Rock Catapult 1966: The Launch of Modern Rock & Roll – Book Review

Rock Catapult was written by local Oklahoma writer Andrew W. Griffin of Red Dirt Report and contains a great history of some of the most influential bands of 1966.

Griffin has been a journalist for over 20 years and has a love of pop culture and music. He is the owner and editor of the website, Red Dirt Report, which has been around for over a decade. His focus is working on investigative pieces, stories that the mainstream media doesn’t cover so thoroughly.

This book is a labor of love from Griffin about the launch of Rock and Roll in 1966 and the bands that shaped the scene.  

Taken from his website www.rockcatapult.com:

By focusing on a sampling of groups active in ’66, Griffin is able to reveal the unique atmosphere that made this magical moment possible. Among those featured include David Bowie, The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Mamas and The Papas. Also included are Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, The Cyrkle, Donovan, The Doors, Yardbirds, Frank Zappa and many more. Exclusive interviews with Larry Tamblyn of The Standells, Chris Gerniottis of The Zakary Thaks and Jim Pons of The Leaves. Foreword by Mike Rabon of The Five Americans.

We had a little Q&A with Griffin about himself and the book.

First tell our readers a little about yourself, who are you and what do you do?

I was born a small boy in Virginia nearly 48 years ago. I grew up – moving around in the mean time – and I developed a love of reading and writing. The arithmetic, not so much, although I do see its value in day-to-day life. I am married with three children, two cats and a dog. I have lived in Oklahoma since 2005 after washing up on the beaches of Lawton following several hurricanes that year. I have been a happy prairie castaway ever since.

What spurred your desire to write Rock Catapult?

Well, when I was a teen, I discovered the amazing music of the 1960’s, with a distinct focus on The Monkees TV show, which was in reruns at the time on MTV and Nickelodeon. The music of the Monkees really did something to my soul, as did the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and many others who seemed to tap into something magical right around 1966. Realizing this, I decided to take on a book research project delving into the music recorded and/or released in 1966. So many amazing songs were recorded or released that year. It only made sense that I look into why that was. I am convinced the Earth was passing through some soul-heightening cosmic dust that year and heavenly sounds were downloaded into the brains of many of the aforementioned artists – and many others as well.

What qualified the bands to be featured in the book?

My focus was on rock n’ roll, and therefore it made sense to have “rock” in the title. While I left out influential bands like The Velvet Underground, whose debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico was released in the spring of 1967, upon further consideration, their early incarnation has as much to do with the musical creativity of 1966 as anybody. Also, with the exception of Stevie Wonder, a lot of R&B/soul/Motown was not included because it did not quite fit the traditional “rock n’ roll” category, despite their incredible appeal and influence in ’66 – before and beyond. That category alone would be enough for a separate book.

Which band do you have a special affinity for from the book?

I really like The Monkees, as I’ve said. Not only did they have amazing talent as actors, but they stood up to the “system” of their era and won the right to write and record their own songs, although that would happen in 1967.

I love The Byrds and when I was a teen would listen to my dad’s copy of The Byrds’ Greatest Hits and learn to play drums to songs like “Mr. Spaceman,” which came in 1966. Jefferson Airplane is amazing, and I can’t say enough about The Beatles. Who can?

What was the most interesting thing you learned during the process of this book? This could be about the stories you researched, the book writing or publishing process or about yourself.

I began writing Rock Catapult in 2011, but it was not really published until 2018. That doesn’t mean it took me seven years to write, necessarily. In that seven year time frame, I grew a business and our family would grow by three kids! A busy decade. But I found time to write the book here and there, gathering interviews and doing research. I never thought I could or would write a book. But it happened. It’s one of the most satisfying things to happen in my life – and I owe so much of that to my wife, Monica, who helped encourage me and edit the book. She had my back all along.

What is it that you want to convey to your readers through your stories in this book?

Simply that the music of 1966 really made a cultural impact on society at large, beyond just the popular music world. The Monkees led to the growth of music videos and music made by young people who really did have something to say. All of these artists, from Dylan to Neil Young to independent, “regional” artists like The Zakary Thaks of Corpus Christi, Texas, approached their music in 1966 with a sense of excitement, energy and wonder. While that rock music gestalt doesn’t quite exist today in our interconnected, atomized world, we can still look back at 1966 as a time when the possibilities of creating something new and fresh seemed endless. For instance, when I tune into the “60’s on 6” station on SiriusXM, I chuckle to myself because of the sheer number of ’66 songs they play in an hour. Far more than songs from other years of that decade.

Why should people buy this book?

I would encourage people to buy Rock Catapult because I think it offers a decent overview of the music recorded and/or released in 1966 and how the popular, rock music of that year still impacts the pop music world today. I think it hits the musical highlights of that year in an easy-to-read and informative fashion. A friend of mine called it a great bathroom book. I took that as a compliment.

Any plans to write more books?

Yes. I am close to finishing a book tentatively titled The Stilwell Enigma, about late 19th century railroad promoter Arthur E. Stilwell and his railroad, the Kansas City Southern. Stilwell was a very unique individual of his era and he had a firm belief in the power of the spirit world, which helped guide him as he followed the 94th meridian to build his railroad. I am also working on a book about Elvis Presley’s early years performing on the Louisiana Hayride radio show. A third book project I am delving into involves Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining and its cultural impact still felt 40 years after its release.    

 Rock Catapult is well written and informative but not in a dry way. Although Griffin clearly draws upon his journalistic skills to make it easy to read and digest, he also throws little interesting tidbits in along the way to keep the reader engaged. His style is casual and laid back, and he takes the lead as the narrator in this musical journey, and does it quite well.

Rock Catapult features nuggets of interesting information about each band, without getting too bogged down in the details. I found it helpful and even more fun to have my music app up playing the songs as I read about them, it helped solidify some of the information Griffin shares in the book, and gives an interactive feel to it.

Personally, I really enjoyed learning more about the bands and the early days of their careers. Some bands I was more familiar with than others, but each chapter gave me something new to learn. I am a huge Doors fan and have read plenty of books on them, but even their chapter gave me something new to discover, and didn’t feel repetitive to what I already knew.

I definitely recommend this book for any music enthusiasts, it’s a great “textbook’ of sorts in your musical education, even if you think you know everything there is about that era. I bet you can find something in there that gives you new insights. It may also spur an interest in a band you hadn’t known much about before, and become a springboard to searching out more.

Griffin features a sample chapter on his website, and for those interested in buying Rock Catapult,  you can also do so at  rockcatapult.com.