Norman Jopling
Norman Jopling began writing for Record Mirror in 1961 at the age of 17, interviewing and profiling the era’s pop stars, and instigating a pioneering coverage of the hitherto-neglected area of American rhythm & blues. As the Sixties progressed, he also became the flag-waver for the UK R&B boom, the first music reporter to write – and rave – about the Rolling Stones, and the first London writer to profile the Beatles.
In 1968 he went freelance, regularly contributing pieces to NME, Cream, Billboard, Record Retailer, Jazz Journal, Let It Rock, Music Now and many more.
In 1973 he quit music journalism and joined CBS Records. He spent several years in New York in the late '70s working as a songwriter, and in the '80s co-authored a number of books including The Beatles Conquer America, Cliff Richard & The Shadows and John Lennon with Dezo Hoffmann, and Harrap’s Book Of 1000 Plays with Steve Fletcher.
In 1988 he rejoined the music industry, and has since originated a large number of reissue albums for many record companies. He lives in North London, and his book Shake It Up Baby! – covering his early career as a music reporter – was published in February 2015.
181 articles
List of articles in the library
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 May 1968
ETTA JAMES Tell Mama — 'Tell Mama'; 'I'd Rather Go Blind'; 'The Love Of My Man'; 'I'm Gonna Take What He's Got'; 'The Same Rope'; ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 January 1968
UNLIKE DAVID Griffiths, I have no really clear-cut LP choices of last year. I've narrowed the field down to three records which I've written about ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 May 1968
Loads of R&B albums including Otis' great Dock Of The Bay LP ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 27 January 1968
From the U.S.A. there are West Coast goodies by Love and Herb Alpert. U.K. albums include first Herd, second Equals and an L.P. by Des ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 April 1968
Some interesting LP's — a new and an old Orbison, powerful Move, brilliant Byrds, but a let-down from Jefferson Airplane, and an unexpected goodie by ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 25 February 1967
NEW US SOUNDS INCLUDE Soul (Joe Tex & Aretha), Cool (Andy Williams) Beat (Shangri-Las, Love) Jazz (Mose Allison) ...
The Animals: The Animals (Columbia)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 14 November 1964
BLUESY NEW ANIMALS LPREVIEW IN DEPTH by NORMAN JOPLING ...
The Animals: What the Animals found in America
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 May 1965
THE BIG thing that struck the Animals during their recent brief visit to the States was the heat. Especially in the deep south, where they ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 16 May 1964
CHUCK'S HERE AT LAST ...
The Artwoods: "We Aim To Excite!" ...Say the Artwoods
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 June 1965
JUST FOR the record, the Artwoods aren't a part of Epping Forest. In fact they're a group of five interesting young men, named after the ...
Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer: Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins: The Quiet Men from Nashville, Tennessee
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 September 1962
THE TWO most dominant figures in the Nashville, Tennessee, music scene – a scene noted for loud noises – are QUIET men. Chet Atkins, we ...
Burt Bacharach, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick: Burt Bacharach: "Time Is My Enemy"
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 September 1964
"I JUST DON'T get enough time to cram everything in," top U.S. songwriter, arranger and producer Burt Bacharach told me, during a two-day visit last ...
The Bachelors: 'Don't Call Us Paddy' Begged The Bachelors
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 16 February 1963
"WHENEVER we talk to anyone they call us 'Paddy'," complained the three Bachelors. "We've got names you know." ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 29 April 1961
Bad Manners At Beat Show ...
The Band, Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan: Royal Albert Hall, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 June 1966
With A Mixture Of Folk, Rock And Comedy, Dylan Shows He Can Take Every Insult But Not A Compliment ...
The Band, Bob Dylan: New Dylan
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 December 1967
Ten New Songs (RBP Editor's note: these songs would later be bootlegged, then released, as The Basement Tapes) ...
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 June 1966
KIM FOWLEY sat in the Angus steak house munching buttered toast and drinking milk, happily unable to communicate with the waiters. He was wondering — ...
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 May 1962
'NUT ROCKER' IS IN THE CHARTS ...
The Beach Boys, Helen Shapiro: Hammersmith Odeon, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 May 1967
Happy Beach Boys sing the single they don't like ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 2 December 1967
ARRIVING at the Hilton Hotel to talk to Murry Wilson, I phoned his room to enquire as to whether I could go up and start ...
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (Capitol)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 2 July 1966
AN IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF THE BEACH BOYS' WIDELY-PRAISED NEW ALBUM PET SOUNDS ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 November 1967
AMERICA AWAKES, INCORPORATING 'ROCK-SOUL-BLUES REVIEWS' BY NORMAN JOPLING ...
The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 December 1967
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is another example of a subject in which the Beatles have been able to exercise their vivid imaginations. ...
The Beatles: "We made sure of applause — we took our fans with us" reveal The Beatles
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 24 November 1962
"WHEN WE played outside Liverpool, as often as not we would hire a couple of coaches and take an audience with us," said a Beatle. ...
The Beatles: How The Beatles Spend An Evening
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 May 1965
IT WAS A typical quiet evening at London's Savoy Hotel. Quiet that is until the Beatles turned up to see Bob Dylan. They all trooped ...
The Beatles: New Album and Single
Report and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 16 February 1963
THERE'S been a lot of stuff written on the Beatles lately. Rightly, too, for they happen to be in the class of the rarest performers ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 August 1966
Wonderful new Beatles, and 2 versions of America's 'Napoleon' hit. Very good Small Faces & old Righteous Bros & Ike and Tina. Slower Nancy and ...
Report by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 16 May 1964
Norman Jopling and Peter Jones take a look at the pros and cons of pop star marriages ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 April 1967
FATS TRIUMPH AT SAVILLE ...
Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers: I'm Much Happier Says Cliff Bennett
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 28 September 1963
"A GROUP'S group" is just one of the apt descriptions tagged on to Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, the highly rated London team just ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 19 November 1966
UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE AT TOPS SHOW ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 26 October 1963
ALTHOUGH IT'S billed as "The Greatest Record Show Of 1963", the first performance at Finsbury Park Astoria last Sunday didn't exactly bear witness to that. ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 March 1967
...especially it seems, at the Saville. Chuck Berry talks to RM's Norman Jopling for this in-depth interview ...
Chuck Berry: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 March 1967
Rockers Dominate Saville Again ...
Chuck Berry: When Chuck Shocked Jazz Fans
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 April 1963
THE PROOF of the pudding is in the eating, they say. But the proof of the R&B pudding is in the after effects. How many ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 March 1968
MANFRED MANN: Up The Junction (Fontana TL 5460). HOW FORTUNATE it is for the Manfreds that this LP of film music — never strictly commercial ...
Mel Blanc, Pat Boone: Boone Changes Style Again
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 28 July 1962
IT LOOK A bit of the old rock 'n' roll, a screaming female, and a voice that takes you back to the sordid cartoon theatres ...
Bob & Earl: Bob and Earl Unmasked!
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 19 February 1966
PREPARE yourselves for the most complicated R&B feature of all time! It's the story of the Bob & Earl record 'Harlem Shuffle', currently revived for ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 14 January 1967
Rhythm & Blues galore! ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 25 March 1967
STAX SHOW REVIEW — & THE FIRST LP'S ...
Booker T & The MGs, Eddie Floyd, The Mar-Keys, Carla Thomas: Stax Volt
Profile and Interview by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 25 March 1967
Sometimes, fame comes to a label as well as a star — like Tamla Motown. Now here's Stax Volt from America with hot soul discs, ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 2 March 1968
Staunch British blues fans will dig Mayall's Diary LP set ...
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 May 1972
Maybe if you're young enough, from a dreary home environment with nothing but a soul destroying future, then maybe you could enjoy a festival like ...
James Brown, Solomon Burke: Solomon Burke: The Burke v. Brown Feud
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 3 July 1965
"TELL ME," I said, "all about you and James Brown. There was a two-second hush, and then Solomon Burke, king of rock & soul, launched ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 17 February 1968
WILSON PICKETT: The Best Of Wilson Pickett 'In The Midnight Hour'; 'I Found A Love'; '634-5789'; 'If You Need Me'; 'Mustang Sally'; 'Don't Fight It'; ...
Maxine Brown: "John Lennon stopped my hit"
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 25 February 1967
MAXINE BROWN has been one of the all-time raves of the Soul Set, both here in Britain and in the States. ...
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 April 1968
TIM BUCKLEY is a vague, interesting folksinger who doesn't know how many copies his records have sold or which of his songs have been put ...
Solomon Burke, Bob Dylan: Solomon Burke: Can Dylan Be Beaten?
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 June 1965
The answer is probably no — but all the stops are being pulled out for Solomon Burke's version of the Dylan number 'Maggie's Farm'. ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 March 1968
IN AN EFFORT to smash the Tamla domination of the LP market, the rival R&B giant Atlantic have put out a batch of soul and ...
Jerry Butler: The Iceman Talking: The Life And Times Of Jerry Butler
Interview by Norman Jopling, Cream, June 1973
BUTLER'S MUSIC Workshop is upstairs in a tatty warehouse building in Chicago's South Side, very near Chinatown and uncomfortably near Lake Michigan so it gets ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 May 1967
Some sophisticated new Motown albums ...
The Byrds, Gram Parsons: The Byrds: Middle Earth, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 May 1968
HIGH FLYING BYRDS TRIUMPH WITH A BRITISH AUDIENCE... ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 8 June 1968
Cockney Rock LP puts Small Faces in West Coast bracket ...
Captain Beefheart: Love Over Gold: Captain Beefheart Talks To RM Readers
Report and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 8 April 1972
FIVE YEARS ago, the magic name of Captain Beefheart was no more than an imported LP in the window-display of clique-ey One-Stop Records. There ...
Captain Beefheart: People Talk About BEEFHEART!
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 June 1968
MOST PEOPLE who play pop music and seem to be successful (judging by the conventional criteria of success) seem to have a little musical talent ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 October 1967
ALL SOUL CAN sometimes be a little too much for one whole show. But the Soul Explosion package tour going around at the moment manages ...
Johnny Cash: 'Dylan — He's The Best Songwriter Around Now...' said Johnny Cash
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 May 1968
IN THE YEAR 1956, one of the most formidable of the small American labels was Sun records, owned and run by Sam Phillips who was ...
Discography by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 March 1963
EVERYONE KNOWS the old story about Chubby Checker and the Twist. ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 October 1967
IT WAS A 'soul show' at the Saville last Sunday, in the very widest sense of the term. Jimmy Cliff started off, and when he ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 April 1967
Remarkable sincerity on El's How Great Thou Art album. ...
Cream, Edwin Starr: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 February 1967
AFTER LAST week's unfortunate non-happening at the Saville, almost everything that happened this Sunday seemed to be in contrast. ...
The Crystals' Story: Their Sound, Their Career And Their X-Certificate Disc
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 29 February 1964
Norman Jopling talks to the group with the hottest U.S. hit sound ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 8 February 1964
ONE OF the mystery men of the U.S. recording scene is currently here in Britain following the interests of his artistes. His name is Phil ...
The Crystals, The Ronettes, Phil Spector: The Ronettes hit and Phil's flips
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 7 December 1963
BACK IN 1958 Estella & Ronnie Bennett bought a disc between them called 'To Know Him Is To Love Him'. So did their cousin Nadra ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 8 June 1968
FOCUS ON 2 GIANT LPs ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 8 October 1966
Scott Was The Hit On Walker Tour First Night ...
Cyril Davies, Alexis Korner: Cyril Davies: The Soul-Beat Revival...
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 April 1963
MR. CYRIL DAVIS, purveyor of R&B is currently the white hope of Pye's new R&B campaign. With his new single, the scintillating, exciting 'Country Line ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 May 1967
The tender story of a love-hate relationship ...
Bo Diddley: The Man With A Hundred Guitars... Diddley the Great
Retrospective by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 April 1963
ABOUT EIGHT years ago, a sound called Rock and Roll started to penetrate the music scene in a big big way, taking over completely from ...
Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, Muddy Waters, Big Joe Williams: Big Blues Tour
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 October 1963
WITH R&B getting a deep hold in this country, many of the former fans of this type of music seem to be switching to the ...
Fats Domino: The Man Who Sang Rock Before Haley
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 January 1963
HIS first million-seller was named after himself. Until last year he had more million-sellers than Elvis, who finally caught up with him after a hard ...
Donovan: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 29 April 1967
DONOVAN AT THE SAVILLE — A PSYCHEDELIC TROUDADOR ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 22 April 1967
Orbison Gibson album — a fine LP but could be depressing... ...
Lee Dorsey: Soul Explosion! Lee Dorsey
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 November 1967
LEE DORSEY is a very interesting looking singer. He looks like a brown Bing Crosby and the effect of Lee's new teeth (which he pointed ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 October 1967
MARVIN GAYE AND TAMMI TERRELL: 'Your Precious Love'; 'Hold Me Oh My Darling' (Tamla Motown TMG 625). What a beautiful record this is. A medium-pace, ...
Lee Dorsey, Allen Toussaint: Lee Dorsey: Things You Don't Know About Lee
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 30 April 1966
FOR A LONG time Lee Dorsey has been the golden boy of the in-most R&B hippies. His first couple of American hits were 'Ya Ya' ...
The Drifters: Lyceum Theatre, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 3 April 1965
DESPITE THE attraction of the Queen at an Aldwych theatre and the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon at Covent Garden Opera House, a ...
The Drifters: The Big Daddy Group
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 3 April 1965
THE MOST interesting thing about the Drifters isn't the fact that they've been singing for ten years, that they've sold millions of records, that they've ...
The Drifters, Ben E. King: Ben E. King — 'The Drifters and I'
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 February 1964
A MUSIC reporters life is not an easy one. But a big consolation is when instead of having to report on music and artistes which ...
The Drifters, Ben E. King: LP's from Ben E. King & Drifters
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 June 1965
THE DRIFTERS — The Good Life — 'Quando Quando Quando'; 'On The Street Where You Live'; 'I Wish You Love'; 'Tonight'; 'More'; 'What Kind Of ...
The Drifters, Ben E. King: The Great Unknowns No.4: Ben E. King
Discography by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 April 1963
The Latin-Tinged Balladeer Who Never Quite Made It! ...
The Drifters, Ben E. King: The Inconsistent Drifters
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 7 October 1961
IN AMERICA, TWENTY-ONE HITS. IN BRITAIN — THREE! NORMAN JOPLING FOCUSES ON... THE INCONSISTENT DRIFTERS ...
Bob Dylan: Blonde On Blonde (CBS)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 August 1966
"GUILTY UNDERTAKERS sighed..." sings Bob Dylan, somewhat prophetically on his latest folk-rock-rhythm-blues-smash-top-twenty hit. And now, as Bob is lying in hospital with a broken neck, ...
Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited (American Columbia)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 September 1965
THOUGHT I'D jump the gun and tell you all about this LP, just issued in the States but not here. Side one starts off with ...
Bob Dylan: John Wesley Harding (U.S. Columbia)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 27 January 1968
BOB DYLAN'S LATEST LP JOHN WESLEY HARDING A REVIEW IN DEPTH BY NORMAN JOPLING ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 May 1968
The Great Leap Backwards! ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 16 November 1963
THE OPENING night of the Duane Eddy/Little Richard/Shirelles tour was a lot better than most people expected at the Regal Edmonton, 2nd performance on Saturday. ...
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 March 1967
ANY DR. ZHIVAGO "gear" seen in the Savllle last Sunday was not due to a 'fab fad' but to the nippy draughts which whistled through ...
The Everly Brothers: Rock 'n' Soul (Warner Bros. WM 8171); Gone, Gone, Gone (Warner Bros. WM 8169)
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 May 1965
2 wild albums from Everlys ...
Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 December 1962
THE STORY OF THE BRITISH RHYTHM AND BLUES RIOT-RAISERS... ...
Fleetwood Mac: Rock'n'Blues Via Peter Green
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 March 1968
THE BIG BEAT BUG BITES BLUESMAN PETER ...
Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall: Fleetwood Mac: Peter Green – The Guitarist Who Won't Forsake The Blues
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 19 August 1967
ANYONE WHO in a year has built up the reputation of being Britain's best blues guitarist, must have some interesting things to say, and therefore ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 January 1968
THE BIG R & B companies have a habit of LP release lists which make mouths watery with anticipation. Of course the omnipresent financial problem ...
The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Supremes: Tamla's Miracles Break Through At Last!
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 January 1968
THE FIRST of the Tamla Motown groups, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, have finally made it big in the British charts with their runaway transatlantic ...
Kim Fowley, The Mothers Of Invention: Freak Out!
Report and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 22 October 1966
The latest West Coast way of life — rebels with a cause, & their music ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 May 1968
SOME PEOPLE are going around saying that Aretha Franklin is the Queen Of Soul, many people are buying her records, and one person (show compère ...
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 7 January 1967
Mamas and Papas next single on their new LP ...
Interview by Dave Godin, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 September 1964
by DAVE GODIN as told to Norman Jopling ...
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 March 1965
IN RETALIATION to the British craze sweeping the States, America launches its biggest-ever campaign to bring back the Yanks into the British charts in the ...
Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Little Eva: Four Careers & Carole King
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 22 September 1962
FOUR CAREERS? At twenty? How come you may well ask. In CAROLE KING'S case it comes naturally. ...
Goldie & The Gingerbreads: Goldie and the Gingerbreads: Four Tough Birds...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 February 1965
THERE ISN'T much that scares Goldie And The Gingerbreads. Being an all-girl group in a male dominated scene tends to toughen up the so-called weaker ...
Goldie & The Gingerbreads: Goldie Tells What's Wrong With British Record Buyers!
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 January 1966
"I'M TOLD that alcohol isn't good for the voice," said Goldie, sipping an exotic looking snowball which had taken about ten minutes of careful preparation ...
John Hammond: Folk And Blues Friends
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 May 1965
"DYLAN — WELL, let's say he gave me confidence when I needed it most." The speaker was John Hammond, 22 years old blues singer from ...
Screamin' Jay Hawkins: King of Rock and Horror
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 June 1965
EVERY ONCE in a while someone different comes along. In January, none other than the legendary Screamin' Jay Hawkins entered Britain, and established himself as ...
Heinz's Hat, Some Surfing, & The Sharks!
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 31 October 1964
THE FACT that Heinz has just visited Australia stuck out the proverbial mile when I met him last week, after an exhausting two week tour ...
Jimi Hendrix, The Who: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who: Saville Theatre, London
Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 February 1967
GLOOMY SAVILLE ...
Jimi Hendrix: Man, Myth Or Magic? Jimi Hendrix is Back, and Happy, and Talking…
Interview by Norman Jopling, Music Now, 12 September 1970
JIMI HENDRIX is staying at a West End hotel prior to his appearance at the Isle Of Wight Festival and his forthcoming European tour. ...
The Honeycombs: 'Our Image Needs To Change'
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 28 November 1964
"WE WANT TO change our image" were the first words of Honeycomb Dennis D'Ell, lead vocalist. Dennis was worried, not only about their records, but ...
The Honeycombs: The Honeys Have Changed!
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 27 March 1965
ALTHOUGH THEY'VE only notched up one big hit here, the Honeycombs are certainly one of the most successful groups on the international scene. In the ...
The Honeycombs, Peter and Gordon, The Rolling Stones: Death of a Dynasty
Comment by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 30 January 1965
Norman Jopling takes a hard, cynical look at the declining beat boom and makes some frank comments ...
The Isley Brothers, The Supremes: Singles from the Supremes and Isley Brothers
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 May 1967
The Supremes: 'The Happening'; 'All I Know About You' (Tamla Motown TMG 607). ...
Michael Jackson: Got To Be There (Tamla Motown STML11205).
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 May 1972
Are Tamla stretching Michael? ...
Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones: Aftermath: Mick Jagger Answers Some Questions
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 26 August 1967
WHEN I SPOKE to Mick Jagger everything was "nice" and "groovy" with him, so don't believe everything you read in the papers. And he's happy ...
Johnny Burnette: 'No Dance Discs From Me'
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 November 1963
THE MAN who has had many U.S. and British top 20 hits is over here again in Britain — and no-one seems to know anything ...
The Joy Strings: Invasion By The Unexpected Army
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 7 March 1964
EVERY NOW and then, something happens which astounds and astonishes everybody in the disc biz. ...
Bert Kaempfert: Massive Kaempfert LP Release
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 17 February 1968
ONE BATCH of LP's which, altogether, may slightly be beyond the reach of your pocket — no less than FIVE LP's by BERT KAEMPFERT and ...
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates: Johnny Kidd: It's The Song, Not My Name Which Sells
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 14 December 1963
Johnny Kidd's Latest Success Was Quite A 'Sleeper' ...
Jonathan King: X-Certificate Jonathan King
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 September 1965
JONATHAN TALKS TO NORMAN JOPLING ABOUT THE LYRICS HE WAS FORBIDDEN TO USE... ...
The Kinks: 'You Really Got Me' Was a Jazz Song! Say the Kinks
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 September 1964
'YOU REALLY Got Me', the Kinks third disc and first hit is now number 2 in the charts. But the story behind it is strange ...
Buddy Knox: The Great Unknowns No. 2: Buddy Knox
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 March 1963
SEVERAL MONTHS ago a disc entered the top fifty by an artist who hadn't seen the light of the charts for many years. It was ...
Brenda Lee: A Brenda Bargain – Re-Issue Collection on Ace of Hearts
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 17 August 1963
LITTLE MISS NEWLY-MARRIED has had, believe it or not, no less than SEVEN years in the music business. And that's seven years making discs too. ...
Lonnie Mack: The Instrumental Influence and Hit Star
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 24 August 1963
BEAT instrumentals are probably at a higher degree of popularity in the States than ever before. Discs like 'Wipeout', 'Tips Of My Fingers', 'Pipeline', 'Hot ...
Manfred Mann: Meet The Manfreds
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 2 May 1964
PART ONE OF A NEW SERIES — MIKE HUGG AND TOM McGUINESS ...
Manfred Mann: The Paul Jones Mann
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 16 May 1964
"UH-HU, IT'S THE Manfreds" yells Paul Jones, who is, to use the most overworked cliché in the book, last but not least in our series ...
The Marcels: Fallen Idols No. 13: The Marcels
Retrospective by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 16 February 1963
EVER SINCE the big beat came in it has been the custom to re-hash the standards into the mood fashionable at the time. ...
Joe Meek, Outlaws, The (UK), Gene Vincent: Rumour About The Outlaws Made Their Disc Company Panic...
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 29 June 1963
THERE WAS a rumour last Christmas that the Outlaws were to break up. It was of course, untrue, but the rumour spread pretty quickly throughout ...
Millie, Prince Buster: It's the Blue-Beat Craze
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 February 1964
A LOOK AT THE LATEST CRAZE TO TAKE THE RECORD INDUSTRY BY STORM ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 August 1966
RACE RIOTS and pop music don't mix. If you buy records by a coloured artiste and you happen to be white, it's difficult to be ...
The Monkees: More Of The Monkees (RCA)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 8 April 1967
IT'S A STRANGE thing to review an LP which you know will go to the top of the LP charts and sell a load of ...
Chris Montez: Give Me The Flamenco
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 2 February 1963
"I REALLY like Spanish dancing best." Chris Montez told me over the transatlantic phone, "And 'though I jive and twist a lot I guess it's ...
Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley: Scotty Moore: The Man Who Launched A Thousand Licks
Interview by Norman Jopling, New Musical Express, 27 January 1973
PEOPLE AROUND at the time Elvis first made it claim that guitarist Scotty Moore was the musician most responsible for "The Elvis Presley Sound". Moore ...
Mickie Most: Do-It-Yourself Mick!
Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 October 1963
AFTER A MINOR record success with his 'Mr. Porter', Mickey Most looks all set for a far bigger success with the follow-up 'The Feminine Look', ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 August 1966
THE VOICE OF Napoleon XIV didn't crackle across the transatlantic 'phone. In fact, it sounded as though he was talking from the other side of ...
Roy Orbison: An Unexpected U.S. Hit For Roy
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 14 September 1963
But although he's clicking with a rocker, he's recording with 'Those Great British Strings' ...
Gene Pitney, The Rolling Stones: Gene Pitney: Why 'Tulsa' Made The Charts
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 January 1964
NORMAN JOPLING SUPPLIES THE ANSWER TO A CURRENT CHART SURPRISE ...
Sandy Posey: Sandy's a Single Girl who goes for R&B
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 25 February 1967
"SHE'S DIFFICULT to interview — she's very quiet and she's only interested in music and people concerned with music." That was the advice I was ...
The Pretty Things: Viv — "It's All Lies"
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 September 1965
'I could sue them' says Viv Prince, about newspaper articles which appeared about him in New Zealand. Norman Jopling reports...' ...
The Pretty Things: The Things Hit Back!
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 February 1965
ONE ACCUSATION that can't be levelled against the Pretty Things is that they're dull. In fact this wild-sounding, and equally wild-looking group are one of ...
John Prine: An Interview with John Prine
Interview by Norman Jopling, unpublished, September 1972
JOHN PRINE IS THE GUY that sang the song about the hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes, and a whole bunch of ...
James and Bobby Purify: The Soul Difference in the USA — by James Purify...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 September 1967
STROLLING into EMI's James and Bobby Purify reception clutching an EMI handout on the duo, I bumped into James P. who came out with some ...
Otis Redding: Otis' Ambition Was To Replace Sam Cooke...
Obituary by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 April 1968
ABOUT THREE years ago I wrote a feature on Otis Redding as part of a series called "Great Unknowns". It was based on four records ...
Otis Redding: Otis R.: The Man Who Sings As Though He Means It
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 22 January 1966
EVERY SINGER, no matter how good or bad, has one dominating thought in mind when making a record. Simply, will this be the record to ...
Otis Redding: The Two-Sided Bluester
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 May 1965
VERSATILITY is often the sign of greatness on the music scene. The same applies to the blues, and one of its most popular modern exponents ...
Otis Redding: The Stax Controversy
Readers' Letters by Norman Jopling, uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 15 April 1967
THE FACTS are these. Record Mirror columnist Norman Jopling reviewed the Stax show. Frank Fenter, manager of Atlantic Records replied. Then, Record Mirror readers wrote, ...
Obituary by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 December 1967
The life and music of Otis Redding — and some tributes... ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 30 January 1965
"WHAT do we think of Cilla's version of 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling'?" said America's Righteous Brothers when I posed them the question. "Well, we ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Mary Wells: Motown: Will 'HITSVILLE U.S.A.' Hit Britain Now?
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 June 1964
THEY SAY that there's not much chance for American hits here now. But nevertheless the multi-million dollar American label Tamla has scored its FIRST hit ...
The Rolling Stones: Between The Buttons (Decca)
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 28 January 1967
'Yesterday's Papers'; 'My Obsession'; 'Back Street Girl'; 'Connection'; 'Cool, Calm and Collected'; 'All Sold Out'; 'Please Go Home'; 'Who's Been Sleeping Here?'; 'Complicated'; 'Miss Amanda ...
The Rolling Stones: The Rolling Stones No. 2
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 January 1965
"WE THINK IT'S a lot better than our first one... there's a more varied selection of songs... no instrumentals... we cut it at three different ...
The Rolling Stones: The Rolling Stones (Decca)
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 April 1964
GREAT NEW L-P FROM STONES ...
The Rolling Stones: We Want The Stones (Decca EP)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 June 1965
STONES EP EXCITING & DIFFERENT ...
The Rolling Stones: Genuine R&B!
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 May 1963
AS THE TRAD scene gradually subsides, promoters of all kinds of teen-beat entertainment heave a long sigh of relief that they have found something to ...
Del Shannon: 'My Success Changed My Friends'
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 January 1965
ONE OF THE chief attractions about Del Shannon is his own individual style of singing and guitar playing. So it'll come as a shock to ...
Del Shannon: Mix-Ups and Mr. Shannon
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 10 March 1962
BY NOW, mix-ups seem to be an integral pact of DEL SHANNON'S recording career. ...
Del Shannon: The Unseen Side of Del Shannon
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 February 1965
THE IMAGE of Del Shannon is probably one of the most one-sided in the business. The man who in the last four years has built ...
The Shirelles: The Neglected Shirelles
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 January 1963
"I MET HIM on a Sunday" sang Addie, Doris, Shirley, and Beverly. They were heard by a class-mate at Passiac high school during a rehearsal ...
Mort Shuman: The Man Who Writes Hits For The U.S. Stars
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 January 1964
IF ANYONE bothers to look just under the titles of their records, they'll see a name or names in brackets. Those names are the songwriters. ...
Nina Simone: Pastel Blues (Philips BL 7683) ****
Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 22 January 1966
Nina goes back to blues on her new LP Pastel Blues ...
Phil Spector: Talk of the Town: Phil Spector in London
Book Excerpt by Norman Jopling, 'Shake It Up, Baby!', March 2015
THE RECORD MIRROR office was a four-room apartment above Drum City at 116 Shaftesbury Avenue and employed a total of nine full-time staff and numerous ...
Phil Spector, The Teddy Bears, Ike & Tina Turner: More Spector Magic out of the Hat
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 June 1966
PROBABLY, PHIL SPECTOR was the only person in the world who could have produced a record for Ike and Tina Turner that could make the ...
Phil Spector, Ike & Tina Turner: Ike & Tina Turner: Ike...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 8 October 1966
...tells, among other things, why he wants to change the act's name, and why he dislikes 'River Deep' ...
Dusty Springfield, The Springfields: The Springfields: The White Negress
Report and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 April 1963
"THAT'S WHAT THEY CALL ME" – DUSTY SPRINGFIELD ...
Cat Stevens, The Walker Brothers: The Walker Brothers: Images; Cat Stevens: Matthew & Son
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 March 1967
Moody Walkers L.P. and a great debut L.P. from Cat Stevens ...
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 April 1966
SIPPING A CUP of coffee and looking out over the wilds of Shaftesbury Avenue, it was very hard to get Irma Thomas to talk about ...
The Tokens: Suddenly it's Happening for the Tokens
Report and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 2 December 1967
THE BACK-ROOM boys of pop music, such as record producers, arrangers, engineers and managers, seem to be getting as much fame and fortune as the ...
The Tremeloes: The Tired Tremeloes..!
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 14 September 1963
In the charts with 'Twist And Shout' and with 'Do You Love Me' crashing in at No. 33, Brian and the boys begin to feel ...
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 September 1967
Vanilla Fudge LP – even more dramatic than the hit single ...
Scott Walker: Scott 2 (Philips)
Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 April 1968
Scott's LP in depth ...
The Walker Brothers: The Reluctant American: Some Interesting Opinions from Scott Walker
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 31 December 1966
"I DIDN'T like it in America, and I'm not going back to live there. When I did live there it was terrible – once I ...
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 10 September 1966
AT LAST TAMLA'S wonder boy Junior Walker, alias Autrey DeWalt, has made our charts, after eighteen months of records which have been revered and worshipped ...
Larry Williams: "I'm No Rock 'N' Roller"
Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 3 April 1965
LARRY WILLIAMS talks to Norman Jopling ...
Larry Williams: The Return of Rock
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 May 1965
SUDDENLY, ROCK 'N' ROLL isn't a dirty phrase any more. ...
Stevie Wonder: "John Lennon has soul," says Stevie Wonder...
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 August 1967
FOR SOME strange reason, Tamla Motown have suddenly started calling Stevie Wonder "The Prophet Of Soul" which seems to be a somewhat corny catch-name for ...
The Yardbirds: The Blueswailers With The Mod Appeal
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 30 May 1964
ALTHOUGH THE Sunday Telegraph insisted that the Yardbirds were called the Yardsticks, and also claimed they were public school boys it doesn't seem to have ...
List of genre pieces
Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 March 1963
EVERYONE IS talking about the Rhythm and Blues revival that's going on. But we wondered whether in fact there was a revival. ...
Sue Records: Not So Much A Label
Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 February 1965
STORY OF BRITAIN'S STRANGEST RECORD LABEL ...
1963: Rhythm And Blues Made The News
Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 December 1963
THIS HAS been THE year for rhythm and blues fans. There is no doubt about it. At the beginning of the year the R & ...
1963: Year Of Rhythm & Blues #2
Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 28 December 1963
Part two of a series spotlighting all the important events in the R & B world this year. ...
Beat Group Names from America and Liverpool
Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 August 1962
IS THE Liverpool area the rockingest part of the great British Isles? A publication, Mersey Beat, just arrived, makes me think this is the ...
Shakespeare in the 70s: Jack Good's Catch My Soul
Interview by Norman Jopling, Music Now, 23 January 1971
CATCH MY SOUL, as you've doubtless read, is a rock musical based on Shakespeare's Othello. It was conceived by Jack Good who plays the title ...
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