| "The Rock and Roll Dead Zone" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by Stephen King | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre(s) | Short story | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All | ||
| Publication type | Anthology | ||
| Publisher | Coliloquy | ||
| Media type | ebook | ||
| Publication date | 2013 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
"The Rock and Roll Dead Zone" is a short story by Stephen King. It was published in 2013 as part of the anthology work Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All.
"The Rock and Roll Dead Zone" is a first-person narrative with Stephen King himself as the storyteller. It is one of a small number of King's works of fiction to feature King himself as a character. [1]
The story opens with an exhausted King returning to his home after a book tour. Upon arriving, King is met by his childhood friend Edward "Goochie" Gooch, a Falstaffian rock and roll aficionado who is wont to bring King grandiose investment propositions. After making himself a sandwich, Gooch delivers a presentation to King on his latest idea: a theme park named "The Rock and Roll Dead Zone" (a homage to King's novel The Dead Zone ), for which Gooch is seeking a $30,000,000 (equivalent to $37,689,000in 2022) investment from King.
Gooch shows King various artist's impressions of the theme park, which is to feature dioramas portraying locations relating to rock and roll songs about death. These are to include the "Honey House" (from Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey"), the "Eddie Cochrane Memorial Highway, leading straight to Dead Man's Curve" (from Jan and Dean's "Dead Man's Curve"), the "Dickey Lee Go-Kart Arena" (from Ray Peterson's "Tell Laura I Love Her"), "Big John's Mine of Doom" (from The Buoys' "Timothy"), and the "Tallahatchie Bridge" (from Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe") over the "Moody River" (from Pat Boone's "Moody River").
The story ends with King offering to give Gooch Mitch Albom's phone number, telling Gooch "you need somebody who's more hip to the afterlife". [2]
"The Rock and Roll Dead Zone" was published in 2013 as part of the anthology ebook Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All, edited by Sam Barry. [2] [3] [4] The story was originally uncredited to King; the ebook featured four stories written in the style of King, with readers challenged to guess which was actually authored by King. [5]
David McAlister Barry is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for the Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comic novels and children's novels. Barry's honors include the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary (1988) and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism (2005).
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Called the "King of Horror", his books have sold more than 350 million copies as of 2006, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections. His debut, Carrie, was published in 1974, and was followed by 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand and The Dead Zone. Different Seasons, a collection of four novellas, was his first major departure from the horror genre. The novellas provided the basis for the films Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption. King has published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and has cowritten works with other authors, notably his friend Peter Straub and sons Joe Hill and Owen King.
Randolph Charles Bachman is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a number of short-lived bands such as Brave Belt, Union and Ironhorse. He was a national radio personality on CBC Radio, hosting the weekly music show, Vinyl Tap. Bachman was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.
The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of drummer Graeme Edge, guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine, keyboardist/vocalist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Ray Thomas, and bassist/vocalist Clint Warwick. Originally part of the British beat and R&B scene of the early–mid 1960s, the band came to prominence with the UK No. 1 and US Top 10 single "Go Now" in late 1964/early 1965. Laine and Warwick left the band by the end of 1966, being replaced by guitarist/vocalist Justin Hayward and bassist/vocalist John Lodge. They embraced the psychedelic rock movement of the late 1960s, with their second album, 1967's Days of Future Passed, being a fusion of rock with classical music that established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. It has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".
Highway to Hell is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979. It is the first of three albums produced by Mutt Lange, and is the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who died on 19 February 1980.
The Rock Bottom Remainders, also known as the Remainders, was an American rock charity supergroup consisting of popular published writers, most of them also amateur musicians. The band took its self-mocking name from the publishing term "remaindered book", a term for books that are no longer selling well and whose remaining unsold copies are liquidated by the publisher at greatly reduced prices. Their performances collectively raised $2 million for charity from their concerts.
Roy Alton Blount Jr. is an American writer, speaker, reporter, and humorist.
Greg Iles is a novelist who lives in Mississippi. He has published seventeen novels and one novella, spanning a variety of genres.
Carleton Anthony "Carl" Dixon is a Canadian rock singer, keyboard player and guitarist. He has been a member of the bands Coney Hatch, April Wine and The Guess Who.
The Girl Can't Help It is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the title role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenplay adapted by Tashlin and Herbert Baker from an uncredited 1955 short story, "Do Re Mi" by Garson Kanin. Filmed in DeLuxe Color, the production was originally intended as a vehicle for the American sex symbol Jayne Mansfield, with a satirical subplot involving teenagers and rock 'n' roll music. The unintended result has been called the "most potent" celebration of rock music ever captured on film.
Christopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning; subsequent works have included All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye (2005), Black Widow (2016) and Bedlam (2013), which was written in parallel with the development of a first-person shooter videogame, also called Bedlam. He also writes historical fiction with his wife, Dr Marisa Haetzman, under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry.
"You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" is a 1992 horror short story by American writer Stephen King. It was first published January 1992 in the horror anthology Shock Rock and later included in King's collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes. It concerns a young couple on a road trip in Oregon when they accidentally wander into a small town inhabited by dead rock and roll legends.
"Whipping Post" is a song by The Allman Brothers Band. Written by Gregg Allman, the five-minute studio version first appeared on their 1969 debut album The Allman Brothers Band. The song was regularly played live and was the basis for much longer and more intense performances. This was captured in the Allman Brothers' 1971 double live album At Fillmore East, where a 22-minute, 40-second rendition of the song takes up the entire final side. It was this recording that garnered "Whipping Post" spots on both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list and Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", which wrote, "the song is best appreciated in the twenty-three-minute incarnation on At Fillmore East."
"Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" is a rock song written by American musician Rick Derringer. It was first recorded in 1970 by Johnny Winter and his band Johnny Winter And, of which Derringer was a member. In 1973, Derringer recorded a solo version, which was his only Top 40 chart hit as a solo artist in the U.S. It became a staple of 1970s classic rock radio and rock music compilations. Both Winter and Derringer have recorded multiple live versions of the song.
"Good Times Roll" is a song by American rock band the Cars released as the first track from their 1978 debut album The Cars. Written by Ric Ocasek as a sarcastic comment on rock's idea of good times, the song features layered harmonies courtesy of producer Roy Thomas Baker.
The Dressed to Kill Tour was the fourth tour of American hard rock band Kiss. The tour was in support of the album Dressed to Kill, and took place in 1975 throughout the United States.
Samuel Barry is an American author, columnist, publishing professional, and musician.
"Dance Little Sister" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that was first released on the Rolling Stones 1974 album It's Only Rock 'n Roll. It was also released as the B-side of the Rolling Stones single "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and on several of their compilation albums.
"I Just Want to Have Something to Do" is a song credited to the Ramones but was written by Joey Ramone and was released as the opening song of the band's 1978 album Road to Ruin. It was also released on several of the band's compilation albums. It was also used in the film Rock 'n' Roll High School.
Artie Kaplan is an American recording artist, songwriter and a session musician. He has also been a music contractor where he was hired to musicians for sessions. In the 1960s, he was casting musicians for sessions for Aldon Music. When musician Joe Delia was asked about the best advice he had ever had, he said it was from Kaplan, who said "Always show up on time and bring a pencil."
