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PocketCasts Steven E. Jones: Tom Wilson’s Radically Eclectic Pop of 1966
The literary historian joins us to discuss ‘Everything Is Everything,’ his book on how the Waco-born producer Tom Wilson took Bob Dylan electric, signed Frank Zappa, and stood by Nico through her exit from the Velvet Underground.
This week we’re putting The Tonearm’s needle on author Steven E. Jones. His new book, Everything Is Everything: Tom Wilson and Pop Music in 1966, is out now. It follows the Waco-born producer through sessions with Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, the Velvet Underground, Sun Ra and many others.
We talk about the Batman record Steven bought at age seven, why some of Dylan’s booing was Tom Wilson’s fault, and why Wilson stood by Nico while the band pushed her out.
(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are “Batman Theme” from Batman and Robin by the Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale, featuring Sun Ra; the Mothers of Invention’s “Help, I’m a Rock” and “Hungry Freaks, Daddy”; Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”; Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”; and Nico’s “Chelsea Girls”)
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Dig Deeper
Author and Book:
- Visit Steven E. Jones at stevenejones.org
- Purchase Everything Is Everything: Tom Wilson and Pop Music in 1966 from Stanford University Press
Tom Wilson:
- Producer Tom Wilson, Irwin Chusid’s site, with the Music Factory radio shows
- Invisible Icon: The Tom Wilson Story (Rogue Media Network)
- Everybody’s Head Is Open to Sound: Writings on Tom Wilson, edited by Anaïs Ngbanzo
- Tom Wilson (Waco History)
- “The Greatest Music Producer You’ve Never Heard of Is . . .” (Texas Monthly)
The Records:
- The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale, Batman and Robin, with Sun Ra (Open Culture)
- The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!
- Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited
- Simon & Garfunkel, Sounds of Silence
- The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground & Nico
- Nico, Chelsea Girl
- Hugh Masekela, The Lasting Impressions of Ooga Booga, which collects The Americanization of Ooga Booga
From The Tonearm:
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- Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com
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