VANITY FAIR

November 2000

No. 483

THE MUSIC ISSUE

Mariah's World...293

Features

THE MUSIC PORTFOLIO Together they’ve won truckloads of Grammys, gold records, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions. Here are 59 pages of portraits in Vanity Fair’s first-ever Music Issue, from Aretha to Yo-Yo, from Sonny Rollins to Iggy Pop— a pantheon of rock gods, R&B geniuses, jazz giants, and classical icons. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz, David Bailey, Julian Broad, William Claxton, Michel Comte, Todd Eberle, Timothy GreenfieldSanders, Sam Jones, David LaChapelle, Mary Ellen Mark, Michael O’Neill, Herb Ritts, Bruce Weber, and others.293

TAX EXILES ON MAIN STREET: MONOGRAMMED JOINTS, HITCHHIKERS, AND OTHER NOTES FROM THE 1975 ROLLING STONES TOUR In the spring of 1975, the Rolling Stones began their infamous 27-city North American trek: ten weeks of sex, drugs, and celebrities, as told by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ian “Stu” Stewart, to name a few. Lisa Robinson went along for the ride, tape recorder in hand, and now reveals what she heard and saw.356

Columns

FOREVER YOUNG A cocky, sensational young talent named Bobby Darin broke out of the bubblegum brigade with his 1958 hit, “Splish Splash,” and stood poised to become rock ’n’ roll’s next emperor. But his career was short-circuited by the lure of Hollywood—which inspired an ill-fated marriage to Sandra Dee—as well as the changing times, and a weak heart. More than a quarter-century after Darin’s death at age 37, James Wolcott explores the jagged tempo of his fame and the raucous, all-out legacy that is still winning him new fans ....134

LIKE AN ARTIST In the 16 years since she first flounced across the world’s stage, beginning her journey from disco slut to mother of two, Madonna has proved again and again that a talent for re-invention is one of her most valuable assets. Yawn. We know that. With the release of her eighth album, Music, Steven Daly argues that it’s time the Material Girl was revealed for what she really is: one of the greatest performer-producer-songwriters of her time.....146

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Here Comes Trouble...293

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COSTELLO'S 500 If you’ve ever itched to have the perfect CD collection—that is, if you’ve ever itched to have Elvis Costello’s CD collection—here’s the list you’ve been waiting for. From Abba to Zamballarana, with the best from Eminem, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, the Sex Pistols, and Mozart along the way, these are 500 must-have albums, as compiled by the encyclopedic rock star himself.158

BIRD ON A WIRE On January 9, 1942, as America reeled in the wake of Pearl Harbor, a 21-year-old jazz revolutionary arrived in New York City. Saxophonist Charlie Parker—genius, junkie, and bebop pioneer—rallied jazz musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, and Miles Davis to a rhythm that broke all the rules. In an excerpt from the companion book to Ken Burns’s new PBS series on jazz, Geoffrey C. Ward charts the tragic life of the legendary Bird.178

HALL OF FAME Lisa Robinson nominates singer Victoria Williams, founder of the nonprofit charity Sweet Relief. Since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she’s raised millions for other musicians in need. Portrait by Michael O’Neill .204

BIRTH OF AN MTV NATION It’s hard to imagine a world without MTV. But on August 1, 1981, when a handful of twentysomething men and women launched the first 24-hour music-video channel, they faced a resounding lack of interest from cable operators, advertisers, and record companies. In his oral history, Robert Sam Anson learns how these visionaries bypassed the Establishment, went straight to the kids, got a nation to scream, “I want my MTV,” and built a network that changed an industry as well as an entire culture. Photographs by Jonas Karlsson ... 206

LIVE AT THE WHISKY When he opened the Whisky a Go Go in 1964, ex-police officer Elmer Valentine kicked off one of the most glorious convergences in music history. Booking such local bands as the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and an unknown group called the Doors, he turned the Whisky into a cultural epicenter. David Kamp reports on the beginning of the club that spawned the white-booted go-go girl and drew every star in L. A.— including Steve McQueen, Mick Jagger, and the Beatles—to its big red banquettes.250

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Awake and Dreaming...273

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Vanities

MASSIVE ATTACKS Boy-band factory boss Lou Pearlman’s speed dial; Nan Darien saves the world; onstage with Cat Power; Anderson Tepper on Anoushka Shankar; Dana Brown on country icon Steve Earle; Selwyn Seyfu Hinds on pop violinist Lili Haydn; George Wayne gives Carson Daly his requests; Intelligence Report: Inside the music industry; rock snobbery— a complete primer.273

Fanfair

30 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE Hot Reels: Bruce Handy on the British comedy Billy Elliot and Joan Allen’s sexy turn in The Contender, Chris Mitchell on the indie hit You Can Count on Me, and Coming Attractions: Walter Kim takes it to the Vertical Limit; Jim Windolf on the Web’s music fanatics; Elissa Schappell’s Hot Type; Lisa Robinson’s Hot Tracks .373

Et Cetera

EDITOR'S LETTER: It’s the Music, Man....70

CONTRIBUTORS.....86

LETTERS: Blonde and Blonder....116

CREDITS.370

PLANETARIUM: Simmer down, Scorpios....384

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE: Phil Spector....386

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