Joel Selvin
Joel Selvin (pictured with Steve Miller in 2005) is an award-winning journalist and music critic who covered pop music for the San Francisco Chronicle for more than 35 years. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times, Billboard and Melody Maker, and he has contributed liner notes to dozens of recorded albums. Selvin is also the bestselling author of more than twenty books about pop music, including Fare Thee Well: The Final Chapter of the Grateful Dead’s Long, Strange Trip; Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day; Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues and Hollywood Eden: Electric Guitars, Fast Cars & the Myth of the California Paradise. Joel lives in San Francisco.
131 articles
List of articles in the library
Interview by Joel Selvin, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1969
The Bronze Liberace looks back at songs like 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Good Golly Miss Molly'; the Beatles' cover of 'Long Tall Sally'; recording in New Orleans; Miss Ann Johnson and her Tik Tok club in Macon, Ga.; touring in the '50s and his outrageous stage act; appearing in movies such as The Girl Can't Help It; finding God in '57; returning to rock'n'roll in '62 and befriending the Beatles; on why young black audiences aren't interested in him; the Black Panthers, Black Muslims and racism, and his long experiences of police harassment...
File format: mp3; file size: 36.5mb, interview length: 38' 04" sound quality: **
The Faces, The Small Faces: The Small Faces: First Step
Review by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, 28 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 ...
Little Richard: The Rill Thing
Review by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, 17 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 ...
Creedence Clearwater Revival: Pendulum: Creedence Got a New Kind of Bag
Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, 24 December 1970
BERKELEY — Creedence Clearwater Revival is rolling again, and in several directions, with their upcoming new album, Pendulum. ...
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 ...
Interview by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, 27 May 1971
SAN FRANCISCO — Otis Rush is tired. After finishing four weeks recording a new album, that's no surprise. But Otis has been tired for a ...
Clarence Carter: Slippin' Away With Clarence Carter
Interview by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, 5 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Doobie Brothers: One Guitarist On, One Guitarist Off
Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, 5 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 ...
Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 June 1975
Two Instant Hit Packages Full of Extra Goodies ...
Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra: Jeff Beck, The Mahavishnu Orchestra: Winterland San Francisco CA
Live Review by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, 3 July 1975
JEFF BECK seems determined to be taken seriously as a significant rock instrumentalist, stepping out from behind his British pop star facade. Not only his ...
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 Tubes: Tubes at the Garden of Eden: Can They Sell It Out?
Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, Circus, 6 July 1976
THE BICENTENNIAL year has been a busy one for The Tubes, bull goose loonies of the San Francisco rock world. Shortly after ushering in New ...
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 ...
Book Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 October 1978
Beach Boys' Brian — A Classic American Tragedy ...
Jack Nitzsche, Graham Parker: Jack Nitzsche: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Interview by Joel Selvin, Melody Maker, 23 December 1978
Pop legends don't come much more elusive than veteran producer Jack Nitzsche, who apprenticed himself to Phil Spector. After his success with Mink DeVille, he's currently ...
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 ...
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 ...
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? ...
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 ...
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 ...
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' ...
Live Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 June 1987
Ronnie Lane: Wolfgang's, San Francisco ...
Grateful Dead: Without a Net (Arista Records)
Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 October 1990
Grateful Dead Work Is No Sweat ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 County, California. The main building stands above a parking area surrounded ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Introduction & Voices ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter I: A Little Prince ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 2: Really A Rhythm and Blues Cat ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 3: Boys, Girls, Black, White ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 4: Pussycat à Go Go, Electric Circus ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 5: Playing Toilets ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 6: As Big As Life ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 7: There Is Going To Be a Riot ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 8: Guns And Dogs ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 9: Sly's Last Chance ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 10: Time To Go ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 11: Only Kidding ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Chapter 12: Nobody Believed Anymore ...
Sly & the Family Stone: On The Record: Sly & the Family Stone
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, Simon & Schuster, July 1997
Discography ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
Sly & The Family Stone: Lucifer Rising
Retrospective by Joel Selvin, MOJO, August 2001
THE ENGLISH TUDOR MANSION AT 783 BELAIR ROAD HAD BEEN built for Jeanette MacDonald, the Hollywood screen actress who starred in all those '30s operettas ...
Fred Neil: The Other Side Of This Life: Fred Neil, 1936-2001
Obituary by Joel Selvin, MOJO, September 2001
"FREDDIE TAUGHT me a lot," says David Crosby, speaking exclusively to me on the death of Fred Neil. "He was an amazing folk singer, probably ...
Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 September 2001
Boz Scaggs took his time – more than seven years between new albums. ...
Retrospective by Joel Selvin, MOJO, May 2003
Phil Spector, the most famous producer on the planet, is currently on bail after an actress was shot dead at his L.A. mansion. To a ...
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 ...
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 ...
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: ****
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: *****
Report and Interview by Joel Selvin, SF Gate, 21 November 2005
ART NEVILLE sat on the arm of a backstage sofa at the Fillmore Auditorium, smoking a cigarette and sipping a little white wine before showtime. ...
Booker T & The MGs, Booker T. Jones: 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: *****
Booker T & The MGs, Booker T. Jones: Booker T. Jones (2006) [transcript]
Audio transcript of interview by Joel Selvin, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 2006
This is a transcript of Joel's radio interview with the great M.G.s mainmain. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, 2006
Tom Waits talks about some of his favourite artists - William Burroughs, Daniel Johnston, Johnny Cash, and being the adult when working with Keith Richards!
File format: mp3 File size: 24.7mb Interview length: 26' 56"; Sound quality: *****
Audio transcript of interview by Joel Selvin, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 2006
This is a transcription of Joel's audio interview with Tom. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Obituary by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 January 2006
Beloved Bay Area jazz and blues critic ...
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 ...
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: *****
Madonna: HP Pavilion, San Jose
Live Review by Joel Selvin, SF Gate, 1 June 2006
Madonna follows her glitzy, exhausting script to the letter. The Madonna circus rolls in — but it's not about the music ...
Grateful Dead, The Tubes: Vince Welnick, 1951-2006
Obituary by Joel Selvin, SF Gate, 30 June 2006
WHEN VINCE WELNICK signed on to play keyboards for the Grateful Dead, some people said it probably saved his life. He had five good years ...
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: ***
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: *****
The Beau Brummels' Sal Valentino (2007)
Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, 3 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: *****
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 ...
Retrospective by Joel Selvin, MOJO, Summer 2007
ALL THROUGH the previous year, word filtered out of San Francisco about remarkable happenings and a strange new community of youths gathering around the city's ...
Guide by Joel Selvin, SF Gate, 23 March 2008
SKA EMERGED IN Jamaica as a kind of ham-fisted combination of American rhythm & blues and Caribbean folk styles, such as calypso and mento, in ...
Interview by Joel Selvin, Selvin On The City, KSAN 107.7, 23 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: *****
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
Bert Berns, Solomon Burke: Cry to Him: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns
Book Excerpt by Joel Selvin, 'Here Comes The Night' (Counterpoint Books), April 2014
In these two excerpts from Joel Selvin's splendid new biography of Bert Berns, the soul hustler from the Bronx oversees the 1961 session for Solomon ...
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