Articles, interviews and reviews from Joel Selvin: Rock's Backpages.

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

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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’, ...

Beau Brummels, The: AUDIO: The Beau Brummels' Sal Valentino (2007)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, May 2007

Sal Valentino takes us through the history of The Beau Brummels, from being produced by a young Sly Stone for Tom Donahue's Autumn Records to the Warners years, working with Van Dyke Parks and Randy Newman, and the Triangle and Bradley's Barn albums.

File format: mp3 File size: 31.2mb Interview length: 34' 02"; Sound quality: *****

Beau Brummels, The: 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, 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 ...

Booker T & The MGs: AUDIO: Booker T. Jones (2006)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, 2006

The Booker T & The MGs mainman talks about the Stax years, working with the likes of Otis Redding and Albert King, making 'Green Onions', and on to later projects with Santana, Neil Young and Boz Scaggs.

File format: mp3; file size: 25.5mb; Interview length: 27' 5"; sound quality: *****

AUDIO: T-Bone Burnett (2006)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, June 2006

T-Bone Burnett guests on Selvin On the City ( KSAN Underground Radio 107.7, San Francisco), talking about production, the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Ralph Stanley, Jakob Dylan and more.

File format: mp3 File size: 27.2mb Interview length: 29' 44"; Sound quality: *****

Captain Beefheart A Success?

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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 ...

Clarence Carter: Slippin' Away With Clarence Carter

Interview by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, August 1971

SAN FRANCISCO – Clarence Carter leaves his Holiday Inn room on the arm of his road manager, who looks familiar. It's Rodgers Redding, and it's ...

Ry Cooder (2008)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, November 2008

The meastro of roots and Americana talks about his recent work - I, Flathead, Chávez Ravine - and looks back to the making of his first album and subsequent career.

File format: mp3 File size: 32.4mb Interview length: 35' 27"; Sound quality: *****

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 '60' – Woodstock and theVietnam War -- Country Joe McDonald. In fact, such emblematicproportions have obscured ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Pendulum: Creedence Got a New Kind of Bag

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, December 1970

BERKELEY — Creedence Clearwater Revival is rolling again, and in several directions, with their upcoming new album, Pendulum. ...

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

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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 ...

Celine Dion: HP Pavilion, San Jose

Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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 ...

AUDIO: Donovan (2005)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, 2005

Mr Leitch looks back at his 40 years in music, from scoring hash in Goodge Street to recording with Rick Rubin, via Alice Cooper, Linda Lawrence and more.

File format: mp3 File size: 35.1mb Interview length: 38' 19"; Sound quality: ****

Doobie Brothers: One Guitarist On, One Guitarist Off

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, June 1975

SAN FRANCISCO – Three years ago, the Doobie Brothers lived on food stamps in San Jose, playing at ramshackle area clubs for as little as ...

Faces, The, Small Faces, The: The Small Faces: First Step

Review by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, May 1970

THE SMALL FACES are now into a more sophisticated and mature commerciality. The addition of Rod Stewart as vocalist and Ron Wood on lead guitar ...

Flamin' Groovies, The: The Flamin' Groovies Come Home

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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 ...

Four Seasons, The: AUDIO: The Four Seasons (2006)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, December 2006

Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio chat about the Jersey Boys musical, about Bob Crewe, the Disco years and the lost Seasons/Beach Boys album.

File format: mp3 File size: 31.3mb Interview length: 34' 14"; Sound quality: ***

Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead: Jerry Garcia: The Last Post

Obituary by Joel Selvin, MOJO, October 1995

Serenity Knolls lies at the bottom of a dead end road in northern Marin Country, California. The main building stands above a parking area surrounded ...

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, 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 ...

Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia: Private Funeral For Garcia

Report by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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 ...

Merle Haggard Stands Tall

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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 ...

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, 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. ...

AUDIO: Chris Isaak (with Kenney Dale Johnson) (2005)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, March 2005

The American icon, together with sidekick Kenney Dale Johnson, spins some favourites and sings a couple of tunes too!

File format: mp3 File size: 32.2mb Interview length: 35' 13"; Sound quality: *****

Ronnie Lane: Inspiring Rocker

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

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

Little Richard: The Rill Thing

Review by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, September 1970

AS INCREDIBLE AS IT may seem, Little Richard is as great as he says he is. His new album, the first in three years, is ...

Joni Mitchell's Dull Twist On Standards

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

Nobody sings Joni Mitchell like Joni Mitchell. ...

Harry Nilsson: Nilsson Ratings: Injured, Brilliant

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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 ...

AUDIO: NRBQ's Big Al Anderson (2007)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, 2007

Big Al takes us through life post-NRBQ, becoming songwriter to the Nashville Hat Act Stars, and looks back to the tough days on the road with NRBQ.

File format: mp3 File size: 33.5mb Interview length: 36' 25"; Sound quality: *****

Van Dyke Parks

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

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

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco

Live Review by Joel Selvin, MOJO, March 1997

AFTER MORE THAN FIVE YEARS OF THE IMMENSE SUCCESS THAT followed the popular breakthrough of Full Moon Fever, Tom Petty wondered what to do. His ...

Jonathan Richman: Jonathan Vaporizes

Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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 ...

Shuggie Otis: The Resurrection of Shuggie Otis

Retrospective and Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 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. ...

Sly & The Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone