Bill Graham Presents

Rock music promoter Graham and Greenfield ( STP: A Journey Through America with the Rolling Stones ) were collaborating on this unfailingly entertaining portrait when Graham died in a helicopter crash in 1991. The book's chronological but unusual format--it consists almost entirely of freestanding quotes, without transitional narration--works well. Sources include Graham's family, members of the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend and actor Peter Coyote; Graham, shrewd and outspoken, tells anecdotes of his own and never misses a chance to rebut his illustrious colleagues who reminisce here. His tale is the stuff of legends: a Jew born in Germany in 1931 and orphaned soon after, he was evacuated to France in 1939 and sent to the U.S. in 1941. He lived with a foster family in the Bronx, working as a waiter and cabbie until he found his calling as a rock impresario in 1960s San Francisco. Notoriety and controversy followed--for the next quarter century, he had a hand in everything from the Trips Festival to the Fillmore West to Woodstock to Live Aid to Amnesty International's Conspiracy of Hope tour. This look at a businessman unencumbered by timidity is recommended reading as an often hilarious overview of rock 'n' roll. Photos not seen by PW. Major ad/promo. (Oct.)