When I’m not listening, watching or posting about music, I’m probably reading about it in a memoir or biography. Like this one:
Leon Russell: The Master Of Space & Time’s Journey Through Rock & Roll History
By Bill Janovitz
Back in the spring of 1999, I was lucky enough to find myself front and center for the taping of Austin City Limits’ 25th-anniversary episode, featuring Willie Nelson with special guest Leon Russell.
I knew who Russell was, of course — mostly because of his wizardly locks and everpresent cowboy hat, which suited his boisterous, bigger-than-life sound. But I would have been lying if I claimed to know much about his music and career. And fair enough — at that point, Russell’s chart-topping heyday was long past.
Naturally, since music is nothing if not cyclical, his star has risen again in recent years — fortuitously coinciding with the publication of this informative biography from Bill Janovitz. Over the course of nearly 600 pages, the author (and Buffalo Tom singer-guitarist) painstakingly chronicles the many ups and downs of the multi-talented musical maverick’s decades-long career. His early days as a first-call session man for everyone from Gary Lewis and Bobby (Boris) Pickett to Phil Spector and Frank Sinatra; his work with George Harrison, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and a host of others; his pivotal role with Delaney & Bonnie and as the top-hatted music director of Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour; his vast catalog of solo releases and hits like Tight Rope and Delta Lady; his bad business decisions and profligate spending; his latter-day comeback spearheaded by Elton John — Janovitz covers them all with the clarity, understanding and expertise that only a fellow musician can offer. It’s like a front-row seat to one of the most unique and underheralded careers in contemporary music.
