Joel Selvin (born February 14, 1950) is an American

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

-based music critic and author known for his weekly column in the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'', which ran from 1972 to 2009. Selvin has written books covering various aspects of

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

—including the No. 1 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' best-seller ''Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock'' with

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

—and has interviewed many musical artists. Selvin has published articles in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', '' Billboard'', and '' Melody Maker'', and has written liner notes for dozens of recorded albums. He has appeared in documentaries about the music scene and has occasionally taken the stage himself as a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

singer.

Writing career

Music critic

Selvin was born in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

. He has stated that he failed to graduate with his Berkeley High School class of 1967. He moved to San Francisco and was hired as a copy boy at the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Selvin soon wangled a backstage pass for a show at

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fillm ...

and submitted his first piece to the ''Chronicle's'' Sunday Datebook in 1969.MorningForum.com
''Joel Selvin in Winter/Spring 2008 program''
Retrieved on June 19, 2009. Selvin left the ''Chronicle'' for a brief, unsuccessful effort in undergraduate studies at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

where he wrote for the school paper. Returning to San Francisco, he wrote a review of '' First Step'' by the

Faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...

for ''Rolling Stone'', published in May 1970.Rocksbackpages.com. Writers
''Joel Selvin''
Retrieved on June 18, 2009. In 1972, Selvin was hired as an assistant to ''Chronicle'' music critic

John L. Wasserman John L. Wasserman (August 13, 1938 – February 25, 1979) was an American entertainment critic for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1964 until the time of his death in 1979. Known more for humor and originality than in-depth analysis, he's best k ...

, and began to write for both the daily and the Sunday newspaper issues, filing reviews of local shows with

as well as

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

performances. When Wasserman died in 1979, Selvin picked up the reins of the ''Chronicle's''

coverage. A half year later, one of Selvin's more infamous pieces ran about

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's first concert in San Francisco after his conversion to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. In his piece entitled "Bob Dylan's God-Awful Gospel", Selvin wrote: In 1994, Selvin began managing other pop music staff writers, directing and overseeing their assignments, and editing their contributions, all while continuing to contribute his own reports. Selvin reviewed music for the ''Chronicle'' for more than three decades. His weekly column was observed by competing journalists as one which sometimes contained errors. Bill Wyman worked for a time as the editor of "Riff Raff", the music review column at the ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards ...

'', a free weekly newspaper distributed in San Francisco. Wyman and his colleagues regularly printed a section entitled "Selvin Watch" which listed small and large mistakes made by Selvin in his ''Chronicle'' column. Wyman once wrote that the rule at "Selvin Watch" was to ignore one or two errors, but publish if there were three or more in any one Selvin piece. For instance, the "Selvin Watch" section of April 1, 1998, included mention of five spelling errors in names of people and songs, and an incorrect recounting of how Metallica was seen to "whip out" the song " Fade to Black" and "ride off into the sunset" with it, even though they did not play that song at that concert. In January 1999, Derk Richardson interviewed Selvin and other

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

music critics about the perks that are given to them by music industry promoters. Richardson, at that time the music critic writing for the ''

San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. It was relaun ...

'', evoked a written response from Selvin saying "You shoulda been around when it was really flowing; cases of liquor at Christmas, lavish parties with hookers and drugs (I remember one '' Lady Sings the Blues'' affair in particular). Graft is penny-ante these days."SFGate.com, January 21, 1999. Derk Richardson
''Love Those Perks!: Critics Sound Off on the Ethics of Music Journalism''
Retrieved on June 20, 2009. Regarding conflict of interest issues that may result from a critic and a musician becoming friends, Selvin responded, "We are encouraged to develop sources as confidants. The better our sources, the more effective our work. But developing these sources inevitably engenders sympathy or, at least, empathy that might be seen as compromising." Selvin continued, "I think everybody has to kind of draw their own lines of what is compromising in their hearts. For instance, I take the free CDs and use them as tools of my work. I would not accept any paid travel any longer (I did in the 1970s)." Selvin commented on remaining hard-nosed and aloof: "I always like to remember what Jesse Unruh—remember him?—said about

lobbyists In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, whi ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

: 'If you can't eat their food, drink their drinks and vote against 'em the next day, you have no business being here.'" Overall, though, Selvin reported that he felt the work of a music critic had its own value: "I like to think that I make contributions to the community at large and, more specifically, the music community that I report on." SF Sounds - AES Historical session 2012

On May 26, 2009, the

Great American Music Hall The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. It is known for its decorative balconies ...

hosted a retirement party for Selvin featuring appearances by "Big Al" Anderson,

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal f ...

, John Handy, Bonnie Raitt,

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as " Help Me, Rh ...

, Bud E. Luv, Prairie Prince,

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song " Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", " Baby ...

and

Scott Matthews Scott Matthews is an English singer-songwriter from Wolverhampton, England.

. Selvin's ex-wife Keta Bill and daughter Carla, both musicians, took part in the celebration. Gibson Guitar Corporation gave Selvin a

Gibson SG The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG (where "SG" refers to Solid-Body Guitar) Standard is Gi ...

guitar which was signed by many of the artists present. In January 2014, Selvin was given the Marquee Award for lifetime achievement at the annual San Francisco nightlife awards, the Niteys.

Author

In 1990, Selvin published ''Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation'', a biography of

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

which was nominated by Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) for the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book award. The book was made into a

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

entitled ''Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol'', released in 1999. In 2001, Selvin helped Paul Grushkin in authoring for ''

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

'', a book describing highlights of the restaurant and nightclub chain's extensive collection of rock and roll memorabilia. In November 2010, Selvin published ''Smart Ass: The Music Journalism of Joel Selvin'', a collection of 40 years of rock and roll reviews, interviews and articles centered on California performances, especially San Francisco Bay Area ones. In March 2011, ''Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock,'' which Selvin co-wrote with

, hit No. 1 on the ''

'' best-seller lists. His book ''Peppermint Twist'', co-authored with John Johnson Jr. (with Dick Cami), was published in November 2012 by Thomas Dunn/St. Martins Press. This is the secret story of the top Mafia chief behind the New York City nightclub made world-famous by the Twist dance craze. Selvin also co-authored the autobiography of tattoo artist

Ed Hardy Don Ed Hardy (born 1945) is an American tattoo artist known for his tattoos, strong influence on the development of modern tattoo styles, and his eponymous apparel and accessories brand. Early life Hardy was born on January 5, 1945, in Des Moi ...

, ''Wear Your Dreams: My Life In Tattoos'', for Thomas Dunne in June 2013. He also co-authored with Epic Records chairman L.A. Reid, ''Sing To Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who's Next'', for Harper Collins in 2016. His ''Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of

Bert Berns Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include " Twist and Shout", " Piec ...

and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues'', published in April 2014 by Counterpoint Press, was called "a masterpiece of research, writing and investigative literature about one of the most influential and little-known songwriters in rock history" by the ''Cleveland Plain-Dealer''. ''The Haight'', his 2014 book with photographer Jim Marshall, was named one of the ten best rock books of the year by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Gold medal winner—Best Regional Non-Fiction, 2015 West-Pacific IPPY Awards. In August 2016, Selvin published ''Altamont: The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels, And The Inside Story Of Rock's Darkest Day'', a history on the Rolling Stones' concert debacle at the Altamont Speedway. His ''Fare Thee Well: The Final Chapter in the Grateful Dead's Long, Strange Trip'' (with Pamela Turley) is a controversial insiders tell-all account of the twenty years of in-fighting after the death of bandleader Jerry Garcia that preceded the emotional reunion of the "core four" surviving members in historic concerts in California and Chicago in July 2016. The book was published in June 2018 by Da Capo Books. "...smartly steers clear of tie-dyed '60s mysticism," said ''Washington Post''. The ''New York Times'' cited Selvin's "blunt, unpretentious and brisk" style in their review of "Hollywood Eden," his 2021 West Coast pop origin story centered on the University High School class of '58, whose members included Jan and Dean, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Johnston, Sandy Nelson, Kim Fowley, even Gidget.

Music business

Selvin was one of the early members of the Rock Bottom Remainders, a

band composed solely of published writers. Their first public appearance was in 1992. Selvin sang as part of the "Critics Chorus" on one cut of the band's recording ''Stranger Than Fiction'', and again joined the chorus for a performance in Bangor, Maine, in May 1998 where reviewer Kev Quigley noted Selvin's 30-second jumping, screaming vocal solo within the band's profanity-filled version of "

Louie Louie "Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and ...

". Selvin wrote one of the chapters of the band's book ''Mid-life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America with Three Chords and an Attitude'', published in 1994. Selvin said that "the magic of the Remainders is that they got to be a rock band—a royally treated rock band—without having to play like one.""Don't Quit Your Day Job" Records
''Rock Bottom Remainders''
. Retrieved on June 19, 2009. In 1993, Selvin co-produced

Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverb. Dale was known a ...

's album '' Tribal Thunder''.

Moving image

Selvin has been interviewed several times on camera for documentaries about the music scene. In 2003, Selvin served as a consultant and appeared on screen in the TV movie '' Get Up, Stand Up: The Story of Pop and Protest'', covering the subject of the music world's activity in politics.Internet Movie Database
''Joel Selvin''
Retrieved on June 19, 2009. In 2006, Selvin appeared as himself in the four-hour documentary ''Bob Dylan 1975–1981: Rolling Thunder and the Gospel Years''. Selvin was interviewed for a Public Broadcasting Service documentary called ''Summer of Love'' which was completed in 2007. On the subject of the Summer of Love, Selvin said:

Teaching and speaking

Selvin has taught classes at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

and has lectured at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

, Blue Bear School of Music, and at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Journalism Colloquium. Selvin has taken part in museum events regarding rock and roll memorabilia. In May 1997, he served as featured docent for the San Francisco Sound half of a psychedelic era exhibit of London and San Francisco memorabilia at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. On June 16, 2001, Selvin gave an opening address entitled "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been: Setting the Tone for the Weekend" at the "Monterey Pop Revisited" symposium, a conference assembled in honor of a Monterey, California museum exhibition of memorabilia from the

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

. Selvin told the audience that "Section 43" recorded in 1965 by Country Joe and the Fish was "the definitive recorded example of genuine

acid rock Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, d ...

Personal life

Selvin was married to musician Keta Bill with whom he had a daughter, Carla. The couple divorced.MySpace.com
Joel Selvin's MySpace page
Retrieved on June 18, 2009. Selvin and Keta Bill were active in Thunder Road, a youth-oriented alcohol and drug rehabilitation center. Selvin is an important contributor to H.E.A.R. and is a board-member-at-large for the Arhoolie Foundation, an organization branched from

Arhoolie Records Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was founded ...

to support "traditional and regional vernacular musics".

Published works

;Books * 1990. Selvin, Joel. ''Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation'', Contemporary Books, 331 pages. * 1992. Marshall, Jim; Selvin, Joel. ''Monterey Pop: June 16–18, 1967'', Chronicle Books, 106 pages. * 1993. Selvin, Joel. ''Summer of Love: The Inside Story of LSD, Rock & Roll, Free Love and High Time in the Wild West'', Cooper Square Publishers, 376 pages. *1994. Selvin, Joel; Bachman, Randy.

, illustrator
''Photopass: The Rock & Roll Photography of Randy Bachman''
SLG Books, 128 pages. *1994. King, Stephen, with Dave Marsh,

Ridley Pearson Ridley Pearson (born March 13, 1953 in Glen Cove, New York) is an American author of suspense and thriller novels for adults, and adventure books for children. Some of his books have appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Literary ...

Amy Tan Amy Ruth Tan (born on February 19, 1952) is an American author known for the novel '' The Joy Luck Club,'' which was adapted into a film of the same name, as well as other novels, short story collections, and children's books. Tan has written ...

, Dave Barry, Tad Bartimus, Roy Blount, Jr., Michael Dorris,

Robert Fulghum Robert Lee Fulghum (; born June 4, 1937) is an American author and Unitarian Universalist minister. Early career He grew up in Waco, Texas and received his Bachelor of Arts at Baylor University in 1958. He received his Bachelor of Divinity at ...

, Kathi Kamen Goldmark,

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

, Barbara Kingsolver,

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

, Joel Selvin.
''Mid-life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America with Three Chords and an Attitude''
Hodder & Stoughton, 448 pages. *1996. Selvin, Joel
''San Francisco, the musical history tour: a guide to over 200 of the Bay Area's most memorable music sites''
Chronicle Books, 176 pages. *1998. Selvin, Joel; Marsh, Dave
''Sly and the Family Stone: An Oral History''
HarperCollins Publishers, 195 pages. *2001. Grushkin, Paul; Selvin, Joel
''Treasures of the Hard Rock Cafe: The Official Guide to the Hard Rock Cafe Memorabilia Collection''
Rare Air, 300 pages. *2004. Selvin, Joel; Marshall, Jim
''Jim Marshall: Proof''
Chronicle Books, 132 pages. *2010. Selvin, Joel
''Smartass: The Music Journalism of Joel Selvin''
SLG Books, 416 pages. *2011. Selvin, Joel; Hagar, Sammy
''Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock''
Itbooks/Harpercollins, 242 pages. *2012. Selvin Joel; Johnson, John Jr.; with Dick Cami
''Peppermint Twist: The Mob, the Music, and the Most Famous Dance Club of the '60s''
Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 304 pages. *2013. Selvin, Joel; Hardy, Ed
''Wear Your Dreams: My Life In Tattoos''
Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 293 pages. *2014. Selvin, Joe
''Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues''
Counterpoint Press, 433 pages, * 2014. Selvin, Joel. ''The Haight: Love, Rock and Revolution -- The Photography of Jim Marshall'', Insight Editions, 296 page, * 2016. Selvin, Joel; Reid, LA. ''Sing to Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic and Searching for Who's Next'', Harper, 390 pages, * 2016. Selvin, Joel. ''Altamont: The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day'', Dey Street Books, 368 pages. * 2018. Selvin, Joel; Turley, Pamela. ''Fare Thee Well; The Final Chapter in the Grateful Dead's Long, Strange Trip'', Da Capo Books, 280 pages. *2020. Selvin, Joel; Mustaine, Dave; '' Rust In Peace; The Inside Story of the Megadeth Masterpiece'', Hachette Books, 181 pages. * 2021. Selvin, Joel; ''Hollywood Eden; Electric Guitars, Fast Cars, and the Myth of the California Paradise'', House of Anansi Press, 297 pages.

References

External links

Joel Selvin official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selvin, Joel Living people American music critics American music journalists American columnists American rock musicians Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni Writers from Berkeley, California Writers from San Francisco Rock Bottom Remainders members 1950 births