Michael Oberman
Michael was sixteen when his older brother, Ron, interviewed the Beatles in February 1964. What a thrill... I want that gig... Michael thought. Fast forward to February of 1967. Ron gave up his weekly Top Tunes music column in the Evening Star newspaper in Washington, DC. Michael jumped at the chance and took over writing the column for the next six years. From 1967 to 1973, Michael's weekly column included interviews with the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, James Brown and hundreds of other major recoding acts. Michael left the Evening Star for a job with Warner/Elektra/Atlantic Records and subsequently produced concerts for Cellar Door Concerts and managed a number of recording artists.
In 2019, Michael was signed to a book publishing contract with Backbeat Books/Rowman and Littlefield. His first book, Fast Forward, Play, and Rewind includes over one hundred of Michael's music columns along with his musings about artist management and other music related tales. Michael's love of photography led to a "later in life" career as a wildlife and nature photographer.
(photo: Michael Oberman interviews James Brown)
19 articles
List of articles in the library
The Seeds: Top Tunes: The Seeds
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 24 June 1967
"THE 'HATE march' days are over, now it's love and be loved and flower music expresses this emotion powerfully and beautifully," says Lord Tim Hudson, ...
Blue Cheer: Top Tunes: Blue Cheer
Profile and Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 13 April 1968
"THESE GUYS are just like Hell's Angels. The only difference is that they don't have motorcycles — they have their instruments." ...
Jefferson Airplane: Top Tunes: The Jefferson Airplane
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 27 April 1968
GRACIE SLICK, the lead vocalist for the Jefferson Airplane, is still belting out tunes for the San Francisco-based rock group. ...
The First Edition: Top Tunes: The First Edition
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 1 June 1968
QUESTION: WHAT do you get when you take three guys and one girl from the New Christy Minstrels and team them up with a drummer ...
Profile and Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 6 July 1968
NOW, WHEN the pop music highways are as crowded with groups as city streets are with cars, Traffic has come to mean something more than ...
The Amboy Dukes: Top Tunes: The Amboy Dukes
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 10 August 1968
QUESTION: WHAT do a street gang and a rock group have in common? Answer: Their names. ...
Big Brother & The Holding Company, Janis Joplin: Top Tunes: Big Brother's Janis Joplin
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 24 August 1968
SOUL IS where it's at, and Janis Joplin has more than her share. ...
Jeff Beck: Top Tunes: The Jeff Beck Group
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 26 October 1968
ON JUNE 15, 1968, the Jeff Beck Group made its first American appearance at the Fillmore East in New York and was a smash hit. ...
Joni Mitchell: Top Tunes: Joni Mitchell
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 7 December 1968
HER SONGS have been recorded by 19 many artists, but it's been only recently that Joni Mitchell has made a mark as a singer herself. ...
Led Zeppelin: Top Tunes: Led Zeppelin
Profile and Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 21 December 1968
JIMMY PAGE, a former member of the Yardbirds, the group that spawned the careers of two other great musicians, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, has ...
Profile by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 4 January 1969
A TAROT deck is a pack of colorful picture cards through which some people claim one can find the key to the "wisdom of the ...
Allman Brothers Band: Top Tunes: The Allman Brothers Band
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 7 August 1971
SOME BANDS are meant to be recorded live, outside of the somewhat sterile studio environment and in front of an audience. ...
Don Nix, Leon Russell: Music Makers: Don Nix
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 2 October 1971
DON NIX got his start in music as a Memphis choir boy and the gospel influence of those days has left its mark on him. ...
America: Music Makers: America
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 12 February 1972
AMERICA IS alive and well in England. ...
Bill Evans: Music Makers: Bill Evans
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 18 March 1972
FOR THE third time, the Grammy award for the best jazz album of the year was presented to pianist Bill Evans. ...
Bill Withers: Music Makers: Bill Withers
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 8 July 1972
IN JUST over a year, Bill Withers has gone from manufacturing toilets for airplanes to writing and singing hit songs like 'Ain't No Sunshine' and ...
Bonnie Raitt: Music Makers: Bonnie Raitt
Profile and Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 4 November 1972
ONE OF the strongest shows in recent months has been booked into the Cellar Door starting Monday. John Prine and Bonnie Raitt open for one ...
Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 13 January 1973
WHEN GRAM Parsons formed the International Submarine Band (one of the first country-rock bands to surface in an era of rock and roll) in 1966, ...
Little Feat: Music Makers: Little Feat
Profile and Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 24 February 1973
EVERY NOW and then a group comes along that can move smoothly from one type of music to another — always producing a joyous feeling ...
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