Rock is Lit: Richard Fulco, Author of 'We Are All Together', On The Summer of Love & The Long Hot Summer of 1967, with Woodstock Photographer Elliott Landy

In this episode of Rock is Lit, Richard Fulco, author of the new novel ‘We Are All Together’, is here to take us on a rockin’ jaunt through the late 1960s, where we’ll encounter several iconic players on the music and literature scene from that era. If you’re a fan of the Summer of Love and all the trimmings that go with it, you’ll love his novel and this episode. Later, Elliott Landy drops by to talk even more about the 1960s music scene, a period he should know a lot about since he’s been photographing rock stars since the mid-60s. Best known for his classic rock photographs, Elliott Landy was one of the first music photographers to be recognized as an “artist.” His celebrated works include album cover photographs for Bob Dylan’s ‘Nashville Skyline’, The Band’s ‘Music From Big Pink’ and ‘The Band’ album, and Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance’. He’s also taken portraits of such rock icons as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, etc. He was the official photographer of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. And . . . Elliott has a new book out, entitled ‘Photographs of Janis Joplin On the Road & On Stage’, featuring 129 photos, including 100 unpublished, accompanied by Janis’s own words from recorded interviews by David Dalton of ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine. HIGHLIGHTS:Richard Fulco and I talk about Syd Barrett’s descent into mental illness and his exit from Pink Floyd1967: The Summer of Love—music, culture, vibe—but for African Americans, 1967 was known as The Long Hot SummerRichard’s music career when he was in his twentiesThe story and characters in ‘We Are All Together’—Syd Barrett as inspiration behind the character DylanThe Beatles’ performance on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ in 1964The quest for fame and having “IT”The American Dream and racism and toxic ChristianityCharles MansonThe Merry PrankstersThe significance of the title of the novel and its connection to The BeatlesAndy Warhol, The Factory, The Velvet Underground with Nico, Lou Reed and their role in the novelThe depiction of the Monterey Pop Festival in the story, especially the performance of Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding CompanySome of the other icons who make cameos in the novel: Pete Townshend, Eric Burdon, Jann Wenner, Neal Cassady, William S. BurroughsWhat the Jack Kerouac classic novel ‘On the Road’ means to Richard and meThe Monkees as a gateway drug to The BeatlesElliott Landy and I talk about How Elliott’s concern about the Vietnam War brought him from a job as a photographer on a Danish film set back to America in the mid- to late 1960s to photograph peace demonstrationsHow a Country Joe and the Fish light show at The Anderson Theater in NYC’s East Village started Elliott on a new career path photographing musiciansSeeing Janis Joplin, Tim Buckley, and Albert King perform the very first show at the Fillmore East on March 8, 1968Hanging out with Janis Joplin after a NYC gigElliott’s style as a “fly on the wall” photographerShooting the album covers of The Band’s ‘Music From Big Pink’ and ‘The Band’, Bob Dylan’s ‘Nashville Skyline’, and hanging out with guys in the town WoodstockHis experience as the official photographer at Woodstock in 1969 and the spirit of Woodstock and the 1960s MUSIC AND MEDIA IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:(Royalty Free Music) “Summer of Love” by Roy Edwin Williams“The King is Half-Undressed” by Jellyfish“Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding“See Emily Play” by Pink FloydRoger Waters talks about Syd Barrett on the Joe Rogan Experience“Four” by Sonny RollinsClip of Muhammad Ali explaining his anti-draft, anti-Vietnam War stance