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Rotten to the Core
Ben's a featured character in "Almost Famous," written and directed by Cameron Crowe. (A true story written and directed by Crowe - his
first since writing and directing Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire.") -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I was on Wheel of Fortune, one of the first puzzles I solved, on my way to almost $99,000 in cash and fabulous prizes, was: TURNABOUT IS FAIR PLAY. I suppose. For a guy whose entire career is based on interviewing, quizzing, and probing other people - most of them celebrities - it seems only fair to agree to the occasional request for an interview. When the producer of Johnny Rotten's Internet radio talk show called, however, I was stunned. What could Rotten, the former leader of the Sex Pistols, a lightning-rod character in the history of punk rock, one of the most caustic critics of?�well, of everything - want with me? It turns out that he'd read Not Fade Away, my compilation of past articles, and wanted to have me on for an hour or so. And, when we began talking, it was apparent that he'd really read Not Fade Away. Years ago, when I sat with Larry King to talk about Hickory Wind, my biography of Gram Parsons, I learned quickly that King deserved his rep, for not reading the books of his guests. On the air, he read part of the dustjacket aloud, then came up with questions based on what he'd just read. Johnny (real name John Lydon) was the flip side to Larry King. Rotten not only read most of the 30-plus pieces in the book, but had specific insights on everyone from Neil Diamond and Elton John to Marvin Gaye and Tina Turner. He astounded me with what he'd gleaned from these profiles, and he sparked fresh illuminations, discoveries we made together, on the air, in cyberspace. Yes, he was acidic as ever - he is truly a man who, unlike Will Rogers, has never met a man he's liked - but we had a blast.
____________________ Ben Fong-Torres, long-time writer and editor at Rolling Stone magazine, is the author of four books, including his memoirs, The Rice Room: Growing Up Chinese-American, and his latest, Not Fade Away: A Backstage Pass to 20 Years of Rock & Roll. He is Editorial Director of myplay.com, an Internet music site that offers free Web space, where users can grab, store, mix, play, and share music of all kinds. Click to Ben Fong-Torres Articles
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