Comrade Rockstar: The Life and Mystery of Dean Reed, the All-American Boy is a fascinating story of a man in search of fame who found it in the unlikeliest of.
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Return to Book Page. Preview — Comrade Rockstar by Reggie Nadelson. Dean Reed had one of the strangest careers in the history of popular culture. Failing to gain recognition for his music in his native United States, he achieved celebrity in South America in the early s and then, unbelievably, became the biggest rock star in the Soviet Union, where he was awarded the Lenin Prize and his icons were sold alongside those of Josef Stalin.
His albums went gold from Bulgaria to Berlin.
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He made highly successful movies and, naively earnest, was an unwitting acolyte for socialism; everywhere he went, he was mobbed by his fans. And then, in , at the height of his fame, right after 60 Minutes had devoted a segment to him, finally giving him the recognition he had never attained at home, he drowned in mysterious circumstances in East Berlin.
Drawn magnetically to his story, Reggie Nadelson pursued the mystery of Dean Reed's life and death across America and Eastern Europe, her own journey mirroring his. As she traveled, the Berlin Wall came down, the Soviet Union crumbled, and Reed became an increasingly alluring figure, his life an unrepeatable tale of the Cold War world. Encountering the characters— musicians and DJs, politicians and public figures, lovers and wives—who peopled Reed's life, Nadelson was drawn further and further into a seedy, often hilarious subculture of sex, politics, and rock 'n' roll.
Part biography, part memoir and personal journey, Comrade Rockstar is an unforgettable chronicle of an utterly improbable life Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Comrade Rockstar , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Aug 25, Carla Remy rated it really liked it. Dean Reed, born in Colorado in Did he just want to be a music superstar, so much that he went to East Berlin and the Soviet Union in the s a place where he was a celebrity, a big fish in a small pond?
Was he a CIA mole one hears that they like outlandish people as spies? Did he die under mysterious circumstances in the. A very well written book, really a memoir of the American author travelling to the East in the late s before the wall fell to research the strange life Dean Reed, born in Colorado in A very well written book, really a memoir of the American author travelling to the East in the late s before the wall fell to research the strange life of Dean Reed.
View all 4 comments. May 09, J. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
Non-Fiction | Reggie Nadelson
To view it, click here. While he was mostly overlooked in the U.
Seizing opportunity, Reed moved to Chile. There, he claimed, he was exposed to the wide chasm between the privileged and the poor classes of society. This experience turned Reed onto radical politics. He became a Socialist, activist and champion of "little people". He also became a harsh critic of the U.
In doing so, author Reggie Nadelson provides readers with insights into the now mostly-vanished Communist world, including who would've thought! Eventually, Reed ended up in East Germany, where he continued to record popular records and act in and direct well-received films. In , at age 48, he died there under mysterious circumstances, shortly after making plans to return to America including an appearance on "60 Minutes".
Many who knew him claim Reed was murdered for political reasons. Nadelson keeps the reader in suspense right up to her book's endthen does a satisfying job of unraveling this mystery, at least to the extent that it can be unraveled. Dean Reed was a household name from Havana to Moscow.
But he wasand remainsalmost unknown in his home country.
Twenty-two years after his death, he has a wide and loyal following in Europe. While his politics may rub many the wrong way, Reed is a genuinely unique historical figure. Reggie Nadelson tells his story well. Feb 14, Mark Feltskog rated it it was ok. This is essentially a work of journalism; indeed, at one point, Ms. Nadelson uses the noun phrase "another journalist" as an appositive when describing an acquaintance.
The problem here may well be mine, but on the other hand, it is true that one of the cardinal sins of journalism is to insert oneself into the story, which Ms. Nadelson has done here--smugly at times. There are of course exceptions to this--David Remnick's Lenin's Tomb comes to mind--but this isn't one of them.
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Part of that stems This is essentially a work of journalism; indeed, at one point, Ms. Part of that stems from the fact that Ms. Nadelson isn't particularly interesting, doesn't write particularly well, and appears, given the text of the book, too lazy to conduct real research. Dean Reed's story is interesting, and there are other books out there about him that I have to believe are better-researched and written than this one. Jan 28, Peter rated it it was amazing. I love the combination of the author telling her own life story, especially in relation to doing her research for this strange and wonderful book and telling the actual story.
It resonated so much with me! Wonderful snippets of life in various parts of the socialist world of the 70's and 60's.
Non-Fiction
Dean Reed is hardly a legendary pop culture figure. Sadly, he never saw the book. But at his request I wrote the introductory essay to what I think of as one of the foremost documents of Jazz by one of its greatest champions. Many of the most iconic photographs in all of jazz — or of any music, for that matter — are collected in this lavish document of mostly the bebop era, the late s and s.
Mick Brown, Telegraph read full review. Dean Reed was an American and the biggest rock star in the history of the Soviet Union. He was so famous his icons were sold alongside those of Josef Stalin. Reggie Nadelson first saw him in on a TV chat show. Dean Reed was born in Denver, Colorado , and moved with his family many times, living in various cities in California and Utah , and later returning to Colorado.
He graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in , where he was a star athlete on the track team. After a couple of years at the University of Colorado , Reed moved to California after realizing he had some talent as a musician, and recorded "Once Again" for Imperial Records as a one-off single to see if reaction to it would justify a full contract. No contract was offered by Imperial, but Reed subsequently signed a long-term recording contract with Capitol Records in He also made guest appearances on family television programs such as Bachelor Father.
While Reed never achieved musical success in the U. His fame, and record sales there were noteworthy, as well as in Chile and Peru , where he also appeared on the major television network. Reed resided in Argentina for approximately four years. During that period, he offered several live concerts. In Chile, he developed a left-wing political philosophy, and began to speak out against oppression and poverty. He protested against nuclear weapons and US foreign policy, and performed shows free in poor neighborhoods and in prisons. Back in Buenos Aires, his politics eventually ran afoul of Argentine government policies after the military coup and he was deported.
In , Reed chose to settle permanently in East Germany , where he continued to write, direct, and perform in films.
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Over the years he played in 20 films, produced 13 records, and gave concerts in 32 countries.