Glyn Johns was 16 years old at the dawn of rock and roll. His big break as a producer came on the Steve Miller Band's debut album, Children of the Future, and he went on to produce iconic albums for the best in the business: Let It Be and Abbey Road with the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Eagles' debuts, Who's Next by the Who, and many more.
Sound Man
Even more impressive, Johns was perhaps the only person in the studio who was stone-cold sober, and so he is one of the most reliable and clear-eyed insiders to tell these stories today.
In this entertaining and observant memoir, Johns takes us on a tour of his world during the heady years of the sixties, such as when he had to bail the Steve Miller Band out of jail on their second day in London, his impressions of John and Yoko during the Abbey Road sessions, or running into Bob Dylan at JFK and being asked by Dylan to work on a collaborative album with him, the Stones, and the Beatles, which never came to pass.
Johns was there during some of the most iconic moments in rock history, including the Stones' first European tour, Jimi Hendrix's first London performance and the Beatles' final performance on the roof of Savile Row.
Johns's career has been long and prolific, over the last two decades he's worked with Eric Clapton, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Emmylou Harris and most recently, Ryan Adams.
Sound Man provides a first-hand glimpse into those freewheeling first years of rock and roll.