Crawdaddy! The Magazine of Rock

Originally published in Beat Instrumental, May 1972

“There is only one decent book that has ever been written on pop,” said Nik Cohn from beneath his wide-brimmed hat, “and that’s Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom. After assuring me that he was absolutely serious he added: “Even that’s crap.” However, he obviously feels that it’s the best of a bad crop of literature on pop, otherwise he wouldn’t have written it.

Speaking of his flirtation with pop, he said: “I spent two or three years in it, wrote a book on it, and then got out. Really, who gives a fuck if Leon Russell is the newest dimension in rock experience? He’s a poor man’s Jerry Lee Lewis without the voice, without the talent, and without the piano.

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