Conversations with Greil Marcus

Chronology

xvii Chronology 1945 Greil David Gerstley born June 19 in San Francisco, the only child of Greil and Eleanore (Hyman) Gerstley. Gerstley dies in the Philippines typhoon that sank the USS Hull destroyer in 1944. Eleanore marries Gerald Marcus in 1948; Greil is adopted and his surname is changed. Family grows to include three more boys and one girl. Marcus lives in San Francisco until 1950, Palo Alto 1950–55, Menlo Park 1955–63, Berkeley 1963 until 2010 when he moves to Oakland. Raised as a Stanford fan, immediately switches allegiance to Berkeley in 1963 when he attends University of California at Berkeley. 1966 Marries Jenelle Bernstein, June 26. 1967 Receives B.A. in American studies (individual major) from the University of California at Berkeley. 1968 Receives M.A. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley. Publishes first piece, a review of Magic Bus: The Who on Tour, in Rolling Stone, where he becomes the first records editor. Becomes music columnist for the San Francisco Express-Times. 1969 Daughter Emily born December 10. 1970 Begins five-year contributing editorship at Creem. 1971 Teaches American studies honors seminar at University of California at Berkeley. 1972 Daughter Cecily born April 12. 1974 Writes television column for City (San Francisco) 1975 Publishes his first book, Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ’n’ Roll Music with Dutton. The book comes out in revised editions in the United States in 1982, 1990, 1997, and 2008, and is published in the U.K., Germany, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, Japan, Italy, China, and France. Begins a five-year stint as a book columnist for Rolling Stone. 1978 Begins writing “Real Life Rock” column for New West (later California ) (Los Angeles), reprinted in Music Magazine (Tokyo). xviii CHRONOLOGY 1979 Edits Stranded with Knopf; editions appear in 1996 and 2007. Joins Board of Directors of Pagnol & Cie, operators of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley. 1981 Serves as book columnist for California. 1983 Begins writing music column for Artforum (New York). Named to Board of Directors, National Book Critics Circle. Serves until 1989. 1986 Begins writing “Real Life Rock Top Ten” column for the Village Voice. 1987 Edits Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung, by Lester Bangs, for Knopf. The book is published in the U.K., France, and Brazil. 1989 Publishes Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century with Harvard University Press. The book is published in the U.K., Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, and Turkey. Begins writing “Real Life Rock Top Ten” column for Artforum. Co-curates exhibition On the Passage of a Few People through a Rather Brief Moment in Time: The Situationist International, 1957–1972. Musée national de l’art moderne, Paris, at the Institute of Contemporary Art, London , and at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. 1991 Publishes Dead Elvis: A Chronicle of a Cultural Obsession with Doubleday. The book is published in the U.K., Germany, Japan, Austria, and France. Begins writing a cultural column for San Francisco Focus. 1992 Begins writing “Days between Stations” column for Interview. Named to Executive Board of College of Letters and Science, University of California at Berkeley; serves until 1998. Member of Critics Chorus in Rock Bottom Remainders, all-author rock ’n’ roll band. 1993 Publishes Ranters and Crowd Pleasers: Punk in Pop Music, 1977–92 with Doubleday, published in the U.K. as In the Fascist Bathroom: Writings on Punk, 1977–92. The book is published in Germany and Brazil. Soundtrack for Lipstick Traces released on Rough Trade Records . 1995 Publishes The Dustbin of History with Harvard. The book is published in the U.K., Germany, and Argentina. 1997 Publishes Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes with Henry Holt. The book is published in the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France, and China. Appointed Regents Lecturer in American Studies, University of California at Berkeley. CHRONOLOGY xix 1998 Curates 1948—From the Permanent Collection at Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, January-March. 1999 Theatrical adaptation of Lipstick Traces staged in Austin, Texas, and New York City by Rude Mechanicals of Austin. Dead Elvis reissued by Harvard. Begins writing “Real Life Rock Top Ten” column for Salon.com. 2000 Picador USA reissues Invisible Republic as The Old, Weird America : The World of Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes. Publishes Double Trouble: Bill Clinton and Elvis Presley in a Land of No Alternatives with Henry Holt, also in the...