Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor is a 1998 autobiography by American songwriter, record producer and musician Al Kooper.[1] The book is a revised version of Kooper's earlier 1977 book Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life In The Sixties. The 1998 edition was initially published by Billboard Books,[2] but went out of print until 2008, when it was re-published by the Hal Leonard Corporation with updates to the text.[3][4]
Author | Al Kooper |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Autobiography |
Publisher | Billboard Books (1998), Hal Leonard Corporation (2008) |
Publication date | 1998, February 1, 2008 |
Media type | Print, ebook |
Pages | 328 pages (2008 edition) |
ISBN | 0879309229 (2008) |
In the book Kooper talks about his interactions with the music industry, including information about artists such as Bob Dylan. Kooper also discusses his days as a successful songwriter who co-authored the hit "This Diamond Ring"; his membership in The Blues Project; his forming and leaving the band Blood, Sweat, and Tears; his collaborations and friendship with blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield; and, his discovery and early production of Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Critical reception to Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards was positive,[5][6] with the Headpress Guide to the Counter Culture commenting that it was "a genuinely funny read".[7] The book also garnered a positive review from The Morton Report, who commented that it was a "great book" and that "almost every paragraph is designed to make you laugh in a laconic and self-deprecating manner".[8]