Rock Concert: An Oral History as Told by the Artists, Backstage Insiders, and Fans Who Were There

Myers (Anatomy of a Song), a music writer for the Wall Street Journal, surveys in this engrossing oral history five decades of rock concerts, and the “songwriters, producers, disc jockeys, managers, promoters, and artists [that] sided with the youth culture as it struggled to be heard.” Starting with the emergence of R&B in the late 1940s and ending with 1985’s Live Aid benefit, he vividly recreates what went on behind the scenes, onstage, and in the crowds with intimate accounts from the people who were there. Joan Baez recounts what it was like to perform at the 1963 March on Washington and to lead the crowd in singing “We Shall Overcome”; Bob Eubanks describes how—despite being a disk jockey who’d never produced a concert before—he scrambled to secure the funding to make the Beatles’ legendary Hollywood Bowl performance happen; and Alice Cooper recalls relocating his band from California to the Midwest, where his “lurid and despicable” reputation resonated with Rust Belt kids. Myers also offers a thoughtful overview of the considerable ways in which the rock landscape has shifted since Live Aid, due to the popularity of streaming services and scandals recently brought to light on social media in response to “past or present me-too events.” Eminently entertaining, this is sure to delight rock fans of all persuasions. Agent: Glen Hartley, Writers’ Representatives. (Nov.)