THE STORY OF ROCK 'N' ROLL

by Pete Fornatale ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 30, 1987

An affectionate but carelessly written tribute by a well-known radio personality. Readers desiring historical perspective on the most popular music of the 50's, 60's and 70's will find the important names, dates and song-titles here, leavened with personal opinion and reminiscence. They will also find only hurried and unreflective references to drug abuse, unscrupulous commercial practices or the industry's pervasive racism, unfortunate turns of phrase (bullets ""rang out"" to assassinate President Kennedy; Grace Slick and Janis Joplin are described as ""hard-rocking mamas""), and a breezy assumption that readers will know what is meant by ""personnel adjustments"" in a band, or ""the charts."" Fornatale covers rock 'n' roll on film and television, brings his account up to mid-1986, and appends a well-chosen bibliography. A flawed but current survey, about one-third the length of Ward et al.'s definitive Rock of Ages (1986), and considerably more accessible. Well sprinkled with black-and-white photos of the stars.

Pub Date: April 30, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S