How many Leon Russell albums are in your collection? When’s the last time you played one?
If you remember Leon, then you remember a certain era. You remember Joe Cocker, Delaney & Bonnie, The Concert for Bangladesh, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Derek and the Dominos, and Rita Coolidge. What you may not remember are incidents that swirl around these touchstones of early ’70s rock – mental illness, domestic violence, and drug casualties, plus accusations of band stealing and career usurpation.
Bill Janovitz’s recent book on Leon Russell is called The Master of Space and Time’s Journey Through Rock & Roll History. Its 500 pages covers all these things and more, placing them into a context that takes the reader from Russell’s work as a session pianist for Phil Spector to his own stardom as a headliner, followed by obscurity and a controversial induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Janovitz is even-handed in presenting Leon Russell as a complicated man and very talented musician. The author doesn’t judge but shows various sides of Russell’s career activities. The cast is large. Colleagues as diverse as Gary Lewis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Willie Nelson make appearances. Tulsa, Okla., almost becomes a leading character in the book, so important is it to telling Leon Russell’s life story.
Russell had influential fans. Elton John and Bruce Hornsby both acknowledge his impact on them as pianists. Yet when trying to help Leon in his post glory years, both seem irked by what they encounter. Most fans didn’t become irked with Leon; they just forgot about him.
Was Leon Russell an opportunist? Absolutely. Professional musicians must be. Did Leon use Joe Cocker’s post-Woodstock tour to advance his own status? Undoubtedly. But that story is not so simple. Did Leon use Beatle George for his own career advancement? Who wouldn’t? Does Leon Russell belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Well … Elton John sure thought so. Others didn’t.
This is not always a happy tale, but what biography is? The book is well researched and is worth the reader’s time. If you are someone who recalls not only Leon Russell but other musicians in his orbit, Bill Janovitz’s biography should be on your list of rock books. For now, go put on a Leon record – maybe a strange one by the Asylum Choir.
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