honeycombs, John Leyton, Joe Meek, The Tornados: A Tribute to Joe Meek— Far Out Before His Time

Retrospective by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 October 1978

THROUGHOUT his career, British record producer Joe Meek showed a strong and consistent fascination with outer space and supernatural themes. A kind of backroom electronic ...

Rick Nelson: High Sierra Theater at the Sahara, Lake Tahoe

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 October 1978

THE CLUSTERS of signs reading "Rick Nelson Now" hanging in the Sahara Tahoe casino reveal the hand of Colonel Parker, the famed manager of Elvis ...

The Flamin' Groovies Come Home

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 October 1978

AFTER EIGHT YEARS of silence in the band's hometown, the Flamin' Groovies suddenly made two San Francisco performances in less than a month. "I'm stopping ...

The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson: David Leaf: The Beach Boys and the California Myth (Grossett & Dunlap, 192 pp., illus, $7.95 paper)

Book Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 October 1978

Beach Boys' Brian — A Classic American Tragedy ...

Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious: Sid Vicious: A Rocky Lifestyle Played Out to Its Extreme End

Obituary by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 February 1979

EPITAPH FOR a punk: Even before his somehow not too surprising drug overdose death at age 21, Sid Vicious already scrawled his name indelibly in ...

Ry Cooder: Bop Til You Drop (Warner Brothers Records 3358)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 July 1979

An Astonishing Digital Bop ...

Blondie, The Knack, Suzi Quatro, Sweet: Long Overdue Recognition For Producer Mike Chapman

Profile by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 August 1979

WITH HIS productions of the multi-platinum Blondie LP, Parallel Lines, and Get the Knack, which earned a gold album faster than any other debut album ...

Fleetwood Mac: Tusk (Warner Brothers Records 3350)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 October 1979

The Big Mac Tusk ...

Asleep at the Wheel: The Wheel Gallops Through Western Swing

Interview by Michael Goldberg, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 January 1980

THERE IS a thin line that divides musicians who attempt to give new life to a dying musical form and those who traffic in nostalgia. ...

The Clash: London Calling (Epic Records)

Review by Michael Goldberg, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 January 1980

SINCE THIS English foursome first emerged in London in 1976, they have been at the very forefront of rock and roll. Their debut album, The ...

Muddy Waters: The Tide's Turning for Muddy Waters

Profile and Interview by Michael Goldberg, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 January 1980

ON THEIR first visit to America, back in 1964, the Beatles were asked by reporters what they wanted to see most. "Muddy Waters," they replied ...

Madness: One Step Beyond (Sire Records 0085)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 February 1980

The Nutty Sound ...

Elvis Costello & the Attractions: Get Happy!! (Columbia Records 36347)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 March 1980

Among Costello's Best ...

Journey: Departure (Columbia Records 36339)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 March 1980

THIS IS the third in a series of albums that began with the platinum Infinity and continued with Evolution. ...

Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Mike Bloomfield 1943-1981

Obituary by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 February 1981

SLUMPED DEAD in his car seat from an apparent drug overdose was Mike Bloomfield, 37, arguably the greatest white blues guitarist of his generation. He ...

Prince Reveals His Dirty Mind

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 March 1981

WHO COULD resist a handsome young black gentleman, dressed like a stripper, who sings songs celebrating such unlikely topics as incest and oral copulation? ...

Suicide: Punk Rockers Who Don't Self-Destruct

Interview by Michael Goldberg, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 November 1981

A group "dripping blood and spit" ...

The Rolling Stones: The Stones

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 January 1982

On its latest tour, the band pulled in a cool $30 million. How? Ask its leader Mick Jagger who, at thirty-eight, still leaps with satisfaction. ...

Buddy Miles: Changes: Buddy Miles Back in Town

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 May 1982

THEM CHANGES (Part Two): In an alley behind the Chronicle building, loud, bright rock music drifted out of a rehearsal hall. Inside, behemoth Buddy Miles,  ...

Darlene Love, Phil Spector: Darlene Hits Local Scene, Reviving an Old Spector

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 July 1982

THE FAMOUS sound of Phil Spector will hit Bay Area stages for the next three nights when Darlene Love makes a round of local appearances. ...

Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska (Columbia 38358)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 October 1982

IN AN ARTISTICALLY daring move virtually unprecedented in the record business, Bruce Springsteen refused to succumb to pressures to follow up the No. 1 success ...

Rick James: Why MTV Is Shaking the Music Industry

Report and Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 May 1983

HUEY LEWIS, leader of the Marin County-based Huey Lewis and the News, loves MTV: "Everywhere I go," he says in a promo spot on the ...

Frank Zappa: The '60s Mother Still Breaks Social, Musical Convention

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 1984

STOP THE presses! Frank Zappa, that mother of a curmudgeon, has been spotted actually smiling! Get out the red ink – he even chuckled once ...

The Beach Boys, Charles Manson, Dennis Wilson: Manson and Drugs — A Beach Boy's Troubled Life

Retrospective by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 January 1984

DENNIS WILSON, the Beach Boy who drowned a week ago last Wednesday, never got that many headlines in life. He may have been the most ...

Jefferson Airplane, The Tubes: Groupies: They're Still Grabbin' for the Stars

Report and Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 September 1984

Sweet Spencer,So many feelings I have experienced with you that you have become a part of me. The other day, from out of a heavy, ...

David Lee Roth - Hyperactive, Irrepressible, Self-Satisfied

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 February 1985

DAVID LEE ROTH bounds up the wide, concrete steps from the forest that is his back yard toward his mansion. This, his visitor says, reminds ...

Natalie Cole Is Back From the Fast Lane

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 February 1985

SINGER'S DRUG REHABILITATION ...

Michael Nesmith: Mike Nesmith: Ex-Monkee Puts Parts Together

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 March 1985

On TV, Michael Nesmith says he'll be 'the big cheese, the honcho, the stud duck' ...

Apollonia, Sheila E., Madonna, Missing Persons, Vanity, Vanity 6: Boy Toy Rock: Sex Sirens of the Decade

Report by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 April 1985

IF THE reports from her first concert in Seattle are any indication, you can expect Madonna to ask San Francisco, early in her show at ...

Marvin Gaye: David Ritz: Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye (McGraw-Hill; 367 pages; $16.95)

Book Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 May 1985

The Sordid Story of An R&B 'Angel' ...

Angela Bofill: Bofill: A Cool Mama on a Sophisticated Circuit

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 May 1985

IN THESE days of instant first-name informality, I shouldn't have been surprised when the caller identified herself simply as "Angela." "Which Angela is this?" I ...

Not a Perfect Portrayal Of Rolling Stone Editor

Film/DVD/TV Review by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 June 1985

I JUST saw Perfect, the new movie with John Travolta as a Rolling Stone reporter and Jann Wenner (the actual editor of Rolling Stone) as ...

John Lennon: A Strangely defanged portrait of John Lennon

Book Review by John Mendelsohn, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 June 1985

ACCORDING TO LABOR Department projections, John Lennon biographers will outnumber Elvis Presley impersonators by mid-October. ...

The Pointer Sisters — Their Day of Honor: Better Late Than Never

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 September 1985

13 years tardy, Oakland pays tribute to homegrown singers ...

Jan Hammer: Miami Vice's Hammer: A Composer Blends Hot Cops, Cool Rock

Profile and Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 September 1985

Kent, New York A SOUNDTRACK album for a TV show doesn't seem to make much sense. The thought conjures up a short stack of failures, albums ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard: The 'Twist' and Turns of a Rock Pioneer

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 December 1985

HANK BALLARD wrote and recorded ‘The Twist’, but it was Chubby Checker who had the big hit record. With the early R&B group, the Royals, ...

James Brown: He's So Good, He Says

Report and Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 February 1986

JAMES BROWN is a litany of hit songs and personal titles. He's the Godfather of Soul, the King of Soul, the Living Legend of Soul, ...

Eddie Kendricks, The Temptations: Motown No Longer Lures Temptations Vet

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 September 1986

Chill reheated career but Kendrick has bad memories ...

David Byrne, Talking Heads: Talking Heads' Byrne Chats Up His Movie

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 October 1986

THE LAST TIME we saw David Byrne on the big screen, he was herky-jerking his way through a Talking Heads concert, doing his chaotic, turkey-necked, ...

Huey Lewis and the News: Huey Lewis: It's Hip To Be Nice

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 February 1987

BOB BROWN was a young, successful stock trader from New York who got transferred to San Francisco, settled in peaceful Mill Valley, happened onto a ...

Ronnie Lane: Inspiring Rocker

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 June 1987

Ronnie Lane: Wolfgang's, San Francisco ...

Donovan: The Graying of Mellow Yellow

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 July 1987

Donovan admits he feels a little creepy at his ritzy hotel gig ...

Yoko Ono: Then and Now

Interview by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 September 1987

YOKO ONO looks impenetrable behind her trademark wraparound sunglasses, a sober demeanor and a never-ending haze of cigarette smoke. ...

Grateful Dead: Without a Net (Arista Records)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 October 1990

Grateful Dead Work Is No Sweat ...

The Byrds, Gram Parsons: Gram Parsons: The Father of Country Rock

Retrospective by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 1991

GRAM PARSONS wasn't exactly bursting with credentials when he came up for consideration as a member of the Byrds in the early spring of 1968. ...

The Doors: Jim Morrison: Last Meeting With a Fallen Star

Memoir by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 1991

NEAR THE END of his 27-year life, was Jim Morrison – as depicted in Oliver Stone's new movie, The Doors – a fat, abusive, alcoholic, ...

A Last Farewell To Bill Graham

Obituary by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 November 1991

BILL GRAHAM was a movie of a man. His 60-year-long life, which came to an end in a helicopter crash in Sonoma County the night ...

U2: Zooropa (Island Records)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 July 1993

U2 Flies Off on a Tangent: Group's new album Zooropa is slow and plodding ...

Whitney Houston Hit: The Bodyguard Soundtrack Has Shot at Sales Record

Report by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 July 1993

Astonishingly, six months after release, the rather unremarkable collection of songs is already halfway toward eclipsing the 40 million sales mark set 10 years ago ...

Frank Sinatra: Duets (Capitol Records)

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 October 1993

Frank Sinatra Does It His Way On Duet Album; Ol' Blue Eyes outshines 13 stars ...

Country Joe & The Fish: Country Joe McDonald

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, March 1994

ONE FIGURE straddles the two polar events of the '60s – Woodstock and the
 Vietnam War – and that's Country Joe McDonald. In fact, such ...

Counting Crows: Anatomy of a Hit

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 April 1994

They weren't supposed to be a huge success, but Counting Crows had an amazing demo tape, an influential record company, good luck and great timing. ...

Smashing Pumpkins: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 April 1994

GIVEN Smashing Pumpkins' penchant for cheesy psychedelic touches to decorate their end-of-the-world sonics, the red-hot rockers seemed the perfect act to star at the gala ...

Johnny Cash: Cool Cash — The Man in Black's Latest Risk Pays Off

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 September 1994

New generation of fans embraces touring legend ...

Luther Vandross: Songs (Epic, $15.98)

Review by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 October 1994

Some Schmaltz From Vandross ...

Bootsy Collins: Q&A With Bootsy Collins

Interview by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 October 1994

THE PREMIER funk bassist of this or any other time, place or galaxy, William (Bootsy) Collins, is back on the road and representing the P-Funk ...

Esquivel: Space-Age Bachelor Pad (Bar/None Records, $14.9)***

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 December 1994

ESQUIVEL A BIT LIKE MANCINI ON SPEED ...

Linda Ronstadt: Ronstadt Proves She Can Go Home Again

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 March 1995

LINDA RONSTADT settled comfortably into a couch in her record company offices. The cream-colored ensemble she was wearing emphasized her preternaturally translucent skin. She has ...

Merle Haggard: Pop Quiz: Q & A with Merle Haggard

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 April 1995

WITH TWO tribute albums appearing coincidentally at the same time, country music great Merle Haggard may seem to be experiencing a sudden resurgence — not ...

Ry Cooder, The Everly Brothers, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks: Lenny Waronker: A Record Executive's Pride and Joy

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 June 1995

Warner Bros. re-releases Lenny Waronker's early masterpieces ...

Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia: Private Funeral For Garcia

Report by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 August 1995

MEMBERS OF THE Grateful Dead and the widow of Jerry Garcia spent yesterday making plans for a funeral, while tributes continued to roll in and ...

R. Kelly: R. Kelly (Jive Records, $14.98) ★★★

Review by Amy Linden, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 December 1995

R. Kelly's Latest Subtle, But Still Sexy ...

Tha Dogg Pound: Doggy Food (Death Row/Interscope/Priority)

Review by Dave Marsh, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 December 1995

DOGG POUND DOWN AND DIRTY ...

Jonathan Richman: Jonathan Vaporizes

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 December 1995

BAY AREA cult favorite Jonathan Richman is close to signing a recording deal with Vapor Records, the new label run by Neil Young and his ...

Tom Waits Benefits Friend, Audience

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 February 1996

IT TOOK A friend in trouble to get Tom Waits back on stage. ...

Jefferson Airplane: Still a Bumpy Ride

Report by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 February 1996

Jefferson Airplane members not overjoyed about induction into Rock Hall of Fame ...

The Mad Professor, Massive Attack: Massive Attack v The Mad Professor: No Protection (Gyroscope/Caroline, $16.98) ****

Review by Steffan Chirazi, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 April 1996

Mad Professor Mixes Some Magic ...

Dean Martin: That's Amore — The Best of Dean Martin (Capitol) ****; Sleep Warm (Capitol) ****

Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 May 1996

Dean Martin's Easy Charm ...

Paul Westerberg

Interview by Susan Whitall, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 May 1996

AS FORMER LEAD singer and songwriter of the Replacements, Paul Westerberg labors under particularly burdensome expectations. His second solo album, Eventually, released last month on ...

Porno For Pyros: Good God's Urge (Warner Bros., $14.98) *

Review by Steffan Chirazi, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 May 1996

Porno for Pyros' Urge Doesn't Spark Interest ...

The Sex Pistols: Taking Another Shot

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 June 1996

Prototypical punks the Sex Pistols are back together — so take cover ...

Sheryl Crow, Kevin Gilbert: Kevin Gilbert: More Than "The Piano Player"

Report by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 September 1996

Dumped by Sheryl Crow after propelling her to success, brilliant musician Kevin Gilbert died before finding his own ...

Marilyn Manson's Murderous Appeal

Interview by Steffan Chirazi, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 October 1996

Twisted persona allows this musician to act out his nightmares on the stage ...

Pete Townshend, The Who: Pete Townshend

Interview by Ira Robbins, San Francisco Chronicle, 1997

"Roger [Daltrey] speaks a lot about the magic that happens when the three of us get together to play," says Pete Townshend, who spent two ...

Dar Williams: End of the Summer (Razor & Tie, $15.98) ****

Review by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 July 1997

Dar Williams Plays With Pop Impulses ...

Jackie Brenston, Ike Turner, Ike & Tina Turner, Joe Louis Walker: Pop Quiz: Q & A With Ike Turner

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 September 1997

ONLY A HANDFUL of ex-husbands have been as publicly vilified as Ike Turner, but what Tina Turner's undoubtedly justified public excoriations have obscured is the ...

Harry Belafonte Follows New Rhythm

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 September 1997

Singer makes his first CD in nine years ...

Prince: A Peek At Prince

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 October 1997

THE ARTIST TALKS via e-mail, which gives him a chance to use his funny language ...

Lindsey Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac: Q&A With Lindsey Buckingham

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 October 1997

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM may be the least enthusiastic member of Fleetwood Mac, but his guitar playing and passionate vocals have been the anchors of the group's ...

Goldie: Saturnz Return (FFRR, $16.98) ****

Review by Steffan Chirazi, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 February 1998

Goldie Takes A Dark Journey ...

Armand Van Helden's Sampleslaya: Enter the Meat Market (Columbia/RuffHouse Records, $15.98) ***

Review by Steffan Chirazi, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 March 1998

Traditional Hip-Hop, East Coast Style ...

S.F. Club Scene Emerges From Underground

Report by Steffan Chirazi, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 April 1999

FOR THE electronic music lover or the curious night owl, San Francisco has something to offer seven nights a week, 365 days a year. Working ...

Backbeat — Earl Palmer's Story By Tony Scherman (Smithsonian Institution; 196 pages; $24.95)

Book Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 July 1999

Earl Palmer Laid Down the Rhythm of Rock 'n' Roll ...

Buena Vista Social Club, Ry Cooder: Buena Vista Brings Back Old Cuban Sound

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 September 1999

WHEN CUBAN music finally returned to the United States, it picked up where it left off. ...

Crosby Stills Nash & Young: Deja Vu All Over Again: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young reuniting for a new album and their first tour in 25 years

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 October 1999

"CSNY2K'' IS coming. The title for the 41-city Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tour that starts in January may seem obvious, but it did give ...

Joni Mitchell's Dull Twist On Standards

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 May 2000

NOBODY SINGS Joni Mitchell like Joni Mitchell. ...

Jesse Winchester: Taking Another Shot

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 January 2001

Eclectic singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester cuts his first new album in 11 years ...

Merle Haggard: Real Country music may be dead, but its last true cowboy, Merle Haggard, carries on the original sound

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 June 2001

COUNTRY MUSIC is over. There are lots of rock singers wearing cowboy hats these days, but genuine country music is all but dead and gone. ...

Shuggie Otis: The Resurrection of Shuggie Otis

Retrospective and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 June 2001

INSPIRATION INFORMATION disappeared shortly after its 1974 release, and the world soon forgot about Shuggie Otis, the promising young rock musician who made the record. ...

Boz Scaggs: Worth Waiting For

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 September 2001

Boz Scaggs took his time – more than seven years between new albums. ...

The Beatles, George Harrison: George Harrison: Harrison in the Haight

Retrospective by Ben Fong-Torres, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 December 2001

IT WOULD BE a stretch to say that George Harrison ever left his heart in San Francisco. ...

Boz Scaggs on But Beautiful

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 July 2003

WITH HIS new album hitting No. 1 on the jazz charts, Boz Scaggs is a changed man. "I'll use what I've learned in this process ...

David Bowie: Ever-changing Bowie

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 January 2004

AFTER YEARS of hiding behind characters he created, David Bowie, 57, knows who he is. Although he is no longer making records on the leading ...

David Bowie: HP Pavilion, San Jose

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 January 2004

HE ASKED IF the audience was having a good time. He grinned incessantly, made snappy patter between songs, showed off his remarkable wardrobe and hair. ...

Tom Waits: Barroom Bard's Next Round

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 October 2004

TOM WAITS SIPS coffee at the Formica counter of the Chinese takeout and doughnut shop, looking out on the intersection of Mission and 24th streets. ...

The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols: The Dandy Warhols/Brian Jonestown Massacre: Dig!

Film/DVD/TV Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 October 2004

ANTON NEWCOMBE of the Brian Jonestown Massacre doesn't receive the most ringing endorsements from his friends. "He's more than just a jerk," says his record ...

Remembering Ralph J. Gleason

Retrospective by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 December 2004

NOTE: I’ve never done a more personal piece of journalism. Ralph was a distant figure on my horizon, but his presence surrounded me; from reading ...

Judy Henske: One Hot Mama

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 July 2005

LEGEND HAS it that when Marty Balin went looking for a singer to fill out the lineup of the Jefferson Airplane, he told people he ...

Martha Wainwright: Martha's Extending The Musical Family

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 October 2005

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT has a pedigree that could be daunting. She's the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle (of the McGarrigle Sisters), sister of ...

Mose Allison: Mose And His Muse

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 October 2005

MOSE ALLISON can be summed up in two words – Mose Allison. ...

The Moody Blues: Never Reaching The End

Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 November 2005

THE MOODY Blues are a rock'n'roll band. That statement may come as a shock to fans who grew up with the lushly orchestrated psychedelic pop ...

Phil Elwood, 1926-2006

Obituary by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 January 2006

Beloved Bay Area jazz and blues critic ...

The Beau Brummels: Decades In Obscurity, Beau Brummels Front Man Surfaces To Remind Us What The Fuss Was All About

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 February 2006

SAL VALENTINO WAS washed up. "No one called in a long time," he says. "No one knew where I was."There were even reports of his ...

The Persuasions: Perpetual Harmony

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 May 2006

"THE PERSUASIONS! Aren't you that old do-wop group?" ...

Fairport Convention: Fairport Still On Course At 40

Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 June 2006

FAIRPORT CONVENTION kicked the British folk revival into high gear in 1969 when they released Liege and Lief, their first album with Sandy Denny as ...

Salif Keita: Rockin' With Soul Of Africa

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 August 2006

SALIF KEITA grins when he says: "I love rock'n'roll." It may seem like an unlikely sentiment since Keita's last two albums, this year's M'Bemba (Ancestor) ...

Gary Numan: Numan Finds His Way

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 August 2006

"IN AMERICA I'm still the classic one hit wonder," Gary Numan says philosophically, via phone from his home outside of London. ...

P. F. Sloan: PF Sloan: Rising from 'Destruction'

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 September 2006

"PF SLOAN was born sometime between midnight and dawn on an inspired evening in 1964," PF Sloan says, from his small Los Angeles apartment. That ...

Pet Shop Boys: The Pet Shop Boys: Pet Peeves

Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 November 2006

THE PET SHOP Boys – singer/lyricist Neil Tennant and keyboard player/composer Chris Lowe – are renowned for their intelligent songwriting. ...

Evan Dando, The Lemonheads: Evan Dando: Consistently Inconsistent

Interview by Jaan Uhelszki, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 November 2006

LEMONHEADS CO-FOUNDER Evan Dando puts his pioneering alternative rock band back together like clockwork every decade. ...

Allen Toussaint: Toussaint Explores Life Outside Big Easy

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 May 2007

ALLEN TOUSSAINT never left New Orleans. He spent virtually his entire distinguished career playing piano, singing, writing songs and making records with other people in ...

Summer of Love: 40 Years Later

Retrospective by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 May 2007

1967: The stuff that myths are made of ...

Grateful Dead: For The Unrepentant Patriarch Of LSD, Long, Strange Trip Winds Back To Bay Area

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 July 2007

THE SMALL, barefoot man in black T-shirt and blue jeans barely rates a second glance from the other Starbucks patrons in downtown San Rafael, although ...

Chris Clark - US: Chris Clark: An unsung soul singer resurfaces

Retrospective and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 August 2007

CHRIS CLARK was a tall, blond 20-year-old Air Force brat out of Marin County when she signed with Motown Records as the label's first white ...

Celine Dion: HP Pavilion, San Jose

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 February 2009

CELINE DION makes faces when she sings. She crinkles up her nose. She arches her eyebrows. She winks and darts quick little smiles after she ...

Merle Haggard Stands Tall

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 March 2009

AS LONG AS people speak of country music, the music of Merle Haggard will live. As his career nears the half-century mark, Haggard's imprint is ...

Van Dyke Parks

Profile and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 February 2010

Eccentric Van Dyke Parks finally reaches S.F. ...

Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young: Buffalo Springfield together again on Bridge bill

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 October 2010

FOR A GROUP from rock's Pleistocene era that managed only one real hit in the band's short life and haven't appeared together onstage in 43 ...

Rock of Ages Musical Exhumes '80s Power Ballads

Report by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 February 2011

THERE HAVE BEEN few musical sins committed in the name of rock 'n' roll as egregious as the power ballad. Not really rock and not ...

Phil Everly never got to soar as a solo act

Obituary by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 January 2014

Phil Everly never got to be his own man. He was always – and always will be - Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers. ...

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