Purchase
The Ballad of Joe Strummer
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
May 2007
On Sale: May 14, 2007
640 pages
ISBN: 057121178X
EAN: 9780571211784
Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction Biography
The Clash was--and still is--one of the most important
groups of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Indebted to
rockabilly, reggae, Memphis soul, cowboy justice, and '60s
protest, the overtly political band railed against war,
racism, and a dead-end economy, and in the process imparted
a conscience to punk. Their eponymous first record and
London Calling still rank in Rolling Stone's top-ten best
albums of all time, and in 2003 they were officially
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Joe Strummer
was the Clash's front man, a rock-and-roll hero seen by many
as the personification of outlaw integrity and street cool.
The political heart of the Clash, Strummer synthesized
gritty toughness and poetic sensitivity in a manner that
still resonates with listeners, and his untimely death in
December 2002 shook the world, further solidifying his
iconic status. Music journalist Chris Salewicz was a friend to Strummer for
close to three decades and has covered the Clash's career
and the entire punk movement from its inception. With
exclusive access to Strummer's friends, relatives, and
fellow musicians, Salewicz penetrates the soul of an icon.
He uses his vantage point to write the definitive biography
of Strummer, charting his enormous worldwide success, his
bleak years in the wilderness after the Clash's bitter
breakup, and his triumphant return to stardom at the end of
his life. In the process, Salewicz argues for Strummer's
place in a long line of protest singers that includes Woody
Guthrie, John Lennon, and Bob Marley, and examines by turns
Strummer's and punk's ongoing cultural influence.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
| 
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy