Don Waller
A second-generation native of Los Angeles, Don Waller was the author of The Motown Story (Scribner's, 1985). Unlike 99% of music books, it sold so many copies they had to pay him royalties. Like 99% of music books, it's now out-of-print. Waller also contributed a chapter to the L.A. punk-rock history Make The Music Go Bang! and wrote about Lenny Bruce and Lord Buckley for The Rolling Stone Book Of The Beats.
Waller also wrote more than 40 sets of liner notes, including such various artist packages as Beg, Scream & Shout! The Big Ol' Box Of '60s Soul, multiple volumes of garage-rock Nuggets, New Orleans R&B, and Soul Shots, a compilation of the original versions of songs covered by the Beatles, and a '70s Party Killers collection that defied rational analysis. He also provided liners for reissues ranging from Little Richard to Los Lobos to SCTV Network90 Vol. 1, a multi-DVD collection of seminal shows from the Canadian comedy troupe. Some of these are even still in print.
Along with serving as a music consultant for several cable-TV shows, Waller contributed bonus material to the U.S. DVD edition of Don Letts’s documentary Punk: Attitude, and created a 90-page catalog detailing all the video properties owned by Dick Clark Productions.
Long before he became a not-so-humble scrivener, Waller was a member of proto-punk outfit the Imperial Dogs – who wrote and recorded the original version of 'This Ain't The Summer Of Love', later reworked /re-recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult. The band recently unearthed an hour-long video performance, The Imperial Dogs: Live! In Long Beach (October 30, 1974), that's currently available from theimperialdogs.com
120 articles
List of articles in the library
The Knack: Starwood, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, New York Rocker, April 1979
ONCE UPON a time, The Knack was a movie starring (I believe) Michael Caine and Rita Tushingham. Set in swinging London, the plot revolved around ...
14 Karat Soul: Sister Suzie Cinema Strikes 14 Karat Soul
Report by Don Waller, New York Rocker, 14 January 1980
The whole world is a stage And everybody's playing a part The stage is set, the curtain goes up The scene is a broken ...
The Plimsouls: Plimsouls: Culver City Arena, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, New York Rocker, March 1980
IT'S FRIDAY night in L.A. and it's been raining for a week. But (prophetically) it's the Midnight Hour, and tonight, the Culver City Arena (in ...
The Specials: The Specials (Chrysalis)
Review by Don Waller, New York Rocker, March 1980
BY THE END of side one, I found myself plastered spread-eagled to the ceiling, tongue and eyes bulging, my face frozen in a delirious grin. ...
The Falcons: Starwood, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, New York Rocker, June 1980
I dig rock 'n' roll music I can do the Twine and the Jerk I wear strictly Continental suits and high collared shirts I got ...
Fabulous Thunderbirds: Blue(S) Metal Flake on a Big White Fab T-Bird
Report and Interview by Don Waller, New York Rocker, November 1980
(Cue music: Juke Boy Bonner's 'Runnin' Shoes') ...
Review by Don Waller, New York Rocker, November 1980
THIS IS The Rap on The Rap, Part I: On the day you're born the doctor smacks your butt, then you start to rappin' and ...
Overview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 4 June 1981
Rock & roll, being the proud music of America's young, has always had a happy association with the beginning of summer: no school, warm nights ...
Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Germs, X: The Decline of Western Civilization (Dir. Penelope Spheeris)
Film/DVD/TV Review by Don Waller, New York Rocker, September 1981
THE DECLINE of Western Civilization, Penelope Spheeris's documentary of the L.A. punk scene circa late '79/early '80, is by turns funny, provocative, pretentious, inspiring, boring, ...
Retrospective by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 29 October 1981
RITCHIE VALENS, born Richard Valenzuela in Pacoima, California, on May 13, 1941, cut three hit records before he finished high school: 'Come On Let's Go', ...
AC/DC: For Those About To Rock We Salute You (Atlantic SD 11111)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 6 December 1981
ROCK'S A-B-C'S FROM AC/DC ...
Chic: Take It Off (Atlantic SD 19323)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 20 December 1981
CHIC ON A COLD STREAK ...
Mötley Crüe: Country Club, Reseda CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 29 December 1981
CATCHING MÖTLEY CRÜE IN A FLASH ...
Foreigner, Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker — A Soul Man
Report and Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 4 January 1982
BY 10:30 SATURDAY night, the line in front of the Club Lingerie, a trendy Hollywood rock spot catering to in-crowd tastes, stretched around the corner. ...
James Cotton: Hop Singh's, Marina Del Rey CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 26 January 1982
COTTON'S BLUES AT HOP SINGH'S ...
Van Halen: Diver Down (Warner Bros. BSK 3677)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 1982
'DIVER DOWN' IS UP WITH THE BEST ...
The Plugz, War: War, the Plugz: Country Club, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 1982
GOING TO WAR FOR AN L.A. SOUND ...
Talking Heads: The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (Sire)
Review by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 3 June 1982
Talking Heads: Form Meets Funk(tion) ...
Bobby "Blue" Bland, Millie Jackson: Millie Jackson, Bobby Bland: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 1982
THE WAY Millie Jackson carries on in concert would make Bette Midler blush. Jackson, who sprang to prominence in the early '70s with a batch ...
The Flesh Eaters: Chris D. On The Ways Of Flesh (And Spirit)
Interview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 22 July 1982
"THE FLESH Eaters?... It's not some gory, horror-movie-title thing. The spirit is what's eating the flesh." ...
Defunkt, Talking Heads: Talking Heads, Defunkt: Greek Theater, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 August 1982
TALKING HEADS: WHOLE LOTTA RHYTHM ...
Rick James, Ray Parker Jr.: Forum, Inglewood CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 August 1982
RICK JAMES AND THE FUNK CAPADES ...
Ashford & Simpson: Hope Is Where You Find It
Interview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 9 September 1982
AFTER 18 YEARS, seven hit singles and three gold albums, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson are probably best known for starring in a Coca-Cola commercial. ...
Frank Sinatra: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 30 September 1982
Sinatra at the Amphitheatre: The Voice of America ...
ABC: The Lexicon Of Love (Mercury SRM-1-4509)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 24 October 1982
POTENT LOVE SONGS ...
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 24 October 1982
HOT FUNK IN DOUBLE TIME ...
Oingo Boingo, Suburban Lawns: Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 3 November 1982
HALLOWEEN HOP WITH OINGO BOINGO ...
Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music: Bryan Ferry Leaves His Heart In Avalon
Interview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 4 November 1982
"I'M BASICALLY very shy," Bryan Ferry tells me with a mock chuckle — or is it a nervous laugh? Welcome to Roxy Music-land, where intergalactic ...
ABC: The Next Big Thing Redisappears
Profile by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 30 December 1982
ABC Easy as 1-2-3 As simple as do-re-mi ABC 1-2-3 Baby, you and me, girl... —The Jackson Five, 1970 ...
Willie Dixon: Hop Singh's, Marina del Rey CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 8 February 1983
DIXON HOLDS COURT AT HOP SINGH'S ...
George Clinton: The Gangster Of Funk
Interview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 3 March 1983
IF THE name George Clinton means anything to you, then you probably know him as Uncle Jam, the man with the plan, the songwriter-producer-vocalist-conceptualist for ...
The Cramps: the Country Club, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 1983
STIMULATING BREW FROM THE DREGS ...
Jackie Wilson: The Jackie Wilson Story (Epic EG 38623)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 1983
JACKIE WILSON: FADE TO BLACK ...
The Fleshtones: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 1983
THE SPONTANEOUS FLESHTONES ...
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: Texas Flood (Epic BFE 3S734)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 1983
ELECTRIC STORM ...
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: Palace Theatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 24 August 1983
A TOWERING DISPLAY OF BLUESICIANSHIP ...
Girlschool: Country Club, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 December 1983
GIRLSCHOOL'S BRITISH CLASS ...
Screamin' Jay Hawkins: Life For Jay Hawkins Is Still A Scream
Profile and Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 25 December 1983
"MAN, I WAS 20 years ahead of my time," says rocker Screamin' Jay Hawkins, whose early '50s recording of 'I Put a Spell on You' ...
Lee Dorsey: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 January 1984
DORSEY'S NEW ORLEANS R&B SOUL ...
Jackie Wilson: Lonely Teardrops For A "Footnote"
Obituary by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 29 January 1984
LIKE MANY A true fan, I always thought that one day Jackie Wilson would suddenly leap out of the hospital bed where he lay semi-comatose ...
Johnny Adams: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 30 January 1984
JOHNNY ADAMS IN LOCAL DEBUT ...
Van Halen: Life With The Top Down
Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 5 February 1984
"A LOTTA PEOPLE figure, 'Oh, Diamond Dave, he gets all the women he wants,'" says David Lee Roth with a cat-that-ate-the-canary gleam in his eye. ...
Shredder: Teen Scene from Belly of the Beast
Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 1984
Now flip that teen coin and meet a breed of kiddies who are not going to dance clubs, who are not listening to floaty romantic ...
Roy Head: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 1984
YEAAHHH, MAH man. As a semi-legend, Joan Rivers has nothing on Roy Head, whose '65 smash 'Treat Her Right' remains one of the toughest, most ...
Tina Turner: Onstage A Blaze In Total Control
Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 1984
"I'M NOT A mystery," says Tina Turner. "Look what's in now — body building, aerobics, exercise — I've been yelling and running for 20 years! ...
The Time: Ice Cream Castle (Warner Bros.)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 1984
THE TIME FLIES IN ICE CREAM CASTLE ...
Morris Day, The Time: The Time: Day's New Dawning
Interview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 13 September 1984
"THE BAND used to always try to smell the clothes before I put them on," says Time leader Morris Day, talking about how he first ...
Los Lobos: How Will The Wolf Survive? (Slash/Warner Bros.)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 25 November 1984
HOWLIN' WOLVES ...
Mamie Van Doren: Palomino, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 1 February 1985
RETURN OF '50s BIMBO ROYALTY ...
Mick Jagger: She's The Boss (Columbia)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 3 March 1985
GETTIN' NO SATISFACTION ...
The Power Station: The Power Station (Capitol)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 14 April 1985
SCHIZO SUPERGROUP ...
The Blasters: Blasters Blather: The Book of David
Interview by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 2 May 1985
"MUSIC LIKE this is not dependent on age or looks or a trend," says Blasters guitarist-songwriter Dave Alvin, taking a hard line on rock & ...
Sam Cooke: Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (RCA)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 1985
SAM COOKE — ALIVE AGAIN ...
Nile Rodgers: B-Movie Matinee (Warner Bros.)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 1985
RODGERS: SLY, SLICK AND WICKED ...
Lonnie Mack: Guitarist Mack Brings Varied Life To L.A. Concert
Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 August 1985
"FIRST TIME I met Jeff Beck was when they were doin' that benefit for Ronnie Lane down in Dallas. Ah came in the door and ...
Sheila E.: Romance 1600 (Warner Bros.)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 1 September 1985
SHEILA E.: GENDER IN A BLENDER ...
The Blasters: Just An American Band
Interview by Don Waller, Spin, October 1985
The Blasters could play any bar in the U.S.A.: these roots were made for rockin'. ...
Etta James: Her Voice Can Get A Hold On You
Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 26 October 1985
"WHAT'S HAPPENING now is that all the kids who grew up listening to me on their transistor radios in the '50s and '60s are now ...
The Long Ryders: Roxy, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 21 December 1985
LONG RYDERS: WHO WERE THOSE COUNTRY-ROCKERS? ...
Allen Toussaint: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 30 December 1985
A NEW ORLEANS KING ...
The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Red Hot Chili Peppers: Palace Theatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 7 February 1986
PEPPERS' HIGH JINKS ...
Johnny Adams, Earl King: Earl King, Johnny Adams: Nugget Club, Long Beach CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 3 March 1986
KING: ORIGINAL LICKS ...
Merry Clayton: Gardenia Room, Los Angeles
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 17 March 1986
WITHOUT A SONG... ...
Charles Brown: Music Machine, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 1986
BROWN: SMOKY BLUES ...
The Cramps: Palladium, Hollywood CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 1986
A DATE WITH CRAMPS ...
Chaka Khan: Destiny (Warner Bros.)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 1986
CHAKA STRUTS STUFF ...
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Greek Theater, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 1986
YA-HOO! STEVIE VAUGHAN AT GREEK ...
The SOS Band: The S.O.S. Band: Sands Of Time (Tabu)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 August 1986
S.O.S.' NOUVEAU FUNK ...
Sky Saxon: The View From The Haze
Profile and Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 12 October 1986
BEHIND THE door of the aging, cracker-box Hollywood apartment sits a velvet-covered table strewn with rose petals. Two white candles cast flickering shadows over plates ...
Oran "Juice" Jones: Juice (Def Jam)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 19 October 1986
'RAIN' GEAR ...
Peter Guralnick's Soul Hits Sweet Spot
Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 9 November 1986
DO YA LIKE good music? (Yeah, yeah.) Then Peter Guralnick's new book Sweet Soul Music (Harper & Row) is right down your alley, two steps ...
Black Flag, Gone, SWA: Ex-Black Flag Rockers Battle The Mainstream
Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 27 November 1986
"WE WEREN'T a band that came out and played a lot of our old songs," reflects Black Flag founder/guitarist Greg Ginn in the wake of ...
Peter Wolf: Come As You Are (EMI-America)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 5 April 1987
LUPINE, SUPINE ...
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 19 April 1987
AIRY 'N' EERIE ...
Green on Red: The Killer Inside Me (Mercury) **
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 1987
AMERICANA NOIR ...
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 9 August 1987
WHAM, GLAM, NO THANK YOU, MA'AM ...
Simply Red: Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 22 October 1987
OPENING YOUR show with a nearly a cappella version of Ray Charles' 'Drown in My Own Tears' takes a lotta nerve. It also takes industrial-strength ...
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 2 November 1987
George Jones' Myth Persists at the Greek ...
Tom Waits: Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 9 November 1987
Tom Waits Shines His Lamp on Sleazy Underside of Life Quirky Sounds, Offbeat Lighting, Wiggy Jigs Make for a Highly Stylized, Intimate Concert ...
Warren Zevon: Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 November 1987
Zevon: Mean and Black ...
R.E.M.: Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 26 November 1987
WHEN WAS the last time a real live rock band came through town with a Top 20 record and didn't bother to perform the future ...
The Replacements: Palladium, Hollywood CA
Live Review by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 17 December 1987
MAYBE IT was Paul Westerberg's case of the flu. Maybe it was the Hollywood Palladium, up to its usual acousticks. But if this was the ...
The Gun Club: Reloaded Gun Club Takes Aim Again
Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 3 April 1988
SITTING AT the coffee table at his mother's West Hollywood apartment, Jeffrey Lee Pierce keeps jumping up to change records. Sly & the Family Stone's ...
Morris Day: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 1988
Sellout Time for Day but the Routine's Dated ...
Tony Joe White: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 1988
Swamp-Rocker White: Sandpaper 'n' Molasses ...
Buster Poindexter: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 1988
Pop Cultures Collide in Buster's Eclectic Mix ...
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 1988
Three Women, One Fine Show ...
Keith Richards: Talk Is Cheap (Virgin Records) ***½
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 2 October 1988
Keef Rolls Alone ...
Rudy Ray Moore, Clarence Reid (aka Blowfly): Blowfly, Rudy Ray Moore: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 12 December 1988
Blowfly Captures Crowd ...
Was (Not Was): What Up, Dog? (Chrysalis)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 18 December 1988
AS CONCEPTUALISM goes, this mutant brainchild of Dee-troit unbrothers David and Don Was is semibrilliant, taking something from everybody who ever contributed anything to the ...
Charlie Sexton: Charlie Sexton (MCA) **½
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 29 January 1989
SAL, BABES, have you heard this kid, here, Charlie Sexton? That's right, kid. Yeah, he's all of 20 years old now and this is his ...
Experience Unlimited (EU): E.U.: Livin' Large (Virgin) ***
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 5 March 1989
YOWL, Y'AWL. Let's git LARGE. Big Time big time. For their major-label debut, the D.C.-based veteran "go-go" outfit not only reprises last year's booty-bustin' dance ...
Public Enemy: Ackerman Ballroom, UCLA, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 March 1989
Public Enemy Raps the System ...
Bananarama: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 April 1989
Bananarama Half-Packs Universal Amphitheatre ...
Tin Machine: Tin Machine (EMI)
Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, May 1989
Bowie's Machine: The Return of the Chameleon ...
Curtis Mayfield: The Palomino, Los Angeles
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 23 October 1989
Mayfield Performs Cream of His Crop of Hits ...
Experience Unlimited (EU), Skyy (US): Skyy, E.U.: Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 5 February 1990
Skyy Pales Before the E.U. Groove Machine ...
Fishbone: Roxy, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 7 March 1990
Fishbone Hooks Fans at the Roxy ...
The Smithereens: Palladium, Hollywood CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 1990
Smithereens Deliver Right-Left Combination ...
24-7 Spyz, Primus: Hollywood Live, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 1990
24-7 Spyz: A Blend of Idealism, Stage-Diving ...
Robert Cray: Blues Pour L'Homme
Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, July 1995
MOJO catches up with handsome devil Robert Cray in that traditional milieu of the blues hero: on the road in Anchorage, Alaska… ...
The Electric Prunes: 'I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)'
Retrospective and Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, January 1997
From the "mind-expanding" opening to the screaming-droning guitars to the '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'-derived drums, The Electric Prunes' 'I Had Too Much To Dream ...
Guided By Voices: Mag Earwhig! (Matador)
Review by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 19 June 1997
GUIDED BY Voices leader Bob Pollard is either an authentic American eccentric genius or the toppermost underachiever in pop music. Married, with two kids and ...
The Box Tops: House Of Blues, Los Angeles CA
Live Review by Don Waller, MOJO, August 1997
ADDING YET another layer of cracked lustre to lead singer Alex Chilton's legendary cult-star, The Box Tops popped on-stage, pumping out a pluperfect-for-frat-parties version of ...
Review by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 4 December 1997
Green Day is maturing, like cheese ...
The Electric Prunes: Too Much To Dream
Retrospective by Don Waller, L.A. Weekly, 15 June 2001
FROM THE "mind-expanding" flight of the 2,000-pound bumblebee opening to the liquid, screaming, droning guitars to the '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'-derived drums, the Electric ...
Review by Don Waller, Rolling Stone, 26 December 2001
1. Bob Dylan, Love and Theft (Columbia): To paraphrase what the man himself said, "Don't compare this with my old records — compare this with ...
Solomon Burke: Go On Back To Him
Report by Don Waller, MOJO, June 2002
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! "What's that noise in my earphones?" soul giant Solomon Burke calls into the studio control roost from the vocal isolation booth. "That's ...
Profile and Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, April 2003
Jon Brion, America's most in-demand singer-songwriter and producer, has his own L.A. residency. Don Waller went to check it out. ...
Bill Withers: Who Is He… (And What Is He To You)?
Profile and Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, August 2003
Remembered as a smooth '70s balladeer and a raw soul pioneer, Bill Withers is the music legend who opted out. Don Waller tracked him down ...
Lester Bangs: My Black Pages: Lester Bangs' Mainlines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste
Book Review by Don Waller, LA CityBeat, 21 August 2003
BACK FROM THE dead and bigger than ever! As a writer – hell, more importantly, as a reader – the Editorial We wuz turnin' cataleptic ...
The Rationals: Detroit blue-eyed soulsters go psychedelic but end up playing shopping malls
Retrospective and Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, November 2003
"SOME FOLKS talkin' 'bout burnin' down/I ain't talkin' 'bout burnin' down/Said I'm just talkin' 'bout gettin' down/Come on!" screams the Rationals' frontman Scott Morgan, pushing ...
The Byrds: Hello Goodbye: Gene Parsons and the Byrds
Retrospective and Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, March 2004
Hello AUGUST 1968 My passport into the Byrds was [late guitarist ] Clarence White. I'd met him a couple of years earlier at a recording session. ...
Retrospective by Don Waller, MOJO, July 2004
Ignored by the major labels, hounded by cops, fuelled by booze and drugs, L.A. punk was born in a concrete basement in Hollywood known as ...
Howlin Rain: Magnificent Fiend
Press Release by Don Waller, Birdman Records, Spring 2008
MAGNIFICENT FIEND is the second album from Howlin' Rain and the first to be issued under a joint agreement between multi-platinum record producer Rick Rubin's ...
Chris Clark - US: Motown's Great White Hope: Chris Clark
Retrospective and Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 21 August 2009
CHRIS CLARK was a 17-year-old, 6-foot platinum blond when she arrived at Motown's Detroit headquarters in 1963 -- demo in hand -- to audition for ...
Retrospective and Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, October 2009
Motown's square-peg bombshell on cultdom, comebacks and Jimi Hendrix ...
Retrospective by Don Waller, Detroit Metro Times, 7 April 2010
Raw Power finally gets its due ...
Retrospective by Don Waller, Detroit Metro Times, 7 April 2010
ON AUGUST 12th, 1975, the Runaways played their first gig — at Back Door Man fanzine founder Phast Phreddie Patterson's parents' house in north Torrance, ...
Joe Henry: Historical Home Studio: Joe Henry Records Himself in South Pasadena
Report and Interview by Don Waller, Glendale News-Press, 2 December 2011
ROCK MUSICIAN and producer Joe Henry in his home and studio in South Pasadena on Tuesday, November 15, 2011. His home, a Greene & Greene ...
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