Chet Flippo (1943–2013)

Among the many books written about the Rolling Stones, this is my personal favorite. Like Stanley Booth (who penned what is generally considered the definitive book on the band, The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones), Flippo traveled and interacted with the Stones; unlike Booth, he managed to avoid the pompous dreariness which inevitably characterizes any book purporting to be a harrowing tragedy of epic proportions. (There's some good stuff in True Adventures, by the way: Booth just forces the reader to wade through a lot of BS to find it. As it turns out, Altamont wasn't the end of the world, and it's probably not smart to project one's concept of revolution--no matter how vague--onto a wealthy, jet-setting rock band.) Flippo's book has humor, even when the Glimmer Twins are being nasty to him, and it's like a breath of fresh air. Every bit as interesting as the author's account of participating in a late-night hotel room jam session with Mick Jagger and Ron Wood is his fastidious description of the opening night of the Stones' 1975 tour: he names every song in the set list (a somewhat unusual one, featuring "Midnight Rambler" as the final encore) and offers commentary on how each was received by the crowd in Baton Rouge. Clearly, Flippo was writing for Stones fans rather than the idle reader who equates rock 'n' roll with eyeliner, cocaine, and Jagger's girlfriend du jour. That's the glitz factor, and it has very little (if anything) to do with the nuts-and-bolts reality.… (altro)

Recently I read something that stated that while many good books were being written today few of them would be around and read 20 years from now. Everybody was Kung-Fu Dancing by Chet Flippo is a book that I believe has survived that test of time. Published in 1991 and sitting on my shelf after having been purchased off of a clearance shelf who-knows-how-many-years-ago I found great delight in reading it.

Flippo is a journalist who has primarily covered the music industry, with occasional dabbling into other aspects of entertainment, such movies and literature. He has written extensively for Rolling Stone, where he worked for a number of years and his articles have also been published in many other magazines. This book is a collection of diverse pieces he wrote for those publications, primarily from the late 70's and into the mid 80's.

The book is arranged in a thematic fashion, structured around the four cardinal virtues and the seven deadly sins. For each of the virtues and sins there are 3-4 pieces of Flippo's writing where that particular virtue or sin is on display. I was somewhat familiar with several people who are written about and only barely aware of others but I found the entire collection of essays to be both fascinating and engaging. As a journalist Flippo is adept at finding out what drives a person internally and he excels at bringing that out in ways I found to be compelling. Everybody was Kung-Fu Dancing was a good book to read once and my copy is now headed for the thrift store. Perhaps it will be a thrift store near you, where you'll find that you got much more than your money's worth.… (altro)

Williams led a sad, sad life, victim of persistent pain that kept him a slave to drugs and alcohol, resulting in his death at the age of 29. When you consider the legacy of music he left behind, you realize that he absolutely deserves his legendary status, even if, like me, you are from Alabama and denying it would be a betrayal of your birthplace. Hank Williams' music transcends any "country" label, whether he is singing a sad song or a jubilant one. Flippo does a pretty good job of chronicling his ups and downs--and the downs seem to predominate. But, hey, it isn't necessary to be happy to make great music. Just ask Beethoven.… (altro)