Leon Russell

February 1, 2023
An ambitiously comprehensive biography of a musical supernova. Though the Oklahoma musician and composer's time in the spotlight was comparatively brief, he commanded it in the early 1970s like no one else, exerting a transformative influence on rock in the process. As one of the primary creative forces behind Delaney & Bonnie, Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen, and George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh, Leon Russell (1942-2016) had a magnetic pull on artists, fellow musicians, and audiences introduced to his talents on the big screen. As a recording artist, he wrote standards often covered by others. Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and numerous other luminaries fell under his spell, wanting to channel some of the Southern gospel dynamism he injected into the rock mainstream, and unknown Tom Petty signed to his label and became a star. Then Russell seemed to disappear, or something dissipated. What happened? Janovitz, author of Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones, works his way through a complicated story. A sickly kid from Tulsa, Russell established himself as a studio superstar among studio musicians, playing on Phil Spector tracks and making hits with artists from Glen Campbell to Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Then he grew his hair and beard, experimented with LSD, and gathered a commune of kindred musical spirits around him. Russell had deep-seated insecurities and stage fright, and he was likely bipolar and perhaps autistic (both undiagnosed). He indulged heavily in shopping, eating, and sex, and he was stubborn and prone to trusting the wrong people. Though he ran out of steam, he persevered through decades, playing smaller venues. Despite his many personal and professional struggles, the story has a happy ending of sorts, with Elton John rescuing him from semi-oblivion and championing a career revival. In this exhaustively researched book, Janovitz mostly succeeds in creating a full portrait of a "Stranger in a Strange Land." Overlong for nonfans but certainly definitive.

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February 27, 2023
Janovitz (Rocks Off), front man of the band Buffalo Tom, celebrates an underappreciated rocker in this sprawling but unsuccessful biography. The author charts Leon Russell’s path from his Oklahoma upbringing, to stints as a studio pianist and producer, to touring with his band the Shelter People in the 1970s, zeroing in on his descent into decades-long obscurity before his 2016 death (a slump notably punctuated by a 2010 collaborative album with Elton John, who petitioned the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to induct Russell). The author credits Russell with a bluesy, gospel-inflected musical style, and a redneck-hippie persona—long hair, beard, scruffy top hat—that influenced performers such as like bassist Leon Wilkeson of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Janovitz tends to overhype Russell’s music (for instance, he judges the forgettable “A Song for You” to be “perfect”), but takes an illuminating dive into the rock biz’s middle stratum of session musicians and B-list acts that undergird superstars’ hits. While Russell’s rise is entertainingly chronicled and woven through with lively rock ’n’ roll picaresque (“ ‘He was always... at some party or some orgy, or with everybody going to get shots for VD,’ ” observes singer Rita Coolidge)—his fall is a tiresome slog through mediocre gigs, and business and alimony wrangles. Russell’s oeuvre doesn’t measure up to the treatment Janovitz lavishes on it.

March 1, 2023

Janovitz (Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones) takes a deep dive into the life of underappreciated rock icon Leon Russell (1942-2016). Russell moved from Tulsa to L.A. and shot to fame in the '60s and '70s as a solo artist and bandleader/arranger/producer. He collaborated with Joe Cocker, George Harrison, and Bob Dylan; he went on to influence many artists whose fame surpassed his, such as Elton John and Tom Petty. Russell epitomized the 1970s hippie ethos, living in a commune-like house and traveling with enormous entourages. The many (many) people Janovitz quotes from primary and secondary sources describe drug-fueled parties, casual sex, tour hijinks, and the inevitable rifts and feuds. They discuss his musical wizardry, dark moods, and self-destructive behavior. Family members discuss Russell's later years. Janovitz intersperses his own observations and critiques, along with exhaustive lists of musicians who played with Russell, and occasional technical descriptions of his music. VERDICT With so many overlapping narratives and meanderings, this crowdsourced m�lange lacks a throughline to the main man. However, it will send Russell's fans to their hi-fis to give his music another listen.--Liz French

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