ALBERT GOLDMAN

:''For the Trotskyist and labor movement lawyer, see Albert Goldman (politician).''
'Albert Harry Goldman' (April 15, 1927 – March 28, 1994) was an American professor and author.
Born in Dormont, Pennsylvania, Albert Goldman wrote about the culture and personalities of the American music industry both in books and as a contributor to magazines. However, he is best known for his controversial biographies on Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Lenny Bruce.
Goldman's breakthrough bestseller, "Ladies and Gentlemen - Lenny Bruce!!!" won praise from the likes of Norman Mailer and Pauline Kael, who called the book "brilliant." The book was largely positive in its appraisal of Bruce's talent, though it was attacked by many of Bruce's friends for allegedly distorting his character. Goldman had done legal work for Bruce before the latter's death.
Goldman's 1981 biography ''Elvis'' probably aroused more controversy than any biography of a musician ever written. In this book, the author drew on more than four years' research into Presley's life, but for many, his research was undone by his intense personal dislike of Presley. For instance, Goldman dismissed Presley as a plagiarist who never did anything of note after his first records at Sun Records, insisting that he was inferior as an artist to Little Richard and other early rock'n'roll singers. He also portrayed Presley as nearly insane, using stories that some might see as innocuous (such as Presley taking his friends halfway across the country to buy them peanut-butter sandwichs) to "prove" that the singer had lost his grip on reality. At one point, Goldman writes of Presley: "Like most country boys of his time, he was uncircumsized . . . he saw his beauty disfigured by an ugly hillbilly pecker." The author also belittled the late singer over his weight problems, his diet, his choice of performing costumes, and his sexual appetites and peculiarities. He even suggests that Elvis's promiscuity masked latent homosexuality. Goldman saw himself as a purist, and is quoted as saying: "Commercial to the core, Elvis was the kind of singer dear to the heart of the music business. For him to sing a song was to sell a song. His G clef was a dollar sign."
Of the more than four hundred books on Presley, none ever upset his fans as much as Goldman did. In a famous review in the Village Voice, Greil Marcus wrote: "The real significance of Goldman's 'Elvis' is its attempt at cultural genocide. . . . The torrents of hate that drive this book are unrelieved." Furthermore, he particularly objected to Goldman's constant slurs against Presley's background, including his characterization of Presley's parents as "the original Beverly Hillbillies." Other critics liked the book. Jonathan Yardley of the ''Washington Post'' called it a "nasty book, written in spectacularly execrable prose, but the view of Presley that it expressed dovetailed in many instances with my own, and in spite of itself I found things in it to admire." Lamar Fike, the Presley insider and former member of the Memphis Mafia, who introduced Goldman to many of his sources, recalled: "The problem was Albert's personality. At first, he liked Elvis. But later, he started disliking him. And by the end of (writing) the book, I think he hated him. I said, 'Albert, you can't do this.' But I couldn't stop him."
In 1982, Goldman wrote a very unflattering article on actor Bruce Lee which was divided into two parts for Penthouse Magazine (Jan, Feb 1983 issues).
In 1990, Goldman published a second book, entitled ''Elvis: The Last 24 Hours'', on the circumstances and events of Presley's death, arguing that the singer had committed suicide. The book drew some attention for its sensational thesis but was largely ignored.
Because of the controversy surrounding his Elvis book, Goldman told interviewers that he planned to write his next biography about John Lennon, whom he greatly admired: "He was a figure of great intelligence and courage - the opposite of Elvis." However, while researching his next book, "The Lives of John Lennon," Goldman became disillusioned with Lennon: "As the dilineation of his personality became clear to me, I was very dismayed at what I was finding out."
In the book, Goldman made many controversial allegations, among them the charge that Lennon had a homosexual relationship with The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, and that he may have had something to do with the untimely death of his friend Stuart Sutcliffe, an early member of The Beatles. Yoko Ono was portrayed in an even worse light, and Goldman alleged that the two carried on constant affairs throughout their marriage.
Concerning Goldman's account of Lennon's consumption of LSD, Luc Sante, in the ''New York Review of Books'', said: "Goldman's background research was either slovenly or nonexistent." The author replied:
:"What is the basis for this sweeping and defamatory assertion? Absolutely nothing save for my quoting only one book about LSD. Yet if Sante knew anything about drugs, he would recognize that the only serious problem about Lennon's consumption of LSD was one that has no literature; namely, the question of what effect this drug has upon a man who takes it every day, eating it 'like candy.' "
Goldman died in 1994 on route to London. He left unfinished a biography of Doors singer Jim Morrison.
Shortly before his death, Goldman translated three poems by Heinrich Heine, his favorite poet. "Heine strikes the note of ironic sentimentality that is the hallmark nor just of Heine but of all us nice Jewish wits," he wrote. The poems appeared after his death in a 1994 issue of Parnassus: Poetry in Review.
He was memorably portrayed by Phil Hartman on ''Saturday Night Live.''

Contents

Trivia

External links

Trivia

Goldman is survived by a daughter in her early thirties. Goldman never married the girl's mother (now deceased); did not see, acknowldge or give the child his name or any kind of support. She is now a social worker, a dedicated activist for the homeless in her community and bears a strong physical resemblance to her father.
Richey Edwards, of the Manic Street Preachers, said that Goldman's Elvis and Lennon biographies were among his favorite books.
BLENDER Magazine, in 2006, chose "Elvis" as the worst rock bio ever, stating that Goldman dealt with everything about Elvis Presley but his music. The book was an example of an author hating his subject and it showed.
In the U2 song "God Part II" from the album ''Rattle and Hum'', Bono sings about Albert Goldman:

''Don't believe in Goldman''

''His type like a curse. ''

''Instant Karma's gonna get him''

''If I don't get him first.''
'Partial bibliography:'

★ ''Ladies and gentlemen - Lenny Bruce!!'' (1971)

★ '' (1971)

★ ''Carnival in Rio'' (1978)

★ '' (1979)

★ ''Disco'' (1979)

★ ''Elvis'' (1981)

★ ''The Lives of John Lennon'' (1988)

★ '' (1990)

★ ''Sound Bites'' (1992)

★ '' (2001) - posthumous collection

External links

★ SNL transcript of Albert Goldman as the fifth Beatle

★ New York Review of Books on John Lennon

★ The Lives of John Lennon - Reply by Albert Goldman