by Heidi Gomez ·
Friday, October 11, 2024
Jim Sullivan, journalist, music critic, and author, has a vast repository of anecdotes and conversations collected over decades of interviews with rock musicians, both classic and modern. He has compiled these into “Backstage & Beyond: 45 Years of Rock Chats & Rants.” Sullivan will read excerpts from his book at the Warner Free Lecture on Friday, Oct. 18, at Volunteers Hall in the Harvard Public Library. The event starts at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
Jim Sullivan. (Courtesy photo)
In a telephone interview, Sullivan shared how his longstanding passion for music led to a noteworthy career that included decades writing for the Boston Globe. Currently, he is freelancing for WBUR, Rock and Roll Globe, and AARP, to name a few. Acknowledging that he is a better writer than guitarist, Sullivan started writing in high school but notes that writing “really kicked into gear” in college when he began covering music for the University of Maine campus paper, then the Bangor Daily News, and the now defunct Sweet Potato magazine. Sullivan was able to gain access to some of the big acts that held concerts in Maine. It was at one such concert where Sullivan met a writer from the Boston Globe and eventually joined its journalistic ranks.
As a journalist, Sullivan has interviewed countless musicians, dined with several, golfed with some. He met them at various phases of their careers, each with their own egos, yet possibly all sharing a common desire to be heard.
In the two volumes of Sullivan’s book, the music spans decades, from the ’50s to the ’90s, and genres include punk, R&B, and even a little bit of rap. Some of the musicians he wrote about have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sullivan describes one memorable inductee, Jerry Lee Lewis, as flamboyant yet introspective and how, despite allegations made against Lewis regarding the death of his wife, Sullivan said “they got on.” Sullivan recalls spending some time with another controversial musician recently in the news, Puff Daddy in the book but now known as Diddy. “Journalistically it made for a good experience.”
Sullivan reflects that he came up at the time when musicians were much more open to talking to journalists. Unlike today, when press access is limited or controlled or guided by media people, Sullivan was able to interact more freely, gleaning entertaining stories and developing interesting relationships.
At the urging of his wife, publisher-editor, and online followers, Sullivan has shared this history of music in his book. Volume 1 (classic rock) contains chapters on artists who rose up in the 1950s and 1960s while Volume 2 (modern rock) covers artists from the 1970s through 1990s. An e-book includes these two volumes as well as an additional 11 chapters.
Sullivan’s book will be for sale and signing at the program.