Jim Delehant
After high school (1958) I went to Southern Ct. State College and took journalism courses. At that same time I also attended Paier Art School. I wanted to be a newspaper man like Hemingway. I later moved to New York City looking for work. At night I hit all the jazz clubs; walked thru Washington Square Park, under the arch and saw artists perform such as Dylan and Baez by the water fountain. Lovin' Spoonful, Peter Paul Mary, Fred Neil and watched Hendrix jam with Georgie Fame at Café Wha. There were plenty of blues shows happening in the heavenly Apollo.
In 1962, I answered a newspaper ad for a music editor at Charlton Publication in Derby Ct. I started working there right away. From that time until '64, which was an extremely boring music scene, fake stories like "The Secret life of Connie Stevens" were published on a regular basis. The only source of information used to create these articles, at that time, came from record company bios and from publicity material. During those years I also edited (magazines) Rhythm and Blues, Country Song Roundup, Song Hits, wrote for Cavalier, Downbeat and Jazz Journal. In 1964 the Beach Boys and Beatles changed everything suddenly. Other groups were happening — Byrds, Baez, Dylan, Donovan, etc. I hooked up a tape recorder to my phone and started interviewing. Now it was exciting!
80 articles
List of articles in the library
Profile and Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1966
A MISSISSIPPI cum Chicago Blues-man named Jimmy Reed is one of the original practitioners of what everybody is just discovering. He holds the thankless job ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1966
BY NOW, EVERYONE must be aware that records just don't sound like they did 10 years ago — 3 years ago in fact. ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, May 1966
When you hear a harmonica wailing in the background on currently popular blues, country, folk or pop recordings, it's probably being played by an ultra-talented guy ...
T-Bone Walker: Tempo: T-Bone Walker
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1966
WHEN AARON T-Bone Walker plays guitar he makes people cry and he gets response from the audience as though the performance was really a church ...
James Cotton, Muddy Waters: Tempo: Muddy Waters
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1966
NOW THAT THE blues bands are on the threshold of "shaking their money maker," it's a curious fact that the original bands who have been ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1966
IN OUR FEATURE on the Byrds (in the July issue) they credited several sources of unconventional music as influences. They were quite specific about Indian ...
Review by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1966
FOR SOME reason, recordings of live rock and roll shows are selling very well. You can hardly hear the music above the enthusiastic audience response ...
The Byrds: Jim McGuinn & David Crosby: My Favorite Records
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, December 1966
By Jim McGuinn (Leader of the Byrds) ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1967
I LIKE TO write songs from true experiences. Things that have actually happened. You can't get away from the truth of everyday life. Sometimes I'll ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1967
BY NOW, MANY of you must have heard the Paul Butterfield Blues Band albums and marvelled over the guitar playing of Mike Bloomfield. Through Mike's ...
The Beach Boys: Brian Wilson Tells Why He Likes The Beach Boys
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1967
BY NOW the Beach Boys' story is familiar — how three brothers, a cousin and a friend became, with their first record over four years ...
Chad & Jeremy Part I: Chad Stuart Talks About Today and Tomorrow
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1967
Chad, as you all must know, is one half of the singing duo, Chad & Jeremy. Although he presently lives in Los Angeles, he's done ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1967
HERE WE are back at the Cafe Au Go Go continuing the final half of our chat with Mike Bloomfield. Since last month, Mike and ...
Chad & Jeremy Part II: Chad Stuart Talks About Today And Tomorrow
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, March 1967
Here we are back with that famous pioneer, Chad Stuart, on a coast-to-coast telephone conversation. If you want to make Chad happy (and Jeremy too), ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, March 1967
Will they start a store together? Maybe a diner or a hockey team, or mow lawns? Naw.... because the other day we were sitting on ...
Jimmy Page, The Yardbirds: Yardbird Jimmy Page says, 'Open Your Mind'
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, March 1967
In the December issue of H.P., you read a little background on Jimmy Page, who is the new Yardbird. He started off on bass to ...
Wilson Pickett: Official Sound Report: An Interview with Wilson Pickett
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1967
AS WE WALKED into Wilson Pickett's dressing room at the Apollo in New York, two shady characters were in the process of selling a freshly ...
John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Otis Spann: Welcome, Bluesway Records
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, May 1967
THERE AREN'T many new blues albums around, much less a label devoted to blues product. Why, you might ask, when the demand for blues is ...
The Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson: Dennis Wilson: We Just Want To Be A Good Group
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1967
Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson is, according to Brian, "The most messed up person I know. He's too nervous. He has to keep moving all ...
Buffalo Springfield: The Buffalo Springfield
Profile by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1967
THE BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD was formed in California in the spring of 1966. Too poor to afford rehearsal space, they were practicing at the edge of ...
Joe Tex: The Wonderful Adventures of Joe Tex
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1967
WE'VE HEARD very few Joe Tex songs, even album songs, that we didn't tike. He tops that on stage with his great band. Plus, he's ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1967
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart are responsible for a lot of Monkee music and soon, a lot of their own music. In the following interview ...
Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane: Birth of the San Francisco Scene
Overview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1967
by Martin Balin, leader of the Jefferson Airplane ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1967
IF YOU own the first two Monkees' albums, you know that Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote 'Last Train To Clarksville', 'I'm Not Your Steppin' ...
Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel: Inside The Mind of Paul Simon (part 1)
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1967
A LOT OF readers have been asking for an interview with Simon and Garfunkel. After much difficulty in tracing them down (it was impossible to ...
Frank Zappa, The Mothers Of Invention: My Favorite Records: Frank Zappa, Boss Mother
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1967
IF YOU WANT to learn how to play guitar, listen to Wes Montgomery. You also should go out and see if you can get a ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1967
WHO WILL be the big soul singer, the one to last and last? We have James Brown, Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett and the subject of ...
Junior Wells: Tempo: Junior Wells
Profile by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1967
YOU CAN take Junior Wells out of Chicago but, thankfully, you can't take Chicago out of Junior Wells. The 31-year-old Wells, regarded for some years ...
Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel: Inside The Mind of Paul Simon (part 2)
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1967
Last month, Paul Simon commented on current singers, songs and his own songwriting. He gets into it again this time along with a dash of ...
Profile by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1967
WHAT'S BIG, purple and swims in the ocean with harpoons stuck in its back? What has ten legs, long hair, some guitars and drums and ...
Booker T & The MGs, Steve Cropper: The Stax Story: Steve Cropper (part 1)
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1967
This Steve Cropper interview begins a series on Stax Records in Memphis. ...
Simon & Garfunkel, Paul Simon: My Favorite Records: Simon & Garfunkel's Paul Simon
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, October 1967
As told to Jim Delehant ...
Paul Revere & The Raiders: Smitty Raider Says... Goodbye & A Brief Hello From... Joe Jr.
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, October 1967
It always happens. Just as we finish interviewing a group, a bunch of guys quit and we're left with worthless stories. The Mama's and Papa's ...
Booker T & The MGs, Steve Cropper: The Stax Story: Steve Cropper (part 2)
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, October 1967
IN THIS FINAL installment of the Steve Cropper interview, Steve gives some excellent advice to guitarists who want to become studio musicians. We hope you ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1967
B.B. King has been getting some attention lately; still not enough for a great master, but it's attention anyway. Charles Keil did a chapter on ...
Wilson Pickett: The Humor of… Wilson Pickett
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1967
WILSON PICKETT started his singing career in the spiritual field in the city of Detroit. He and his family moved there when Wilson was in ...
Booker T & The MGs, Booker T. Jones: The Stax Story (part 3): Booker T. Jones
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1967
BOOKER T. JONES was born in Memphis, Tennessee, November 12, 1944. He started playing the organ professionally at the age of fourteen. During his high ...
Obituary by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, December 1967
WHEN JOHN Coltrane died on Monday, July 17th, the world of progressive music lost one of its leading jazz figures, and Impulse Records lost its ...
Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison: Roy Orbison's Own Rock History #1
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, December 1967
As told to Jim Delehant ...
B.B. King: Tempo: B.B. King (part 2)
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, December 1967
ANYTHING YOU want to sell nowadays, all you've got to do is advertise. I think people are just beginning to advertise blues. Aretha Franklin, for ...
Booker T & The MGs: The Stax Story (part 4): Al Jackson
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, December 1967
BORN NOVEMBER 27, 1935, in Memphis, Tennessee, Al studied drums in high school, and played with his father's band until he formed his own nine-piece ...
Roy Orbison's Own Rock History #2
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1968
THE MUSIC business is a little better now because there are more attractive deals for the artists. Some record companies offer 10% deals, where the ...
Mose Allison: Tempo: Mose Allison
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1968
"BLUES IS A very limited thing to play. I have to keep adding things to it to keep it interesting. I keep striving for higher ...
Booker T & The MGs: The Stax Story (part 5): Duck Dunn
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1968
DONALD V. DUNN was born on November 24, 1941, in Memphis, Tennessee and he learned to play the bass in high school. He now resides ...
Jefferson Airplane: Paul Kantner on After Bathing At Baxter's
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1968
OUR NEXT album will be called After Bathing At Baxter's. I wrote about five songs on it. I really can't say which one of our ...
Roy Orbison's Own Rock History #3
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1968
PRACTICALLY everything that's happening in music now, came from Memphis. I'd say it would have to be just chance because that's where the studios were, ...
David Porter, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave: The Stax Story (Part 6): Porter & Hayes, Producers
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1968
ISAAC HAYES and Dave Porter have written about one hundred and fifty songs together for Stax artists and also produced most of them. So far their ...
Cream: An Interview with Eric Clapton
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, March 1968
WE KNOW very little about Eric Clapton, the human being. We do know that he has a good heart, he loves being alive he's very ...
Cream, The Youngbloods: Felix Pappalardi: Solving Modern Recording Problems
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, March 1968
FELIX PAPPALARDI is a producer, but mainly a musician in the same sense that Steve Cropper is a producer-musician (see Steve Cropper HP Sept.). Before ...
Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper: The Stax Story (part 7): Eddie Floyd
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, March 1968
EDDIE FLOYD, born June 25, 1935 in Montgomery, Alabama, grew up with the idea of entertaining as a profession. Eddie idolized Johnny Ace from the ...
Electric Flag, Mike Bloomfield: Electric Flag: Mike Bloomfield — Leader Of The Band
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1968
THE FAILURE of the Electric Flag's first single, 'Groovin' Is Easy', on Columbia is by no means the fault of the Electric Flag. Lack of ...
Obituary by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1968
AN AIRPLANE belonging to Otis Redding Enterprises fell into the freezing waters of a Wisconsin lake, Sunday, December 10, and the following day skin divers ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Smokey Robinson: The Miracle Of Motown
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1968
BILL "SMOKEY" Robinson, the leader of the Miracles, couldn't decide between athletics and engineering. At Northern High School in Detroit (where all the Miracles were ...
The Coasters, Tom Dowd, The Drifters: Atlantic's Tom Dowd: The Real Music Man
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, May 1968
TOM DOWD is a walking encyclopedia on the history of American pop music. In fact, Tom Dowd created twenty years of pop history since he ...
Lonnie Mack: Four Years After 'Memphis'
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, May 1968
LONNIE MCINTOSH was born in Harrison, Indiana on July 18, 1941 but the family soon moved to Aurora where he went to school and spent ...
Otis Redding, Steve Cropper: "The Otis Redding I Knew", by Steve Cropper
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1968
MY ORIGINAL feeling for Otis wound up to be my final feeling for Otis. He was a pure man. Anything you say about him has ...
Bob Dylan, Mike Bloomfield: Impressions of Bob Dylan by Mike Bloomfield
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1968
As told to Jim Delehant ...
Albert King: Tempo: Albert King #1
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1968
As Told To Jim Delehant ...
Albert King: Tempo: Albert King # 2
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1968
As Told To Jim Delehant ...
Cream: Jack & Ginger Make The Cream Work
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, October 1968
Ginger: I was born August 19, 1939. I was schooled in Southeast London. I got involved with music as soon as I left school. I've been ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, October 1968
THE IMPRESSIONS have proved that it is possible to become tops in the record field without resorting to the loud, unintelligible sounds that can hardly ...
Cream: Making The Cream Work, part 2
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1968
IN A BRITISH interview recently, Clapton denied the Cream breakup but added that the group can't last forever and each member had personal ambitions. Eric ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1968
WILLIE DIXON was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1915. He came to Chicago in 1935 out of curiosity and the hope of making a better ...
Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds: Jimmy Page's New Yardbirds
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, December 1968
JIMMY PAGE, the last member to join the Yardbirds, is now the group leader and at this writing was auditioning two new musicians. The old ...
Chuck Berry, Johnnie Johnson: Tempo: Johnnie Johnson
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1969
JOHNNIE JOHNSON, FIRST PIANIST WITH CHUCK BERRY As Told To Jim Delehant ...
Big Brother & The Holding Company, Janis Joplin: Big Brother & The Holding Company: Where They're At
Profile and Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1969
BIG BROTHER and the Holding Company exploded on the national scene in the summer of 1967 at the Monterey Pop Festival when Janis Joplin, feet ...
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1969
TERRY KIRKMAN, HEAD OF THE ASSOCIATION ...
Aretha Franklin's Gospel Background
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1969
HP: How old were you when you started singing? Aretha: I started singing when I was twelve years old. ...
The Impressions, Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Mayfield: Life With The Impressions
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1969
As told to Jim Delehant ...
Slim Harpo: Tempo: Slim Harpo Talks To Jim Delehant
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1969
I WAS BORN in Lobbell, Louisiana. I had to quit school to go to work and help support the family. When I was 18, I ...
Country Joe & The Fish: Barry Melton — Lead Guitarist, Country Joe & The Fish
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1969
As told to Jim Delehant ...
Lightnin' Slim: Tempo: Lightnin' Slim Talks To Jim Delehant
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1969
I WAS BORN in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up like most any kid. After school I worked in a grocery store, sold newspapers. It ...
The Amboy Dukes: Meet The Amboy Dukes
Profile and Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1969
TED NUGENT – lead guitar ...
Country Joe & The Fish: My Favorite Records by Barry Melton of Country Joe & The Fish
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1969
THERE'S A label called the Origin Jazz Library. One album in the collection is called The Great Jugbands. It's loaded with pure beautiful music. It's ...
Nina Simone: God Bless The Child
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1969
NINA SIMONE was born Eunice Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina, the sixth of eight children. Her mother worked as a housekeeper and her father was ...
The Dells: 1953 Doo Wop to 1969 Class
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1969
By Chuck Barksdale of the Dells ...
Taj Mahal: The Mind Of A Modern Bluesman: Taj Mahal
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1969
I AM A crazy swamp guy. I love swamps. Brick buildings are cool too, they have their own grotesque beauty and this is a very ...
Vanilla Fudge: Tim Bogert — Vanilla Fudge Bass
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1969
HP: What kind of equipment do you play? ...
Creedence Clearwater Revival: John, Tom, Stu And Doug
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1970
HP: What kind of music did you hear as a kid? ...
Jesse Ed Davis, Taj Mahal: Taj Mahal's Band
Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1970
JESSE EDWIN DAVIS/lead guitar ...
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