CAN'T GIVE IT AWAY ON SEVENTH AVENUE: The Rolling Stones and New York City
Author: Christopher McKittrick
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Release Date: June 25, 2019
Reviewed by: James Robert Patterson
Christopher McKittrick has authored a must have, and a must-read book for anyone who over the years have grown up with "The World's Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band". Certainly, as fans we remember when an album was released, or a new song came over the radio, or maybe one of those stories about what the Rolling Stones were doing; well Christopher has given you the details behind those events…and more. If you are of that generation, that time, the era of the Rolling Stones, then you remember those events as they may have coincided with events in your own life. Martin Scorsese's quote found in the book could not have said it any better for those of us who have followed the Stones all our lives. "At different times in my life, the Rolling Stones' music dealt with different aspects of my life that I was trying to make sense of. Their music has stayed with me and been a very important part of my life over the years."
Christopher interweaves the life of the Stones with New York City. He covers multiple venues in New York where the Stones " played, in addition to other venues around the world. He takes you into details with so many well-known personalities that the Stones interacted with, to name a few, The Beatles, Hendrix, Dylan, Prince, Hammond, Jackson and Warhol. He takes you through the highlights of tours with intricate details, of albums released in conjunction with a tour, the concerts set list, attendance numbers, famous people there, reviews both pro and con, who opened, and who played with the band.
It’s very evident Christopher did his homework, pulling facts from many sources, such as newspaper reviews, magazines, including Rolling Stone, and awe-inspiring quotes from the individual books of Richards, Wood, and Wyman. As you read you might also wonder if Christopher had access to Jagger and Richards diaries.
To tease your knowledge of Stone events, how about these interesting details from the book: Photographer Michael Cooper, who did the album cover of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, also did Her Satanic Majesties' Request. I'm not revealing too much of the book because there are 256 pages of inspiring and cool facts. A few more facts: a favorite interviewee of Boomerocity.com, Bernard Fowler, backup singer for the Stones, in 1992 was on the solo albums of Watts, Wood and Richards. A young Jagger's quote, "I'd rather be dead than singing Satisfaction at the age of 45". The mild-mannered Charlie Watts had a bout with drugs and throat cancer. And Jagger's reflection on how the Steel Wheels Tour changed the industry and how it turned the Stones from a rock band to a world-class entertainment venture.
Fans are well aware of the Mick and Keith's significant disputes. Mick is quoted, "no fights, just disagreements." And there's Richards Rolling Stone quote about an apology to Mick, to keep the band together, "I'd say anything to get the band together, you know? I'd lie to my mother."
For the most avid Stone fan reading Can't Give It Away On Seventh Avenue, you'll think, "I remember that, Wow I didn't know it happened like that!". And for the reader who wants to find out more details of the Rolling Stones, more intimate specific details, then this is your book. Christopher McKittrick has done a meticulous and comprehensive coverage of "The World's Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band".
