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J. Kordosh

J. Kordosh

J. Kordosh was born in 1950, in Detroit, Michigan.  He began writing for Creem magazine in 1980; his first published piece was a review of the then-defunct CBS comedy, Green Acres.  As a freelancer, he interviewed many prominent musicians of the 1980s, and eventually joined the editorial staff under Sue Whitall, Dave DiMartino and Bill Holdship.  When Sue and Dave left the magazine, he and Bill co-edited.  He also wrote for Musician and BAM. 

Something of a humorist, Kordosh wrote a weekly blog for Yahoo! Music called "Framed", combining still pictures from music videos with what he contends are witty captions.

Kordosh was a research chemist who held 10 U.S. patents.  He and his wife of 37 years, Alice, lived in California. He died in October 2017.

'Framed' blog on Yahoo! Music

rockcritics.com interview with Kordosh

55 articles

List of articles in the library

By date | By artist | Most recently added

AC/DC: And Nothing Can Harm Them!

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, April 1984

ARE THEY SUPER? My God, they're immense. They're gigantic. They're Jabba the Hutt on the Elvis Diet. They're so big that they're invulnerable to criticism ...

Adam & The Ants: Where's Your Head At, Adam Ant?

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, March 1983

THE ROOM WAS full of balloons. A bouquet of balloons, sold nowadays like helium-filled, high-tech clusters that cling to the ceiling. A bundle of mail ...

The Beastie Boys: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Bill Holdship, J. Kordosh, Creem, June 1987

High School Equivalency Test ...

The Beatles, George Harrison: Fab! Gear! The George Harrison Interview (part 2)

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, January 1988

DID YOU ever see that show in London: John, Paul, George, Ringo & Bert? ...

The Beatles, John Lennon: John Lennon 1940-1980: Nothing To Do To Save His Life

Obituary by J. Kordosh, Creem, March 1981

"...Laurel and Hardy, that's John and Yoko. And we stand a better chance under that guise 'cause all the serious people like Martin Luther King ...

The Beatles, George Harrison: Fab! Gear! The George Harrison Interview (part 1)

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, December 1987

IN A PLUSH Warner Bros, office, Bill Holdship and I listened to George Harrison's first album in over five years, Cloud Nine. "I wracked my brains ...

Belinda Carlisle, The Go-Go's: Belinda Carlisle: Be Lovely, Be Lucky, Belinda

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, October 1986

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, Belinda Carlisle's life was everything it wasn't supposed to be. ...

Berlin, Missing Persons: Berlin: Love Life (Geffen); Missing Persons: Rhyme & Reason (Capitol)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, August 1984

I'VE HAD this idea that women are — by and large — pretty lousy singers when it comes to rock music. Especially nowadays, when about ...

Billy Squier: Is Articulate Rock The Perfect Formula, And What About The Supermarket Disaster?

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, December 1982

THE SALES OF Emotion In Motion were in the neighborhood of 425,000 during the first 10 days it was available to the public. Someone told me that ...

The BusBoys' Equal Opportunity Interview

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, March 1981

THE BUSBOYS shuffled into the nation's consciousness late in 1980 on their debut album. Minimum Wage Rock 'n' Roll. Five black guys and a chicano ...

Peter Case: Do You Want A Man Of Steel?

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, December 1986

BACKSTAGE, AFTER a show, Peter Case is talking baseball. The game is one of Case's passions: he tells of his recent visit to Cooperstown and ...

Johnny Cash: A Little Farther... Down The Line

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, June 1988

ONSTAGE, JOHNNY Cash likes to joke about his daughter Rosanne's recording of 'Tennessee Flat Top Box': "She played it for me and I said, 'That's ...

Chicago, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis and the News, The Pointer Sisters, Prince, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder: USA For Africa: We Are The World (Columbia)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, August 1985

OUCHLESS BAND-AID ...

George Clinton: You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish (Capitol)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, May 1984

I LIKE FISHING almost as much as I like music. Dealing with dumb, slimy creatures can get to be a way of life. George Clinton ...

Joe Cocker Visits My Hometown! Wow!

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, November 1982

THE W'S: Joe Cocker grew up in Sheffield, which is north of England way. I grew up in Livonia, Michigan, which is like most of ...

Phil Collins, Genesis: Phil Collins Does Everything Better Than Everyone Else

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, May 1983

THINGS SEEM to be going poorly for drummers of late, what with Buddy Rich undergoing bypass surgery earlier this year and a regular series of ...

The Cult, Barbra Streisand: The Cult: Love (Sire); Barbra Streisand: The Broadway Album (Columbia)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, April 1986

STONEY END ...

Culture Clubbing With George And The Boys

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, June 1983

Suddenly...Mount Rushmore had changed! ...

Dire Straits: Nine Or Ten Unbelievably Interesting Facts About Dire Straits

Report and Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, February 1981

Plus The Usual Unsubstantiated Opinions, Speculations, And Outright Inventions ...

Fear: Not Just Another L.A. Send-up: the Flying of Fear

Report and Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1982

LIKE MOST people, I'm afraid of lots of things. High on my care-list are new Rush albums, pointy sticks, and my kids growing up to ...

Fleetwood Mac Return Without Leaving

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, September 1987

UP IN THE hills of Bel Air is Lindsey Buckingham's house, Lindsey Buckingham's croquet-perfect lawn, Lindsey Buckingham's pool, Lindsey Buckingham's radio-controlled toy submarine that's busted, ...

Robyn Hitchcock: One Night in November with Robyn Hitchcock

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, March 1987

  AT SCHOOLKIDS Records in Ann Arbor, Bill Holdship, Robyn Hitchcock and myself are looking through the records. It's the evening of the day the Bruce ...

Howard Jones: Words Of Wisdom, Moos Of Peace

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, October 1985

HOWARD JONES doesn't like to do interviews. He believes eating meat is the last remaining barbarism in Western society. And that the universe is perfect. ...

Judas Priest: Hell-Bent For Eagle Scout-Hood?

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, August 1981

I'M SITTING in the bar of the Marriott Pavilion Hotel in downtown St. Louis. It's — what? — about 2a.m. With me are Rob Halford ...

The Kinks, Randy Newman, The Police, The Rolling Stones, The Who: Burbank Calling

Comment by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1980

They were six fine English boys Who knew each other in Birmingham They bought a drum and guitar Started a rock-roll band. ...

Krokus and the Chocolate Dilemma

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, September 1981

SWISS CONSPIRACY CONTINUES UNABATED! ...

Huey Lewis and the News: Huey Lewis and All The News That Fits

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, December 1984

GOSH, HOW we love Huey Lewis. Not only here in my sensationally average town of Garden City, Michigan, but all over these United States. This ...

Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul: Little Steven: Voice Of America (EMI America)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, October 1984

EARLY SUMMER, and Billy Altman — the metropolitan sportswriter — calls. How would you like to review Little Steven's new album, he says from faraway ...

Manowar... Just "Because"

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, December 1982

DETROIT — Bad news, Metal fans and cryds: things are turning ugly. Mean, rotten, and — in general — no good. I'm deadly serious about ...

John Mellencamp: John Cougar & The Fooling Of America

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, September 1982

I'D NEVER listened to any of John Cougar's records before American Fool, although I saw him open for the Kinks a couple of years back. ...

Molly Hatchet: Anybody Here Seen My Old Friend Molly Hatchet?

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, August 1983

JUST BEFORE Molly Hatchet went onstage, Keith Johnson — their road manager — escorted me to an unusually good seat. I was three, maybe four ...

Mötley Crüe: Psychic Gruel and Mötley Crüe

Report and Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, April 1986

CONSIDER SUITE 619 at the Park Hyatt in Chicago. The floor plants in wicker baskets. The liquor cabinet. The glass coffee table, with fresh flowers ...

Ozzy Osbourne: Now It Can Be Told! I Was A Monk For Ozzy Osbourne!

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, June 1984

My Secret Shame… By J. Kordosh ...

The Police: Interrogating The Police

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, April 1981

'TWAS THE day before Christmas and like a lot of good Americans I was watching All My Children as part of my holiday bonus. (Hey, gotta keep ...

Prince & The Revolution: Cobo Arena, Detroit

Live Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, October 1986

I'LL BE WITH YOU SHORTLY ...

Prince: Thinking Of Babylon, Dreaming Of Prince

Essay by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1986

TO SOME, HE is The Kid. To others he is The Minneapolis Genius. To others still, he's That Guy Who Ripped Me Off On That Last Tour Playing Condensed Songs ...

Prince, The Time: Prince's Purple Rain: 'Scuse Me While I Get Some Popcorn

Report and Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, September 1984

PRINCE...IT'S A great name, isn't it? It's a great name for a dog. It's a great name for spaghetti on Wednesday night. It's a great ...

Pepe Willie, Prince: Pepe Willie: "See, Me And Prince Had A Deal..."

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1986

IN THE MID-'70s, Pepe Willie — a New York writer, musician and producer — went into the Cook House Studio in Minneapolis with two teenaged ...

Queen: Royal Gum-Up: Queen: The Works (Capitol)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, June 1984

TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH — a thing I'm not addicted to, by the way — I've been a professional liar when it comes to ...

Quiet Riot: Cum on Top the Chartz: a Quiet Riot Goin' On

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, March 1984

ROOM 287 at the Holiday Inn in Southfield, Michigan is pretty much like any room at any other Holiday Inn. Towels and occupants are changed, ...

R.E.M.: Notes From Near Normal Town

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, November 1986

ATHENS, GEORGIA, is a fascinating place. They've got a bakery called "Bakery" on Lumpkin, just south of Broad Street. There's a lot of farmers in ...

The Rolling Stones: Exiles On Wall Street: The Rolling Stones: Dirty Work (Rolling Stones)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1986

IF I KNEW exactly how the Rolling Stones lost their sense of song structure, explaining this boring rip-off might make for an interesting lecture. But ...

David Lee Roth: Climbs Big Rock! Lives, Tells All, Eventually Tours

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, March 1988

HOW TO GET A COVER STORY: I was sitting at my desk, wondering who would have an album out in a couple of months. Someone ...

Rush: But Why Are They In Such A Hurry?

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, June 1981

THURSDAY: KORDOSH has been roused from his afternoon nap by Sherry Ring, publicist for Mercury Records. Ring is calling from New York to firm up connections ...

Sparks will fly, I predict

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, October 1983

YES, THEY still look strange. In 1977, Robert Hull said "Sparks is just plain weird," but I believe he was referring to their music as ...

The Stray Cats: The Complete History Of The Stray Cats, Part One

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, January 1983

ROCKABILLY PROPER started and ended in Sam Phillips' Sun Studio in Memphis. It was a short-lived and vaguely-defined phenomenon, revolving around dirt-poor Southern white musicians ...

Stryper: The Newest Testament Yet!

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, June 1986

And a crowd did gather outside a great hall in El Paso, but not to hear of Stryper, but to rebuke them mightily with picket ...

Styx: Kilroy Was Here (A&M)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, June 1983

MEET THE Premise. Rock 'n' roll has been banned from this good green Earth by your usual bunch of hypocrites. Woe is everyone. Along comes ...

The Thompson Twins: Double Or Nothing? It's The Thompson Twins

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, August 1997

Question: "So do you get a thrill out of hearing your records on the radio?" Answer: "Thrill? We get a check!" Alannah: "Thomas!" ...

Ultravox: The Half-Dozen or so Moods of Ultravox

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1983

ONSTAGE, THE amazing Ultravox. Right in front, on the edge of the area called the pit — not, unfortunately, in my honor — myself and ...

Van Halen Gets Even With Everyone!

Report and Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, October 1981

DAVID LEE ROTH: It becomes more fun with each season. Each tour that we make, each record that we make — we know how to do ...

Was (Not Was): I Love This Band, I Hate This Band

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, July 1984

THIRTY MONTHS ago, John Neilson did a story on Was (Not Was) for CREEM. (It's the issue with Pat Benatar on the blue cover — I ...

WASP: Lawful or Awful?

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, June 1985

HERE'S A thumbnail sketch of Blackie Lawless: his real name is Steve Duran, he's 28 years old, getting paunchy, sings and plays bass for W.A.S.P. ...

ZZ Top: The ABC'S of ZZ Top

Interview by J. Kordosh, Creem, November 1981

A COUPLE OF months ago, one of the editors noticed that the typeface on my typewriter looks like a computer print-out. I guess I might ...

ZZ Top: Eliminator (Warner Brothers)

Review by J. Kordosh, Creem, August 1983

3 ALARM ROCK ...

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