Of all the talented people I got to know in my years writing for Rolling Stone, nobody was more impressively and consistently professional than Ben Fong-Torres. He was the ultimate reporter and editor, a smart, skilled story-teller with an eye for detail, all the while remaining honest, witty and utterly incorruptible in a sector (the music business) where corruption was rampant.
Now his personal story has been told in “Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres” on Netflix. Director Suzanne Joe Kai got access to the right amount of celebrity moments, historical footage, and contemporary interviews to capture the man with all his complexity and integrity.
The clips from his conversations with Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Paul McCartney, Bob Weir and Elton John in the early years of the magazine are priceless and enduring proof of his skill as an interviewer.
When the magazine moved from San Francisco to New York in 1977, Ben was among those of us who stayed behind. He has remained an active member of the Bay Area entertainment and media community — and a local treasure — ever since.
In addition to all of that, Ben is a true pioneer. He’s the Asian-American kid who some tried to ridicule who ended up as the coolest guy on the entire block — at the center of the universe of the rock ‘n roll revolution.
Today’s News:
60 feared dead in Russian bombing of Ukrainian school (CNBC)
Jill Biden pays surprise visit to Ukraine (AP)
Russian Pullback Seen Near Kharkiv, Despite Victory Day Push for Gains (NYT)
U.S. Senate to vote Wednesday on abortion rights bill, Schumer says (Reuters)
Russia’s Grave Miscalculation: Ukrainians Would Collaborate (NYT)
Ahead of a Victory Day without victory, Putin faces a choice over whether to launch all-out war (WP)
US announces sanctions against Kremlin-controlled media companies and bans Russia from using some American consulting services (CNN)
Viewpoint: Putin now faces only different kinds of defeat (BBC)
Women, children evacuated from steel plant after being trapped for weeks (WP)
Ukrainian fighters at besieged Azovstal plant vow to fight till the end (Reuters)
Volunteers rescue elderly Ukrainians from front lines as the clock ticks and Russians advance (WP)
Russia continues attacks in Ukraine's east and south (NHK)
CIA director says China ‘unsettled’ by Ukraine war (Financial Times)
Detailed ‘open source’ news investigations are catching on (AP)
Abortion Rights and the Courts (New Yorker)
Michigan AG refuses 'draconian' 1931 abortion law (Politico)
Abortion bans 'will be swift' if Roe v. Wade is overturned: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (ABC)
After leak, religious rift over legal abortion on display (AP)
Congress Set to Clash on Abortion Following Draft Opinion on Roe v. Wade (WSJ)
A 49-year crusade: Inside the movement to overturn Roe v. Wade (WP)
Supreme Court justices 'misled the Senate,' Gillibrand said (Politico)
The lucky few to never get coronavirus could teach us more about it (WP)
U.S. Presses Taiwan to Buy Weapons More Suited to Win Against China (NYT)
Researchers spot a rare type of dragonfish at 1,000 feet deep (NPR)
How climate scientists keep hope alive as damage worsens (AP)
The World Has No Choice but to Care About India’s Heat Wave (India)
Global scramble for metals thrusts Africa into mining spotlight (Reuters)
In Kabul, he worked as a senior official. Now he makes $15 an hour. (WP)
Taliban divisions deepen as Afghan women defy veil edict (AP)
Area Man Self-Conscious About All The Wrong Things (The Onion)
TODAY’s LYRICS:
“Ballad of a Thin Man”
You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?"
You try so hard but you don't understand
Just what you will say when you get home
Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
You raise up your head and you ask, "Is this where it is?"
And somebody points to you and says, "It's his"
And you say, "What's mine?" and somebody else says, "Well, what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God, am I here all alone?"
But something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
You hand in your ticket and you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you when he hears you speak
And says, "How does it feel to be such a freak?"
And you say, "Impossible!" as he hands you a bone
And something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
You have many contacts among the lumberjacks
To get you facts when someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect, anyway they already expect you to all give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations
Ah, you've been with the professors and they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well-read, it's well-known
But something is happening here and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you and then he kneels
He crosses himself and then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice, he asks you how it feels
And he says, "Here is your throat back, thanks for the loan"
And you know something is happening but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
Now, you see this one-eyed midget shouting the word "Now"
And you say, "For what reason?" and he says, "How"
And you say, "What does this mean?" and he screams back, "You're a cow!
Give me some milk or else go home"
And you know something's happening but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
Well, you walk into the room like a camel, and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket and your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law against you comin' around
You should be made to wear earphones
'Cause something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
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