|
|
| Riffhard |
I have made it no secret that I think, nay I know, the best book ever written on The Stones was Stanley Booth's True Adventures.... Why? Because it just is, and I will broach no argument on this subject. It is hands down the greatest book on the band period. If you think differently you're wrong. It's really that simple.
Anyway, Booth was also a very close friend of Gram Parsons, and this is a very cool, albeit long, interview that he did some years back where he discusses the dynamic of Keith and Gram's friendship, and some rather revealing thoughts on Mick's insecurity. I hope you find this as cool as I did.
So here.....
Riffy
In 1969, you gave The Gilded Palace Of Sin a very positive review in Rolling Stone...
"A guy in a Nudie suit doing Dark End Of The Street - hey, that was it. To use a phrase of the time, that was where our heads were at. It sold, like, 400 copies - but it was a tremendously influential record on Jim Dickinson, Dan Penn, Charlie Freeman - my little circle of musician acquaintances in Memphis."
You met Gram in LA that October. What were your first impressions of him?
"I'll tell you the honest truth: I thought he was about the best looking white person of the male gender that I had ever seen. He was tanned, he looked radiantly healthy, and he had the hippest clothes. He had hipper clothes than anybody; hipper clothes than Keith. He had this one guy at Nudie's who would make things for him, and instead of going to the heavy Porter Waggoner/Earnest Tubb sort of spangled look, he had this kind of drugstore Indian look. And he was the first heterosexual male I ever saw wearing running shoes. Everyone wears running shoes today, and you don't think anything about it - but I'd never seen anybody walking around in these little running shoes with stripes on the side. But the guy had amazing, original style. And It really scared some people. It certainly scared Mick."
Was it obvious that Gram and Keith were close?
"Oh, sure, yeah. They would always be sitting talking to each other. In fact, that first day, a friend had given me some killer dope that he'd grown, specifically to twist the minds of The Rolling Stones. When Gram came in and I realised who it was, I got up and I lit this joint, started talking to him, and we walked out on to this little front lawn area, and Keith came out and joined us. He took the joint and tried to walk away with it - and I said, 'A-ah, don't bogart that joint!'
"But it was obvious that Keith and Gram enjoyed spending time together. The thing was, the reason I got along so well with the Stones, from the beginning, was that they knew I was from Memphis: they had BB King's records, but I really knew BB King. They sort of had a use for me: I could introduce them to certain people they'd like to meet - and we just all cared deeply about the same things. We just loved, for example, to sit and listen to Dorothy Love Coates, the gospel singer. At that point, it was like being in college: you have time for aesthetic controversies and political arguments - the things that make life sweet."
Chris Hillman says he always felt that Gram was quite starstruck around the Stones. Did you feel that?
"[Irritatedly] Well, Chris Hillman was never around the fucking Rolling Stones, so how would he know? Chris has a chip on his shoulder, and I understand that Gram was very difficult to be in a band with. God knows, I understand that. But that's bullshit, if you'll pardon the expression. One night we went down to Huntingdon Beach, where the Burritos were playing, and they were killer. They were fantastic. It was a great night. But as far as coming to the house, Chris Hillman never hung out with us. Nobody said, 'Chris Hillman can't come over', but...the problem was all Chris's as far as I'm concerned."
So did Gram have an equal, reciprocal relationship with The Stones?
"It wasn't a relationship with The Stones so much as with Keith. He didn't have anything to say to Bill, and Mick was just so...Mick is one of the most insecure people I've ever met. He can be very, very charming, and pleasant to be around, but he is basically one of the most insecure people I've ever met. And Gram just freaked him out. He's Mick fucking Jagger, you know? And here's this guy from Waycross, Georgia who has cooler clothes, cooler records, knows more about music - it was like Mick was going down the fast lane at 100 miles an hour, and somebody passes him at 200 miles an hour, and he goes, 'What was that?' There were moments when it really got the better of Mick."
How did that manifest itself?
"Well, he would just say these shitty things to Gram. We were sitting on a couch one night at Stephen Stills' house, where Mick, Keith and little Mick were staying, and Phil Kaufman's girlfriend was cooking, and we had various bimbos hanging around doing god knows what, and Mick delivers the message to Gram that some of the girls have been complaining about people not being very tidy around the house. And I'm staring at Mick saying this, in disbelief. I'm thinking, He would be picking up his teeth if he were saying this to me. And Gram didn't take offence, he was very gracious - but at the same time, you could tell that he was a bit taking aback, like, 'What in the hell are saying this for?' It was just ridiculous. Gram wasn't messing up the house, but he had to say something to make an attempt at dominance. You'd just think 'God, he doesn't have to act like that. He's Mick Jagger; he doesn't have to be afraid of anybody.' But that's the way Mick is."
How was Keith about all that?
"Keith is very wise. One of my favourite sayings is something Pope John 23rd said: 'Notice everything, ignore much, improve a little.' That's basically what Keith did. He was aware that Mick was having this problem. It was like little kids in the sand-box: 'He's my friend, you can't be his friend.' Childish. Benign neglect was Keith's approach to that sort of hysteria.
"But whoever you were, you couldn't help learning from Gram. He's hopping on his bike, and he's off, and he's bringing back a Lonnie Mack record, a Link Wray record...he was a spirit of such generosity, and had a real obsession with music.
"The wonderful thing about Gram was that he had such horrible things happen to him as a child - Christmas Eve when he was 12 years old, his father blows his brains out - and yet you would never get the feeling that he was all torn up. He was having a great time. These things had to hurt him: his mother died of alcoholic malnutrition the day before he graduated from high school, but he didn't impose his problems on other people. It was a very celebratory time. It was very sweet. There was a great idealism to what everybody was doing. We were all into the same things. Our being together was more celebratory than if we hadn't met each other. Everything got taken to a higher level of enthusiasm."
Did you become aware around this time that the Burritos were in a bit of a mess?
"I had no idea. And in fact, they weren't at that time. They lasted through another album. When I really got an idea of how things stood was, was when there was a guy in London at the time who wanted to bring the Burritos over, and he got me to call Gram and we talked about it, and it just never got together. I knew that all things being equal, Gram would love to come to London and play - and see Keith and hang out - but I figured from that point on, which was the middle of 1970 or thereabouts, that something wasn't working."
Why do you think Gram didn't last with the Burritos?
"I think a large part of the reason for that was Gram was very difficult. He was taking way too many drugs, he was drinking too much - and it's hard to be in a band with somebody like that. It's like being in a band with Brian Jones."
Was he using smack at this point?
"We were all doing a little smack once in a while, but it wasn't like a daily thing. Coke was around pretty constantly, but it was unusual to come across smack. We all got into it more deeply as time went on. But none of us had a smack habit at that point."
What do you think he took from his friendship with the Stones?
"He loved The Rolling Stones, you know? He loved Keith, he loved Charlie - how can you not love Keith and Charlie? Gram was sincerely and openly and honestly just a huge fan of The Rolling Stones. He wasn't trying to cop anything; he didn't need to."
What's your understanding of how the Burritos came to cover Wild Horses?
"People talk about how Gram recorded Wild Horses before The Stones. That's bullshit. The Stones' record didn't come out and didn't come out and didn't come out. Those tracks were cut in 1969, while we were on tour, at Muscle Shoals. We took the tapes out to San Francisco, and Gram was there, he met us at the hotel, and we were playing these tracks over and over, and some time later Gram asked Keith if they would mind him cutting Wild Horses, and Keith talked to Mick about it, and Mick said, 'As long as he doesn't out as a single, I have no problem.' That's how that happened."
The myth is that country music entered The Rolling Stones' vocabulary thanks to Gram...
"No, no. What about that fantastic live version of I'm Movin' On that they did in 1964 or something like that? Keith's always been into country music. I turned Keith on to Roy Acuff, but he was from this deprived background, living on this island, some place in the North Atlantic [laughs]. You couldn't expect him to know about obscure country figures - but he was hip to Hank Snow, and that's pretty hip. I don't accept at all that this is the point where they got turned on to country music, and it was down to Gram. Everybody was already into that stuff. It was 'Have you heard this guy?', but it didn't open up any new horizons."
Did you see the Burritos at Altamont?
"As I came in from the helicopter, carrying Jo Bergman and Charlie Watts on my shoulders, I heard them in the distance - but they had gone on just before we landed. I missed it. I remember in the distance hearing The Burritos doing Bony Moronie."
You and Gram were aboard the last helicopter back to San Francisco...
"Gram and Michelle Phillips were together, for whatever reason, and I had carried one of Keith's guitars up there, and we had to go through this pitch-black mawl of night, and over this fence...it was like a nightmare. Already, you could see that the helicopter was full. And Sam Cutler, bless his heart, said, 'Gram, Stanley, come on.' And Michelle got on, Gram got on - and the last thing you see in the movie getting on that helicopter is the seat of my Levi's. I've never been happier to board an aircraft. We were standing there thinking, 'What if they leave us?'"
Do you recall Gram's immediate reaction to what had happened?
"Gram went over behind the couch and stretched out and fell asleep. That was something Gram would do: he had this wonderful ability, wherever he was - if he got tired, he'd disappear and fall asleep."
You saw him again on the Stones' '72 US tour. How was he?
"Gram didn't look good. He was pale, and he had gained quite a bit of weight - almost like bloating. He had this kind of wounded quality. He'd had that horrible motorcycle accident, and he'd been down in New Orleans - and that can make a person look unhealthy. I wouldn't say he was a different person, but he sure didn't look the same. Was he declining? Well, he certainly wasn't improving."
How did you feel when he passed away?
"It was certainly a shock. You don't expect somebody to die. Pass out in the bathroom is one thing, but dying is...radical. Like when Brian died: 'Wow. He's 26 years old.'"
Do you go along with the idea that hanging out with The Stones was bad for him?
"Well, I tell you what - hanging out with The Stones has been good for very few people. I survived and I'm grateful. But look at Bobby Keys, you know? A bunch of us survived by the skin of our teeth. It's not an imaginary thing, that aspect of The Stones. They were truly dangerous to be around at that point. Were they aware of that? Oh yeah. Sure they were. They were as aware as anybody could be."
And did it cause them concern?
"Er...Well, it's kind of like being in Vietnam. If you're in Vietnam, there are people who want to cut your ears off and bury you up to your neck in dirt. You can't help being aware of that, but at the same time, you've got to do what you've got to do. What The Stones was doing was dangerous, in a lot of ways. It really did mean something. It came with the territory. "
|
|
|
| Bloozehound |
Fascinating read, I love reading these behind the scenes stories about the Stones & their entourage from that period, thanks Riffster |
|
|
| Riffhard |
Glad ya dug it Bloozy. It is a good read, and I think that Booth speaks with loads of credibility here as he was so tight to both parties during the period. I'd love to sit down for a beer or two with him. The stories he could tell would be mind boggling no doubt.
Riffy |
|
|
| Brainbell Jangler |
"You have time for aesthetic controversies and political arguments--the things that make life sweet."
Log on, Stanley; we're here for you. |
|
|
| Riffhard |
quote:
Brainbell Jangler wrote:
"You have time for aesthetic controversies and political arguments--the things that make life sweet."
Log on, Stanley; we're here for you.
LOL! I had a chuckle at that line as well my liberal friend!
Riffy |
|
|
| Brainbell Jangler |
quote:
Riffhard wrote:
LOL! I had a chuckle at that line as well my liberal friend!
Riffy
And I couldn't agree with you more about Booth's book. It captures the spirit and significance of the Stones better than any other, even Wyman's (which is encyclopedic in scope but about as exciting as an encyclopedia). |
|
|
| moonies sperm |
Thanks for that most excellent read, Riffy. We are huge fans of Stanley Booth, and wish he would post here. |
|
|
| Max Volume!!! |
Thanks for posting! Keith has cited Booth's True Adventures as one of the most accurate reads on the '69 tour that's been written and I find the guy very credible and insightful. |
|
|
| SweetVirginia |
"Well, I tell you what - hanging out with The Stones has been good for very few people. I survived and I'm grateful. But look at Bobby Keys, you know? A bunch of us survived by the skin of our teeth. It's not an imaginary thing, that aspect of The Stones. They were truly dangerous to be around at that point. Were they aware of that? Oh yeah. Sure they were. They were as aware as anybody could be."
Wow..that comment could be illustrated with photos of so many people, couldn't it?
GREAT read, Riffy. Thanks.
|
|
|
| nankerphelge |
No kidding, eh SV?!
Would be interesting to see a list of everyone that was ever SERIOUSLY around the Stones for any length of time.
Apart from those that died, it would be interesting to see before and after pix.
Christ, all I ever did was listen to the music and go see them on tour.
Look at me!
I'm shattered...
nanky circa 1980:
nanky now:
|
|
|
| glencar |
I've had that book for 15 years or so & never opened it. Is it time? |
|
|
| Riffhard |
quote:
glencar wrote:
I've had that book for 15 years or so & never opened it. Is it time?
Oh yeah Blue. It's an absolute must. That book changed the way I have viewed the Stones ever since I read it. It is just a great snapshot of the entire '69 tour, and all the inner goings on during the months and years that led up to it. Booth really knows the band personally, and he holds no punches. It's not a BS sensationalized gossip fest ala Tony Sanchez' Up and Down. It's just the real deal truth, and that makes it even more exciting to read. The story of the Blackpool show in 1966 is worth the price of the book alone! Read it! Read it now!
Riffy |
|
|
| Daethgod |
what a great read
tx Riffy
|
|
|
| BILL PERKS |
ALAN DUNN OR JIM CALLAHAN COULD WRITE THEEE MASTERPIECE! |
|
|
| GotToRollMe |
Now THAT is a worthy read. Thanks Riffy! |
|
|
| corgi37 |
Is Booth's book still available? Or, per chance, would i be better off kidnapping my local librarian until he/she gets it in?
Because..that little snippet has gosh darn whet my here appetitite for more 69 Stones.
Ta Riffy. |
|
|
| BILL PERKS |
quote:
corgi37 wrote:
Is Booth's book still available? Or, per chance, would i be better off kidnapping my local librarian until he/she gets it in?
Because..that little snippet has gosh darn whet my here appetitite for more 69 Stones.
Ta Riffy.
YES IT'S AVAILABLE AT ALL THE MAJOR ONLINE RETAILERS.GET THE UPDATED 2000 EDITION,WITH A NEW AFTERWORD BY STANLEY.
IT'S BY FAR THE BEST BOOK ABOUT THEM..PROLLY READ IT 50X OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS |
|
|
| Ronnie Richards |
Very interesting read.
Thanks a lot! |
|
|
| GotToRollMe |
quote:
corgi37 wrote:
Is Booth's book still available? Or, per chance, would i be better off kidnapping my local librarian until he/she gets it in?
Because..that little snippet has gosh darn whet my here appetitite for more 69 Stones.
Ta Riffy.
It's a steal at $11.53:
http://www.amazon.com/True-Adventures-Rolling-Stones/dp/1556524005/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205418198&sr=8-1
|
|
|
| guitarman53 |
I thought Dance With The Devil & True Adventures were two different books, but from this Interview their just different titles.
http://rockcriticsarchives.com/interviews/stanleybooth/stanleybooth.html
Interview with Stanley Booth |
|
|
| texile |
quote:
glencar wrote:
I've had that book for 15 years or so & never opened it. Is it time?
it captures a stones time capsule, a bit hazily....
because for me, booth was too much of a keith/anita desciple for the book to be absolute and definitive.
again, jagger is portrayed as the outsider/square -
and that may be, but writers like booth never seemed interested in trying to dig deeper into jagger...or reading past the mask.
once they are seduced by and get a dose of keith/anita (laced with drugs)- they are smitten with one side of the story.
he calls gram cooler, more knowledgeable than jagger -
then where the hell did we get all that great music?
|
|
|
| SweetVirginia |
quote:
nankerphelge wrote:
Christ, all I ever did was listen to the music and go see them on tour.
Look at me!
I'm shattered...
nanky circa 1980:
Look at Young Nanky! So cute.
They stole my youth and innocence, too.
|
|
|
| Riffhard |
quote:
texile wrote:
it captures a stones time capsule, a bit hazily....
because for me, booth was too much of a keith/anita desciple for the book to be absolute and definitive.
again, jagger is portrayed as the outsider/square -
and that may be, but writers like booth never seemed interested in trying to dig deeper into jagger...or reading past the mask.
once they are seduced by and get a dose of keith/anita (laced with drugs)- they are smitten with one side of the story.
he calls gram cooler, more knowledgeable than jagger -
then where the hell did we get all that great music?
I don't know if I quite agree with you here texile. I mean sure it is rather obvious that Booth was squarely in the "Keith Camp", however, remember that even Keith made that now famous comment that Mick was,"a great bunch of fellows". So it is very obvious that Mick is not the easiest guy to get a read on. He has never let anyone get too close. Even Keith! So Stanley just naturally drifted towards the guy that was more open and accessible.
What Booth states in this interview about Gram being cooler that anyone in the room has been stated by many others as well. This is why Keith and Gram seemed like brothers! They were/are also both voracious in their musical and drug appetites. Booth even points out that Mick had no reason to be insecure because he was Mick fucking Jagger!, but that just puts Jagger's insecurity into clear perspective. I mean this was 40 years ago afterall so the insecurity must have lessened in the decades since Gram's star burned out.
At the end of the day I have to say that True Adventures is not only the single greatest Stones' book that I have ever read, but it the single greatest book on the 60's,the rock and roll culture, and the whole era of when the Stones truly were the most dangerous band in the world. He is just a great damned writer.
Riffy |
|
|
| texile |
i agree with you on most counts riffhard, particular about jagger being hard to assess,
but a journalist should be a bit more outside his subject -
because then it becomes about him and if you see the book as more of a personal journey (that's how i enjoyed it) - it is what it is.
but i prefer greenfield's stp as a fly-on-the-wall account and glimpse into a stones inner-sanctum - but from the outside looking in.....
|
|
|
| LadyJane |
quote:
SweetVirginia wrote:
They stole my youth and innocence, too.
Look at little SV!!!!!!!!!!
How adorable.
I must order this book.
LJ. |
|
|
| Riffhard |
quote:
texile wrote:
i agree with you on most counts riffhard, particular about jagger being hard to assess,
but a journalist should be a bit more outside his subject -
because then it becomes about him and if you see the book as more of a personal journey (that's how i enjoyed it) - it is what it is.
but i prefer greenfield's stp as a fly-on-the-wall account and glimpse into a stones inner-sanctum - but from the outside looking in.....
Well there can be no doubt that Booth's book is from the perspective of being on the inside. I mean he did live with Keith for the better part of two years after the tour in 1969. He only got out alive by the skin of his teeth as ne maintains in this interview. It took him years to put the book out because he was trying to get rid of the smack habit that being inside the inner sanctum brought upon him.
It is this very reason that I prefer his book. He not only knew (and still does know) all the main players, but he became closer to them than anyone else that has ever written about them. The argument could be made that Tony Sanchez was as close, but that doesn't really wash. Tony was an employee. Stanley Booth was a freind and confidant. When Keith personally states that "Stanley's book is closest thing to the truth ever written", I tend to take his word for it. Plus Booth's writing style is just so damned engrossing. I have never felt that I got so close to actually knowing the band as I did when I read True Adventures.
Riffy |
|
|
| Gazza |
Superb read. Thanks.
I didnt know Parsons hung with the Stones during the '72 tour. The impression I got (from what I'd read or heard before) was that after he 'left' Nellcote duing the Exile sessions, he never met the band again.
[Edited by Gazza] |
|
|
| Gazza |
quote:
Riffhard wrote:
Glad ya dug it Bloozy. It is a good read, and I think that Booth speaks with loads of credibility here as he was so tight to both parties during the period. I'd love to sit down for a beer or two with him. The stories he could tell would be mind boggling no doubt.
Riffy
I think I read one time on Gasland about one guy there who simply looked him up in the phone book, called him and had a nice chat with him about the Stones... |
|
|
| Riffhard |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
I think I read one time on Gasland about one guy there who simply looked him up in the phone book, called him and had a nice chat with him about the Stones...
That would be exactly the way I would like to meet him. If he still lives in Waycross, Ga. I could see him being listed in the phone book. Waycross has nothing to offer but heat, mosquitoes, Stanley Booth, and a huge swamp.
I have yet to read Booth's book on Keith. Have you ever read it Gazza? If so, how is it?
Riffy |
|
|
| PartyDoll MEG |
Riffy..you forced me to get out my pile of Stones books from under the bed! (Don't ask why they were under the bed) Oh you should have seen the dust fly!!
Booth 's "True Adventures" has always been my favorite read of them all!!
I couldn't remember if I had his Keith Book..and I don't. Guess we should get it, Riffy?
Oh and thanks for the very interesting read!!
[Edited by PartyDoll MEG] |
|
