William McKeen

I read finished this on the ferry bound for Key West, which made for a perfect intro to the Isle of Bones. So many writers and artists have followed Hemingway's wake to arrive on Duval Street: Tom Corcoran, Thomas McGuane, Tennessee Williams, Jimmy Buffet, and, of course, Hunter S. Thompson. Most of them also followed his wake to exit the island, often with similarly tragic ends. What I most enjoyed about this book was how it introduced me to new writers about whom I hadn't yet heard enough show more to be intrigued. It was also interesting to see how much a small group of bar buddies interconnected with so many other celebrities of their time, including Margon Kidder, Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Dan
Aykroyd, and Bill Murray. The island is a relaxed oasis of live-and-let-live. The lucky make that work for them, while the rest eventually let their own ambition counterbalance it. Most ultimately escape it, sometimes leaving behind the peak of their lives; others to finally find that place. This book is always engaging, sometimes dirty, and apparently honest. show less

ile this book covers the Los Angeles music scene of the 60s, the backbone of the book is the story of the Beach Boys. Beginning with their early teen days of using music to keep their brutal, abusive, father from beating them, to the days when they worked with Jan and Dean, and then the LA studio musicians that were known as the Wrecking Crew (a crew that included Glen Campbell and Leon Russell), the book takes side roads through music other than surf pop. The Greenwich Village folk scene show more that spawned Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, and Cass Elliot. The “race music” that black musicians were putting out, mainly in the south. The various permutations Crosby, Still, Nash and Young, including bands before, during, and after. Frank Sinatra, which rather baffled me, although he was producing music that got played on the rock stations (and a chapter on how his son was kidnapped). Phil Spector and his Wall of Sound. The sex and drugs. How Charles Manson drifted around in the music world, living in Dennis Wilson’s house with his who knows how many girls, and getting a recommendation from Neil Young (the producer passed). Through the various chapters, the story returns again and again to the Beach Boys. The final chapter updates us on what happened to all those people, ending, as it began, with Brian Wilson.

I picked this book up as being of just passing interest; I was never into the surf and car music of the early 60s. But I saw that it was about more than that, so I figured I’d give it a try. I ended up not being able to put it down. It seems like the entire rock music industry was interconnected. It’s well written, entertaining (albeit depressing a lot of the time, but that’s what happened), and apparently well researched. This isn’t a memoir from someone who was there; McKeen is a professor of journalism, so I assume he takes a neutral approach to the material. Five stars. show less

In his Author's Note, William McKeen really got my hopes up. He begins the book with an anecdote about hanging out in Dennis Wilson's hotel room, the writes that for years he'd been "stockpiling" stories about the Los Angeles music scene in the 1960s. I thought that this meant that he was going to share previously unpublished tales based upon his own work as a journalist. No such luck. Instead, in Everybody Had an Ocean McKeen shares stories gathered from a lifetime of reading rock 'n' roll show more memoirs. He recycles the gossipy bits from a wide array of previously-published works, including Brian Wilson's discredited "autobiography" Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story.

The bottom line here is that underneath the sunny "fun, fun, fun" on the surface of Southern California in the 1960s, there was a dark undercurrent of "dread," symbolized most obviously by the Manson Family murders. I think this point may have been made before. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a one-volume compendium of stories about The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Phil Spector, the Byrds etc., this may be your book.

A side note: This book's official publication date is not until April 1, 2017, but it was available for checkout at my local library almost a whole month prior to that. I read the actual book, not a prepub. show less

No bells and whistles but an entertaining and well researched biography of Hunter Thompson. Emphasis is on Mr. Thompson's writing influences, but plenty of gonzo madness as well.