What's Welsh for Zen The Autobiography of John Cale

by Bockris, Victor; Cale, John

• ISBN13: 9781582340685
• ISBN10: 1582340684
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-02-19
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

John Cale has been a key figure in rock music for decades. Born in 1942 in a small Welsh mining village, he was playing classical piano on BBC radio at the age of eight, and by ten he had discovered rock and roll on Radio Luxembourg. He studied music at Goldsmith's College in London and in 1963 moved to New York City, under the tutelage of Aaron Copland. Cale was quickly drawn into the heart of the artistic avant-garde via Lamonte Young's Theatre of Eternal Music and Andy Warhol's Factory, and then, together with Lou Reed, founded one of the most influential rock bands of all time, the Velvet Underground. Having left the band in 1968 after disagreements with Reed, Cale has pursued his career as a solo pianist, record producer, and composer on the international rock circuit for decades.

Author Biography

John Cale has led an extraordinary, often hilarious life at the cutting edge. A volatile personality, an innovative thinker and an expressive storyteller, he has wrestled with drugs, alcohol, and fame, yet is now at the peak of health and artistic achievement. He lives in New York City.

Victor Bockris, a veteran chronicler of the Beats and the Factory, has worked closely with Cale to produce what will undoubtedly become one of the most vivid and revealing insights into the heart of the rock world.

Table of Contents

I Was Dreaming About My Mother: 1942--60	6	(28)
Under False Pretences: 1960--63 London	34	(20)
With La Monte Young in the Theatre of Eternal Music: 1963--65	54	(12)
Journey to the End of the New York Underground: 1965--66	66	(28)
A Radical Turn of Events: 1966--68	94	(22)
Flying Solo: 1968--71 New York	116	(14)
Company Man: 1971--73 Los Angeles	130	(16)
The Island Years: 1973--75 London	146	(22)
In Dangerous Orbits: 1976--80	168	(20)
The Terror of the Moment: 1981--85	188	(22)
Songs in the key of Collaboration: 1986--90	210	(22)
Death Meets the Velvet Underground: 1990--93	232	(24)
In Mortal Hope: 1994--98	256