THE COUNTRY ISSUE IS OUT NOW!

November 1976

CREEM

MAIL

I have been wondering for the longest time about the way Gene Simmons reminds me so much of Richard M. Nixon. Take a good look—the resemblance is amazing! True love and sincerity, Matron of Honor Standing by the fire hydrants Watching the tide roll, Day O!

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL NEWS

Sure he’s mad. but ... Keith Moon actually under psychiatric observation? Well, it happened; after the last date of the Who’s whirlwind tour down South, Moon was found in his Fontainebleu hotel suite some reports say talking loudly to himself, some say screaming.

THE BEAT GOES ON

Richard Riegel

CINCINNATI - It’s not a good night in the Queen City for Bruce Springsteen fans. Cousin Brucie’s protege, Southside Johnny Lyon, has cancelled his show at Bogart’s rock club because of illness, and now the less-than-impressed-by-the-mystique-of-The-Boss Good Rats have volunteered to fill the Asbury Jukes’ scheduled date.

Creem Profiles

GRAND FUNK RAILROAD

(Pronounced “Boy Howdy!”)

THIN LIZZY: Who Needs Springsteen When You’ve Got Johnny Cool?

Chris Salewicz

It’s just after seven in the evening. Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham are stretched on the floor of room 1012 in the Continental Hyatt House on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, demolishing a bottle of J&B whiskey.

Nobody Can Die Until THE WHO Have Finished Playing

Pam Brown

Grab the nearest respirator; it’s gonna be a longtime...

CreemediaFeatures

SATURDAY NIGHTS all right for laughin’

Billy Altman

You’d think that the cast of NBC’s Saturday Night had run up against every possible brand of insanity known to modern video man.

Letter From Britain

August Vacation Blues

Simon Frith

It’s summertime and the beaches of Europe not only all look the same but they sound the same, too (Abba and Van McCoy).

CREEM DREEM

KISS

SEX AND THE ART OF ROCK ’N’ ROLL

LESTER BANGS

Remember the good old days? When album covers were symbolic (even in non-concept albums), when they really meant something deep and intricate and heavy? When each group had to outdo the next group’s cover as well as their music? When super-stars-in-their-own-right illustrators were hired at outrageous prices for their work which was supposed to illuminate the concept of the album?

E.C. WAS HERE: A Comeback or Swansong?

Nigel Burnham

Eric Clapton’s British comeback tour has been getting a mixed reception over here, and knowing how much bad reviews hurt the man, it almost seems like bad taste to say anything against him. But the shame about Clapton is that he has a legend to vindicate, and for his fans, it is not good enough for him to merely show that his fingers are as nimble as ever.

The Runaways: Naughty Nymphets Leave Lisa Cold

Lisa Robinson

The Runaways made their New York debut at CBGB. Was that the first sign that the “scene” there was finished?

Rory Gallagher: The Best Normal Guitar Player in the World

Peter Laughner

It’s an obvious joke that I’m writing this from a rather jaundiced point of view; obvious, that is, if you know that I ended up this four-day junket with Rory Gallagher & company lying in a hospital bed with hepatitis aggravated by heavy abuse of chemicals and spirits.

The Lean, Mean Travis Bean

Allen Hester

Across the fruited plains of America, the cry goes up for high quality handcrafted instruments. In todays fragile environment, musicians clamor for choice wood and good craftsmanship in electric guitars, which traditionally are crafted of rare hardwoods from all over the world.

Rewire Yourself

Big Boob Tubes!

Richard Robinson

Giant screen color TVs are no longer the novelty they were a few years ago.

Stars Cars

DAVID BYRON

Baloney On A Hot Tin Roof

Robot A. Hull

EXCERPTS FROM A FAN’S NOTES: Greg Mullavey appears on Break the Bank and Rhyme & Reason ... Dody Goodman pushes homegrown morality on Take My Advice ... Louise Lasser poses for People ... Mary K. Place does Jimmy Carter one better on Merv Griffin ...

Confessions of a FILM FOX

Jaan Uhelszki

Gay Liberation? Male homosexuals will have equal rights, and regular roles on four network series this season, according to the Wall Street Journal’s report. If you’re looking big boy—the gay roles will include a therapy group member in CBS’s Bob Newhart Show, a hairdresser on NBC’s Snips and an aspiring actor on ABC’s Nancy Walker Show.

Records

Advice To The Linda Column

Lester Bangs

She may have the best set of what is too commonly called “pipes” in this hemisphere, but that don’t make her best vocalist in the West.

Records

YES We Have No Bananas

Michael Davis

Could we interest you in five solo albums?

ROCK . A . RAMA

JONATHAN RICHMAN AND THE MODERN LOVERS (Not to be confused with a previous album merely titled The Modern Lovers) (Beserkley):: Final proof that only the strong survive. L.B. BUCK TRENT-Bionic Banjo (ABC) :: So the other day I’m talking to this PR guy at one of the major record comps (hint: the only one left in America that hasn’t yet signed a reggae act), and we’re discussing the ridiculous state of this business, and he says, “Yeah, the next thing’ll probably be black CB records.”

BACKSTAGE

Where the Stars Tank Up & Let Their Images Down