Reviews
'Don't read this book on a train. I did, then missed my stop. This is the best book about music I have read in years, and a gripping piece of social history' -- Brian Eno

'It is a wonderful book, full of interesting and quirky detail, funny and wise, and elegantly written' -- Zoe Heller

'Fascinating, captivating and enthralling - what a life, and what a way to write it!' -- Charlie Gillett

'A key producer of England's folk-rock greats looks back at the '60s.Boyd may be best known for helming unforgettable albums by Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, John & Beverly Martyn, the Incredible String Band and Vashti Bunyan, but he emerges in this memoir, originally published in England in 2006, as a sort of Zelig of '60s music. Born in New Jersey, he got his start as a concert promoter, road manager and stage manager for a variety of great folk, blues and jazz acts; the early pages of the book are filled with wonderful backstage glimpses of Lonnie Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rev. Gary Davis, Duke Ellington and others. Working for George Wein at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he witnessed first-hand the violent birthing of folk-rock in Bob Dylan's controversial performance, caught in a lovely fly-on-the-wall chapter. In London, he recorded Eric Clapton and Pink Floyd in their pre-stardom days and co-founded UFO, the city's first underground rock venue. His Witchseason Productions brought the cream of the '60s U.K. folk-rock boom to light. Returning to the U.S. in the early '70s, he produced a memorable documentary about Jimi Hendrix for Warner Bros. Boyd's remembrances are delivered in cool, straightforward and self-effacing style. He's equally at home discussing the machinations of the British music biz and the eccentricities of his oddball stable of musicians (especially the Incredible String Band and the legendary Drake, a classic introvert whose essence seems elusive even to his discoverer and longtime producer). The book unfolds in leisurely fashion and allows for engaging tangents on such topics as the joys of analog recording and the inner workings of Scientology (of which Boyd was briefly an adherent). Ultimately, the author takes a conflicted view of the radical decade; his title references the white bicycles, provided as free transportation by Amsterdam revolutionaries, that were finally stolen and repainted as the free-for-all spirit of the '60s disintegrated.A brisk, wised-up and highly entertaining consideration of a crucial musical epoch's many facets.' -- Kirkus Reviews

Book Description
When Muddy Waters came to London at the start of the 1960s, a kid from Boston called Joe Boyd was his tour manager; when Dylan went electric at the Newport Festival, Joe Boyd was plugging in his guitar; when the summer of love got going, Joe Boyd was running UFO, the coolest club in London; when a bunch of club regulars called Pink Floyd recorded their first single, Joe Boyd was the producer; when a young songwriter named Nick Drake wanted to give his demo tape to someone, he chose Joe Boyd.

More than any previous sixties music autobiography, Joe Boyd's White Bicycles offers the real story of what it was like to be there at the time. As well as the sixties heavy-hitters, this book also offers wonderfully vivid portraits of a whole host of other musicians: everyone from the great jazzman Coleman Hawkins to the folk diva Sandy Denny, Lonnie Johnson to Eric Clapton, Sister Rosetta Tharpe to Fairport Convention.

About the Author
Record and film producer Joe Boyd was born in Boston in 1942, and was the producer of Pink Floyd, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, REM and many others. He produced the documentary Jimi Hendrix' and the film Scandal'. In 1980 he started Hannibal Records and ran it for 20 years. Boyd lives in London.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1852424893/?tag=imwan-20

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Also make note of the companion CD:

http://www.imwan.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=39799

I'm looking forward to this. He gave a fascinating interview on Fresh Air. An extremely intelligent and articulate guy who seems to have been everywhere that important and interesting was being made.

This is the best book about music I've read in a long time. Not only does Boyd have a lot of tales to tell from the mid-60's on, but the book is well-written and a pleasure to read. His account of waking up one morning on the couch of a would-be girlfriend's to find her sitting at the breakfast table with one Bob Dylan is only one of many great stories.

Here bee the 40 minute interview from Fresh Air, good stuff, click on the 'listen' icon:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=9007942

This is one incredible book, it should have been twice as long.

He was everywhere and did everything with everybody. Managed tours, ran a rock club, produced records. Worked with blues and jazz greats, folkies, was at the formation of the Lovin' Spoonful, had encounters with Dylan, Geoff & Maria Muldaur, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, was involved with Pink Floyd at their beginning, the Incredible String Band at Woodstock, worked with Chris Blackwell of Island Records, producer of and friends with Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Fotheringay, Nick Drake, put together the Jimi Hendrix film, the Deliverance movie ST, met and worked with pre-Abba even.

As interesting as his career was, he had a lot of missed opportunities as well. You could say he was the Forrest Gump of rock, except that he was also responsible for a lot of things that happened. I sure would like a volume 2 of this...