Norman Jopling
Norman Jopling began writing for Record Mirror in 1961 at the age of 17, interviewing and profiling the era’s pop stars, and instigating a pioneering coverage of the hitherto-neglected area of American rhythm & blues. As the Sixties progressed, he also became the flag-waver for the UK R&B boom, the first music reporter to write – and rave – about the Rolling Stones, and the first London writer to profile the Beatles. In 1968 he went freelance, regularly contributing pieces to NME, Cream, Billboard, Record Retailer, Jazz Journal, Let It Rock, Music Now and many more. In 1973 he quit music journalism and joined CBS Records. He spent several years in New York in the late '70s working as a songwriter, and in the '80s co-authored a number of books including The Beatles Conquer America, Cliff Richard & The Shadows and John Lennon with Dezo Hoffmann, and Harrap’s Book Of 1000 Plays with Steve Fletcher. In 1988 he rejoined the music industry, and has since originated a large number of reissue albums for many record companies. He lives in North London, and is currently completing a book about his early career as a music reporter.
List of articles in the library by artist
Burt Bacharach, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick: Burt Bacharach: 'Time Is My Enemy'
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, September 1964
"I JUST DON'T get enough time to cram everything in," top U.S. songwriter, arranger and producer Burt Bacharach told me, during a two-day visit last ...
Bachelors, The: 'Don't Call Us Paddy' Begged The Bachelors
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, February 1963
"WHENEVER we talk to anyone they call us 'Paddy'," complained the three Bachelors. "We've got names you know." ...
Band, The, Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, June 1966
With A Mixture Of Folk, Rock And Comedy, Dylan Shows He Can Take Every Insult But Not A Compliment ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, December 1967
ARRIVING at the Hilton Hotel to talk to Murry Wilson, I phoned his room to enquire as to whether I could go up and start ...
Beatles, The: How The Beatles Spend An Evening
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, May 1965
IT WAS A typical quiet evening at London's Savoy Hotel. Quiet that is until the Beatles turned up to see Bob Dylan. They all trooped ...
Beatles, The: The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, December 1967
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is another example of a subject in which the Beatles have been able to exercise their vivid imaginations. ...
Beatles, The: The Beatles: New Album and Single
Report and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, February 1963
THERE'S been a lot of stuff written on the Beatles lately. Rightly, too, for they happen to be in the class of the rarest performers ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, March 1967
...especially it seems, at the Saville. Chuck Berry talks to RM's Norman Jopling for this in-depth interview ...
Chuck Berry: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, March 1967
Rockers Dominate Saville Again ...
James Brown, Solomon Burke: Solomon Burke: The Burke v. Brown Feud
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, July 1965
"TELL ME," I said, "all about you and James Brown. There was a two-second hush, and then Solomon Burke, king of rock & soul, launched ...
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, April 1968
TIM BUCKLEY is a vague, interesting folksinger who doesn't know how many copies his records have sold or which of his songs have been put ...
Jerry Butler: The Iceman Talking: The Life And Times Of Jerry Butler
Interview by Norman Jopling, Cream, June 1973
BUTLER'S MUSIC Workshop is upstairs in a tatty warehouse building in Chicago's South Side, very near Chinatown and uncomfortably near Lake Michigan so it gets ...
Captain Beefheart: Love Over Gold: Captain Beefheart Talks To RM Readers
Report and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, April 1972
FIVE YEARS ago, the magic name of Captain Beefheart was no more than an imported LP in the window-display of clique-ey One-Stop Records. There ...
Floyd Cramer, Chet Atkins: Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins: The Quiet Men from Nashville, Tennessee
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, September 1962
THE TWO most dominant figures in the Nashville, Tennessee, music scene – a scene noted for loud noises – are QUIET men. Chet Atkins, we ...
Crystals, The: The Crystals' Story: Their Sound, Their Career And Their X-Certificate Disc
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, February 1964
Norman Jopling talks to the group with the hottest U.S. hit sound ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, February 1964
ONE OF the mystery men of the U.S. recording scene is currently here in Britain following the interests of his artistes. His name is Phil ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, June 1968
FOCUS ON 2 GIANT LPs ...
Fats Domino: The Man Who Sang Rock Before Haley
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, January 1963
HIS first million-seller was named after himself. Until last year he had more million-sellers than Elvis, who finally caught up with him after a hard ...
Bob Dylan: Blonde On Blonde (CBS)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, August 1966
"GUILTY UNDERTAKERS sighed..." sings Bob Dylan, somewhat prophetically on his latest folk-rock-rhythm-blues-smash-top-twenty hit. And now, as Bob is lying in hospital with a broken neck, ...
Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited (American Columbia)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, September 1965
THOUGHT I'D jump the gun and tell you all about this LP, just issued in the States but not here. Side one starts off with ...
Bob Dylan: John Wesley Harding (U.S. Columbia)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, January 1968
BOB DYLAN'S LATEST LP JOHN WESLEY HARDING – A REVIEW IN DEPTH BY NORMAN JOPLING ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, May 1968
SOME PEOPLE are going around saying that Aretha Franklin is the Queen Of Soul, many people are buying her records, and one person (show compère ...
Heinz's Hat, Some Surfing, & The Sharks!
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, October 1964
THE FACT that Heinz has just visited Australia stuck out the proverbial mile when I met him last week, after an exhausting two week tour ...
Jimi Hendrix: Man, Myth Or Magic? Jimi Hendrix is Back, and Happy, and Talking…
Interview by Norman Jopling, Music Now, September 1970
JIMI HENDRIX is staying at a West End hotel prior to his appearance at the Isle Of Wight Festival and his forthcoming European tour. ...
Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones, The: Aftermath: Mick Jagger Answers Some Questions
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, August 1967
WHEN I SPOKE to Mick Jagger everything was "nice" and "groovy" with him, so don't believe everything you read in the papers. And he's ...
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates: Johnny Kidd: It's The Song, Not My Name Which Sells
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, December 1963
Johnny Kidd's Latest Success Was Quite A 'Sleeper' ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, October 1964
HOT NEW KINKS L.P.! ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, November 1963
THE OPENING night of the Duane Eddy/Little Richard/Shirelles tour was a lot better than most people expected at the Regal Edmonton, 2nd performance on Saturday. ...
Lonnie Mack: The Instrumental Influence and Hit Star
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, August 1963
BEAT instrumentals are probably at a higher degree of popularity in the States than ever before. Discs like 'Wipeout', 'Tips Of My Fingers', 'Pipeline', 'Hot ...
Manfred Mann: The Paul Jones Mann
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, May 1964
"UH-HU, IT'S THE Manfreds" yells Paul Jones, who is, to use the most overworked cliché in the book, last but not least in our series ...
Manfred Mann: Meet The Manfreds
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, May 1964
PART ONE OF A NEW SERIES — MIKE HUGG AND TOM McGUINESS ...
John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac: Peter Green – The Guitarist Who Won't Forsake The Blues
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, August 1967
ANYONE WHO in a year has built up the reputation of being Britain's best blues guitarist, must have some interesting things to say, and therefore ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, August 1966
RACE RIOTS and pop music don't mix. If you buy records by a coloured artiste and you happen to be white, it's difficult to be ...
Monkees, The: The Monkees: More Of The Monkees (RCA)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, April 1967
IT'S A STRANGE thing to review an LP which you know will go to the top of the LP charts and sell a load of ...
Chris Montez: Give Me The Flamenco
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, February 1963
"I REALLY like Spanish dancing best." Chris Montez told me over the transatlantic phone, "And 'though I jive and twist a lot I guess it's ...
Mickie Most: Do-It-Yourself Mick!
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, October 1963
AFTER A MINOR record success with his 'Mr. Porter', Mickey Most looks all set for a far bigger success with the follow-up 'The Feminine Look', ...
Roy Orbison: An Unexpected U.S. Hit For Roy
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, September 1963
But although he's clicking with a rocker, he's recording with 'Those Great British Strings' ...
Gram Parsons, Byrds, The: The Byrds: Middle Earth, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, May 1968
HIGH FLYING BYRDS TRIUMPH WITH A BRITISH AUDIENCE... ...
Gene Pitney, Rolling Stones, The: Gene Pitney: Why 'Tulsa' Made The Charts
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, January 1964
NORMAN JOPLING SUPPLIES THE ANSWER TO A CURRENT CHART SURPRISE ...
Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore: Scotty Moore: The Man Who Launched A Thousand Licks
Interview by Norman Jopling, NME, January 1973
PEOPLE AROUND at the time Elvis first made it claim that guitarist Scotty Moore was the musician most responsible for "The Elvis Presley Sound". Moore ...
Pretty Things, The: The Pretty Things: Viv — "It's All Lies"
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, September 1965
'I could sue them' says Viv Prince, about newspaper articles which appeared about him in New Zealand. Norman Jopling reports...' ...
Pretty Things, The: The Pretty Things: The Things Hit Back!
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, February 1965
ONE ACCUSATION that can't be levelled against the Pretty Things is that they're dull. In fact this wild-sounding, and equally wild-looking group are one of ...
John Prine: An Interview with John Prine
Interview by Norman Jopling, unpublished, September 1972
JOHN PRINE IS THE GUY that sang the song about the hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes, and a whole bunch of ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, January 1965
"WHAT do we think of Cilla's version of 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling'?" said America's Righteous Brothers when I posed them the question. "Well, we ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rollin' Stones: Genuine R&B!
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, May 1963
AS THE TRAD scene gradually subsides, promoters of all kinds of teen-beat entertainment heave a long sigh of relief that they have found something to ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: The Rolling Stones No. 2
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, January 1965
"WE THINK IT'S a lot better than our first one... there's a more varied selection of songs... no instrumentals... we cut it at three different ...
Rolling Stones, The: The Rolling Stones: We Want The Stones (Decca EP)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, June 1965
STONES EP – EXCITING & DIFFERENT ...
Del Shannon: 'My Success Changed My Friends'
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, January 1965
ONE OF THE chief attractions about Del Shannon is his own individual style of singing and guitar playing. So it'll come as a shock to ...
Helen Shapiro, Beach Boys, The: The Beach Boys, Helen Shapiro: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, May 1967
Happy Beach Boys sing the single they don't like ...
Shirelles, The: The Neglected Shirelles
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, January 1963
"I MET HIM on a Sunday" sang Addie, Doris, Shirley, and Beverly. They were heard by a class-mate at Passiac high school during a rehearsal ...
Mort Shuman: The Man Who Writes Hits For The U.S. Stars
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, January 1964
IF ANYONE bothers to look just under the titles of their records, they'll see a name or names in brackets. Those names are the songwriters. ...
Springfields, The, Dusty Springfield: The Springfields: The White Negress
Report and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, April 1963
"THAT'S WHAT THEY CALL ME" – DUSTY SPRINGFIELD ...
Cat Stevens, Walker Brothers, The: The Walker Brothers: Images; Cat Stevens: Matthew & Son
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, March 1967
Moody Walkers L.P. and a great debut L.P. from Cat Stevens ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, September 1967
Vanilla Fudge LP – even more dramatic than the hit single ...
Scott Walker: Scott 2 (Philips)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, April 1968
Scott's LP in depth ...
Walker Brothers, The: The Reluctant American: Some Interesting Opinions from Scott Walker
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, December 1966
"I DIDN'T like it in America, and I'm not going back to live there. When I did live there it was terrible – once I ...
Yardbirds, The: The Yardbirds: The Blueswailers With The Mod Appeal
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, May 1964
ALTHOUGH THE Sunday Telegraph insisted that the Yardbirds were called the Yardsticks, and also claimed they were public school boys it doesn't seem to have ...
List of genre pieces
1963: Rhythm And Blues Made The News
Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, December 1963
THIS HAS been THE year for rhythm and blues fans. There is no doubt about it. At the beginning of the year the R & ...
1963: Year Of Rhythm & Blues #2
Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, December 1963
Part two of a series spotlighting all the important events in the R & B world this year. ...
Beat Group Names from America and Liverpool
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, August 1962
IS THE Liverpool area the rockingest part of the great British Isles? A publication, Mersey Beat, just arrived, makes me think this is the ...
Shakespeare in the 70s: Jack Good's Catch My Soul
Interview by Norman Jopling, Music Now, January 1971
CATCH MY SOUL, as you've doubtless read, is a rock musical based on Shakespeare's Othello. It was conceived by Jack Good who plays the title ...
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