Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll

Jake Austen is an independent music writer and the editor of Roctober magazine. He is the author of TV-a-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol, the editor of A Friendly Game of Poker: 52 Takes on the Neighborhood Game, and a founder and co-host of the cult-favorite dance show Chic-a-Go-Go, which airs on Chicago Access Network Television (CAN-TV).

• List of Figures ixForeword / Steve Albini xiAcknowledgments xiiiIntroduction. Hi Yo, Silver! / Jake Austin 1Oscar Brown Jr. / James Porter 11David Allan Coe / Jake Austen (Interview conducted by Jake Austen, James Porter, and Bosco) 31Guy Chookoorian / Jake Austen 63Sugar Pie DeSanto / James Porter 113Billy Lee Riley / Ken Burke 128The Treniers / John Battles (Interview conducted by John Battles, Jake Austen, Mike Maltese, ken Mottet, and Dan Sorenson) 190Sam the Sham / James Porter 209The Good Rats / Jake Austen (Interview conducted by Jake Austen, Jacqueline Stewart, and Ben Austen) 226Zolar X / Jonathan Poletti 246Appendix. Suggested Listening, Viewing, Surfing 277Contributors 281Index 283

“Jake Austen has the brains of a world-class scholar driven to illuminate previously obscure but vital arcana, the soul of a historian eager to bring the past roaring back to life, and the heart of a furious but funny rock ’n’ roll hell-raiser. As the majordomo of Roctober, fronting a posse of like-minded and equally passionate fellow travelers, he has picked up the mantle of that first-generation rock-critic giant Nick Tosches and at long last given us his answer to Unsung Heroes of Rock ’n’ Roll. Yes, Flying Saucers Rock ’n’ Roll really is a book worthy of being mentioned in that company, and it’s a must for any serious rock reader’s bookshelf.”-Jim DeRogatis, critic, author, educator, and co-host of Sound Opinions-the world’s only rock ’n’ roll talk show “With an awe-inspiringly integrated and thoroughly unassuming knowledge of all the nooks, crannies, and hidden corners of American popular culture, there’s no more appropriate cheerleader for musical humanity than Jake Austen, a polymath force of nature who’s been amazing me for twenty years. If any of the rest of us had just a hundredth of the energy, enthusiasm, and big-heartedness that Jake seems to show with every project he undertakes, the world would be a much better place-and a lot more fun.”-Chris Ware, cartoonist and author of Jimmy Corrigan-The Smartest Kid on Earth