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MUSICAL LEGENDS
by Justin Green
A Groovy History of Pop Music in Comix Form
($24.95,
Last Gasp)
Review by Bruce Chrislip
Many people wonder whether the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll is still alive. I don’t know. But I have made some definite Elvis sightings in the last few days in the pages of
Musical Legends by Justin Green, an entertaining collection of comic strips depicting the lives of pop music stars. The "Musical Legends" series first appeared in
Pulse! Magazine, the late, lamented music magazine from Tower Records. Hopefully, this collection will make some new fans for the comix and the artists portrayed.
These fly-on-the-wall one-page comix biographies of singers, songwriters and musicians offer a fascinating look at the world of music and the people who created it – encompassing blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, country and pop. If you ever wondered where the music came from, get this book!
You’ll see Elvis Presley repay a musical debt to jump blues shouter Roy Brown by writing him a $3,000.00 check on a potato chip bag. You’ll hear the insults that transformed Wayne Newton from top-40 wimp to Las Vegas macho man. Justin shows us why jazz violinst Joe Venuti stopped taking audience requests and how Alvin and the Chipmunks were “born” in the recording studio.
In these pages, Iggy Pop shares space with Stephen Foster; Mickey Rat cartoonist and Cheap Suit Serenader Bob Armstrong attempts a meeting with fellow musician Leon Redbone; Rancid and Jimmy Buffett mix it up with Jimi Hendrix, Dinah Washington and Bix Beiderbecke. Here’s the inside scoop on Peggy Lee, Leadbelly, Philip Glass, Irving Berlin, the Beach Boys, the Beastie Boys, Joni Mitchell, Fats Waller, Louis Jordan, Janis Joplin, Captain Beefheart, Blind Willie McTell, Ukelele Ike, Nina Simone and many more.
Justin Green, the underground cartoonist who invented autobiographical comix with
Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, has given us the ultimate pop music history in comix form. Check it out. I guarantee you will dig it!
[
Musical Legends is available from the publisher Last Gasp for $24.95 plus shipping. (Last Gasp of San Francisco, 777 Florida St., San Francisco, CA 94110 or
www.lastgasp.com). Copies are also available at www.amazon.com for $16.47 plus shipping but note that it’s listed under the title “Justin Green’s Music Legends.”]
[ Link to this review ]
