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Becoming Elektra

The True Story of Jac Holzman's Visionary Record Label (Revised & Expanded Edition)
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Becoming Elektra tells the remarkable true story of Elektra Records and its visionary founder, Jac Holzman, chronicling how a small folk label evolved into a home for some of the most influential music of the 60s and 70s. The book explores the label's impact through artists like The Doors, Love, Tim Buckley, The Stooges, Queen, and Carly Simon, painting a vivid picture of musical and cultural innovation during a defining era.

This fully revised edition includes a new foreword by John Densmore of The Doors, fresh interviews with key Elektra alumni, and new chapters reflecting on Elektra's presence in Britain and its 70s catalogue.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3999
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Becoming Elektra will appeal to fans of music history, especially those interested in 1960s and 1970s rock and folk. It's ideal for readers curious about the evolution of the music industry and the cultural shifts of the period.

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Becoming Elektra tells the incredible true story of Elektra Records, the label that brought the world The Doors, Love, The Stooges, Tim Buckley, and more.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Becoming Elektra tells the incredible true story of the pioneering Elektra Records label and its farsighted founder, Jac Holzman, who built a small folk imprint into a home for some of the most groundbreaking, important, and enduring music of the rock era.

Placing the Elektra label in a broader context, the book presents a gripping narrative of musical and cultural history that reads like an inventory of all that is exciting and innovative about the 60s and 70s: The Doors, Love's Forever Changes, Tim Buckley's Goodbye & Hello, The Stooges, The MC5's Kick Out The Jams, Queen and Queen II, The Incredible String Band, Carly Simon's No Secrets, and many, many more.

First published in 2010, Becoming Elektra was praised as 'eyeopening' (Q) and a 'dazzling narrative' (The Sun), and for 'perfectly encapsulating the enigmatic, unpredictable spirit' of the label (Record Collector). This fully revised and expanded edition includes a brand new foreword by John Densmore of The Doors and draws on extensive new interviews with a wide range of Elektra alumni, including Tom Paley, Judy Henske, Johnny Echols, Jean Ritchie, and Bernie Krause, as well as further conversations with Holzman himself. It also adds two new chapters: a look at Elektra in Britain in the 60s and a reappraisal of the label's 70s output.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781911036036

Publisher: Outline Press Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 10 November 2016

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Jawbone

Illustration: Illustrations

Contributors:

  • Afterword by Jac Holzman
  • Foreword by John Densmore

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 215.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 352

About the Author

Mick Houghton is a music publicist and journalist who bought his first Elektra LP in 1966. Since 1979, he has looked after the Ramones, Talking Heads, Undertones, Echo and The Bunnymen, Julian Cope, Sonic Youth, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The KLF, Spiritualized, XTC, Bert Jansch, and Richard Thompson, among many others. He is the author of the acclaimed I ve Always Kept A Unicorn: The Biography Of Sandy Denny (2015), and his writing has appeared in Let It Rock, Circus, ZigZag, Sounds, Time Out, Mojo, and Uncut. He also wrote the book included with the Grammy-nominated Forever Changing: The Golden Age of Elektra 1963 1973 boxed set. John Densmore is a musician and songwriter best known as the drummer in The Doors. He is the author of the bestselling autobiography Riders On The Storm (1990) and The Doors: Unhinged (2013).

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