April '69 issue, this time...
Neil Young, around the time he was finishing up his first solo album (talking to Pete Johnson):
"I never wanted to be in a group. I came out here to make it as a single and all of a sudden I was in this group and the group was so good I couldn't believe it. It was fun. It was fantastic, finding out about everything. That's when the group was good, at the Whiskey a Go-Go. [...] But that whole scene is so strange. It really doesn't have anything to do with music. That's where you meet people who are supposed to be the connection for you to make it, you know.
"Johnny Rivers was playing at the Whiskey and I really thought that was great. 'Johnny Rivers? Out of sight, I've got to go in.' Then we played second to Johnny Rivers. We were really down to earth then, we were really natural. Stephen and I did something that neither one of us would do now. We sat up there in front of Johnny Rivers when he was on stage and Steve and I were really digging Johnny Rivers, really getting into Johnny Rivers. Yelling and clapping when he took guitar solos." He pauses in his enthusiastic reconstruction of the scene and adds in a near-undertone, "It's not hip to be there, I guess. Know what I mean? You can't do that kind of thing and survive, apparently. That's a really funny scene."
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From an otherwise voluble and ultra-positive conversation between
Sly Stone and Ellen Sander:
HP: Hey, after having met you, I can't believe that you were making "obscene gestures" to passers-by from your car. I read that in some newspaper. Is it true? What were you doing?
SLY: This [holding up two fingers in a "v"].
HP: A peace sign! That's what they consider an obscene gesture?
SLY: [silence, a grim smile crossed his face and he didn't say much]
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George Harrison (talking to Alan Smith):
You never really wanted to go to school, you wanted to go out and play or something. So when some record came along like Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel", and you had this little bit of plastic... it was so amazing. Now, it's hard to realize that there are kids like I was, where the only thing in their life is to get home and play their favorite record, and maybe it's ours.
We know Elvis is great. We know he is. He stopped being a rocker, and they made him go into the Army and by the time he came out he was a clean healthy American doing clean healthy songs and films. But basically, he's got such a great bluesy voice.
It would be great if the Beatles and Elvis could get together for an album. It really would.
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