cover image Rock Lives: Profiles and Interviews

Rock Lives: Profiles and Interviews

Timothy White. Henry Holt & Company, $24.95 (807pp) ISBN 978-0-8050-1396-2

Eminently browsable, Rock Lives captures the legends of rock and roll from traditional Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson to the explicitly erotic Prince. Through these 59 portraits, White ( Catch a Fire ) defines the influences that shaped the best-known practitioners of the uniquely American, ``triumphantly incendiary'' art form. The sketches, grouped into three roughly chronological categories, ``Pioneers,'' ``Pilgrims'' and ``Progeny,'' show White to be more than a mere purveyor of information. His opinions and attitudes are in evidence throughout. On Stevie Wonder: ``No singer has ever offered such uniform, unearthly escape to integrity.'' In a question to Pete Townshend: ``I've always believed that rock and roll . . . was a reaction to Hiroshima and the Holocaust.'' The interviews catch the stars generally relaxed and willing to talk about their lives and music, in which White argues convincingly, the division between life--or at least lifestyle--and art has become indistinct. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)