VANITY FAIR

November 2002

No. 507

THE MUSIC ISSUE

Features

THE MUSIC PORTFOLIO 2002 Vibrant,eclectic, sometimes dissonant (but in a good way), V.F's annual Music Portfolio samples the stars of every genre—from Ashanti to Eminem, Bruce Springsteen to Ravi Shankar, Dolly Parton to Deborah Voigt. Portraits by Annie Leibovitz, Herb Ritts, Mark Seliger, Rankin, Jonas Karlsson, and other top photographers 307

SINATRA LITE Sure, Frank Sinatra made some of the most popular albums of all time. But even genius takes a wrong turn occasionally, and Of Blue Eyes had his share of total disasters—or so Bruce Handy would have us believe, with a list of incredible Sinatra misfires that include Come Drink with Me!, One for the Broads, and We Shall Overcome, Baby 368

REBEL NIGHTS Before yuppies and crack killed the scene, downtown Manhattan was a low-rent nocturnal paradise for the 70s music counterculture, drawing such talented misfits as

Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, the Ramones, David Bowie, and the New York Dolls. Lisa Robinson shares what she saw and heard as that punk-powered revolution exploded at Max's Kansas City and CBGB's 370

Fanfair

30 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE Child Play—Edward Helmore on rock-star celebrity offspring. Hot Reels: Bruce Handy reviews Femme Fatale and Punch-Drunk Love; Coming Attractions—Walter Kirn enters the Phone Booth. Elissa SchappelFs Hot Type. Richard Merkin celebrates photographer William Claxton; Henry Alford on Debbie Does Dallas. Lisa Robinson's Hot Tracks. Michael Hogan on the Nappy Roots; John Gillies charts the Scandinavian invasion. Lighter notes: A. M. Homes on the Eos Orchestra; Classical Hot Tracks. Moby struts his stuff; Hot Looks; Evgenia Peretz talks beauty with the Donnas 147

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Columns

THE BALLAD OF ROUTE 66 The 2,448 miles of Route 66 figured in Jack Kerouac's iconic road trip and provided the setting for Nat "King" Cole to get his famous kicks. Christopher Hitchens explores what remains of America's most musically celebrated highway. Photographs by Danny Turner 172

TUNE IN, TURN ON, PASS OUT, TYPE UP Rise, fall, rueful recovery: the contours of the rock 'n' roll drug tell-all are as predictable as a classic guitar solo. Reading John Phillips, Ike Turner, Marianne Faithfull, et al., James Wolcott maps out the 5-step structure of the rock-star 12-step memoir 190

HALL OF FAME Lisa Robinson nominates the creators of A Very Special Christmas, CDs that have raised $75 million for the Special Olympics and decorated

the Yuletide canon with recordings by the world's biggest pop stars. Photograph by Herb Ritts 200

ROCKING AROUND THE CLOCK Ifadayhad a soundtrack, what would be on the playlist? Haydn symphonies at dawn? Show tunes at noon? Muddy Waters at dusk? Finding that midmorning tea and biscuits are best served with a side of David Bowie, Elvis Costello spends 24 melodious hours arranging the perfect music for every moment. Portraits by Jason Schmidt 202

WHO KILLED THE HIT MACHINE? Overthe decades in which the Everly Brothers, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, and Peter, Paul & Mary helped make Warner Bros. Records the largest and most profitable label in the world, its only consistent rule was that there were no rules. Nick Tosches rips through the saga of how this once glorious tune factory survived every kind of management lunacy—until a bunch of suits decided to put money ahead of the music 212

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OCEAN CROSSING When Americans first heard Bobby Darin crooning "Beyond the Sea," in 1960, few realized it was already a beloved French anthem, recorded at the end of World War II by Gallic idol Charles Trenet. Discovering how one song became an enduring two-continent hit. Will Friedwald tells a tale of transatlantic collaboration and conflict. Portrait by Gasper Tringale 246

THE BRITISH INVASION In 1964, four lads from Liverpool turned postwar England's obsession with the hip-swiveling, blues-loving, sunshine-blessed U.S. of A. on its head. Talking to such chart toppers as Petula Clark, Herman's Hermits, and the Animals, David Kamp creates an oral history of three years when Britannia ruled the American airwaves 258

Vanities

HARD WORK AND MERRITT Steven Daly and David Kamp present "The Rock Snob's Dictionary," Version 3.0.

A week in the life of Danny Rockhackowitz, rock n roll archivist extraordinaire. Out & In: Segway, Dave Eggers, and Dave Eggers again!. 293

Et Cetera

EDITOR'S LETTER 96

CONTRIBUTORS 98

ON THE COVER 118

LETTERS: Widows of Middletown. 138

CREDITS 382

PLANETARIUM: Slow down, Scorpios. 386

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE: James Brown 388

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