User:DrLuthersAssistant/Draft

A page for drafting

Notes in progress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Biography

Lead section
Many genres: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/elvis-costello-the-sugarcanes-june-10-2009-new-york-beacon-theatre-268370/

Elvis Costello

1979-1982: More genres, fewer hits
During the summer of 1979, Costello produced the debut album of the ska band, The Specials. Costello wanted to capture the band's live sound on the album and prepared for the recording sessions by following the band on their tour of England, seeing their shows. The Specials album debuted at number 4, its peak, on the UK album chart when it was released in October 1979. It sold 100,000 copies within a few weeks of its release.

Get Happy through Imperial Bedroom

https://www.billboard.com/music/Elvis-Costello/chart-history/HSI (in Wayback machine)

1985-1991: New directions and second commercial peak
Spike and Mighty Like a Rose

1991-1998: Expanding musical vocabulary
GBH through Painted from Memory

1999-2010
Through National Ransom?

Public image and controversies
Costello revealed little about his background and gave few interviews in the first several years of his career, so the few widely published interviews he gave played a large role in forming his early public image. In a widely quoted August 1977 interview with Nick Kent, Costello said the only things that mattered to him were "revenge and guilt". This phrase would be associated with him throughout his career.

1979 Columbus, Ohio, incident
In mid-March 1979, about halfway through a ten-week tour of the US tour promoting his Armed Forces album, Costello got into a barroom argument that is widely considered to have altered the course of his career. From the mid-1980s onward, retrospective accounts of Costello's career describe this incident as a turning point after which he was no longer considered to have the potential to reach the highest levels of commercial success, even outside the US, where the incident had little direct impact.

Drunken argument and racist insults
In the early morning hours of March 16, Costello, Attractions bass player Bruce Thomas, and members of the Steven Stills band and entourage, all of whom were white, were drinking in the bar of a Holiday Inn in Columbus, Ohio, where both bands were staying, having played concerts at separate Columbus venues the evening before. A conversation between the two camps about the merit of British versus American musicians reportedly began as joshing and gentle gibes but eventually turned more hostile. Thomas later wrote that, feeling that Stills was condescending to him and Costello, he was enjoying encouraging Costello to make inflammatory remarks. Stills left after reportedly being called "steel nose" by either Costello or Thomas, a reference to Stills's cocaine addiction and supposed resultant reconstructive nasal surgery. Singer and songwriter Bonnie Bramlett, then touring with Stills as a backup singer, and other members of the Stills camp remained. Most present were drunk by this time. Costello has described himself as being "very drunk". Bramlett had said she had not been drinking alcohol at all. Bramlett and others asked Costello his opinion of various American musicians. Costello answered with insulting and vulgar evaluations of each musician named. Costello's final, and most widely reported, reply was to call Ray Charles a "blind, ignorant nigger". Bramlett reportedly responded by slapping Costello and a general brawl between the two groups ensued until the bartender broke it up. Costello had reportedly also called James Brown a "jive-ass nigger". In addition, Costello had reportedly said he hated Americans and made racially and ethnically insulting remarks about white, Black, and Hispanic Americans in general. Costello had also insulted many white American musicians, including Stills, David Crosby, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly, although these remarks were less widely reported. Bramlett has said she told Costello he likely had a "little tiny dick" and, according to Costello, said "limeys were lousy fucks who couldn't get it up.".

Initial media coverage and press conference
A little over a week after the altercation in Columbus, reports of the incident started to appear in some media outlets based in New York City and Boston. It is unclear from contemporaneous accounts who brought the incident to the attention of the media, but Bramlett was rumored to have personally contacted multiple news outlets with the story. On March 25, the New York Daily News ran a one-paragraph account of the incident saying, in part, "As Bonnie [Bramlett] tells it, Elvis made some derogatory remarks about America and Americans in her presence and followed that up with a racial slur against Ray Charles." The short item also mentioned Costello having disparaged a St. Louis radio station and playing short shows with no encores. The following day, the Village Voice ran a short description of the incident, including the racial slurs Costello reportedly used, in Richard Goldstein's "Artbeat" column. On March 30, the Boston Globe included a discussion of the incident, quoting from the Village Voice article, in a positive review of the concert Costello had played in Boston on March 29.

According to Costello, media coverage of the incident resulted in over 100 death threats and other threats of violence against him by March 30. Costello was scheduled to play six concerts in the New York City area from Friday, March 30, through Sunday, April 1, including three concerts at three different clubs on April 1. The concert schedule had been planned to generate publicity for Costello. Publicity for the concerts was now combined with publicity about Costello's offensive remarks.

Hoping to quell the controversy and threats of violence, Costello held a press conference on the afternoon of March 30 at the New York City offices of CBS, his US record company. Facing about 50 magazine, newspaper, and radio journalists, Costello, whom the New York Daily News described as "literally shaking", stated that he was not a racist. He said he had made the racist remarks attributed to him in order to be as offensive as possible to the people he was arguing with. He said that he did not owe Bramlett or others in the Stills entourage an apology and suggested they were using the incident to get publicity for themselves. He did, however, apologize to Ray Charles and James Brown and to people "who got needlessly angry" about his remarks.

Frank Rose of the Village Voice wrote that the attitudes of the journalists present "ranged from frivolously amused to quietly outraged". Music journalist Kurt Loder, who covered the press conference, later said that many of the journalists present were more concerned with Costello's history of being uncooperative with the press than his racist remarks. Richard Goldstein of the Village Voice reportedly shouted at Costello several times, apparently out of anger that Costello had not responded to Goldstein's requests for comment earlier in the week. Syndicated columnist Rob Patterson wrote that the press conference was the strangest he had ever attended.

Expanded media coverage
After the press conference, the incident received more media coverage in the US and Canada. Many North American newspapers published a brief account of the incident, including Costello's explanation for his remarks. Two syndicated opinion columns were also published in many newspapers. One, written by Robert Patterson and syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, was generally favorable to Costello. The other, written by Jack Lloyd and syndicated by Knight Ridder, was not. In the New York Times, music critic John Rockwell discussed the incident in a mixed review of Costello's five concerts in New York City on March 31 and April 1. Rockwell said he was inclined to accept Costello's explanation for his offensive remarks, but thought that the question of whether Costello's music was good enough to overcome his generally unpleasant public persona remained unanswered. Frank Rose also combined a discussion of the incident with a review of Costello's New York City concerts in the Village Voice. Rose acknowledged that Costello had worked with Rock Against Racism and written pointedly anti-fascist songs, although Costello had not mentioned either at his press conference, but also suggested that Costello's music and stage show indicated he may nevertheless feel conflicted about fascism. Rolling Stone covered the story in two consecutive issues, once in their "Random Notes" column and again in a long article about Costello's US tour. In a full-page article, People magazine characterized the altercation in Columbus as a "battle of the bands," devoted approximately equal space to Bramlett (who spoke to them) and Costello (who did not), and concluded by saying, "If Bramlett and Costello never tangle again, it will suit both."

James Brown was quoted in Rolling Stone as saying, "I've been called that all my life. All I hope is that [Costello] buys my next album." Brown was more direct when quoted in the New York Amsterdam News, saying, "You ignore people like that." This brief comment was one of the few mentions of Costello's racist remarks in the African-American press.

When asked for comment, Ray Charles said, "Anyone could get drunk at least once. Drunken talk isn't meant to be printed in the paper and people should judge Mr. Costello by his songs rather than his stupid bar talk."

The incident received little coverage outside North America. Coverage in the British music press tended to take Costello's side and treated the matter as an occasion for humor. Melody Maker described the New York City press conferences by saying, "the liberal branch of the local rock Establishment vented its outrage, while the rest of us giggled nervously."

Impact on record sales and tour
Armed Forces had climbed the US album chart through January and February, but its ascent had slowed by early March. By the week of the Columbus incident it had stalled at number 10, its peak. It was falling it the chart by the time the story broke. As the story spread, the album declined in the chart more rapidly, falling to number 58 by the end of April, although it remained on the chart for another ten weeks. According to Costello, the incident caused some US radio stations dropped his music from their playlists, although he noted few stations had been playing his music at the time.

Costello's US tour continued through April 15. Even after the story broke, his concerts received generally positive reviews and were reportedly attended by enthusiastic audiences. No security incidents of any kind occurred. Only one instance of picketing or protest was reported. That was on April 1 in New York City, when a handful of members of the New York chapter of Rock Against Racism picketed outside Costello's concert at the Bottom Line. One of these protestors was quoted as saying that he still thought well of Costello but said "I think it'll be best if Elvis finds he doesn't have loyal fans, but fans who keep an eye on what he says."

Costello chose not to tour the US again for almost two years, later writing that at the time he felt he did not deserve to ever return.

Some retrospective accounts, especially by British writers, have exaggerated the level of public outcry the incident generated in the US, suggesting Costello's records were removed from shops or that multiple, but unnamed, "civil rights groups" and "anti-racist groups" called for Costello to be boycotted or otherwise publicly denounced him. Contemporaneous accounts, Costello's statements over the years, and other reliable sources do not support this.

Additional apologies and later comments
Costello made himself available for regular interviews with the US press for the first time in 1982, while promoting his Imperial Bedroom album. He apologized for the offensive remarks he made in Columbus in 1979 in many of these interviews, including in Newsweek, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and an issue of Rolling Stone that featured him on the cover. In each interview, he explained that he had made the remarks to outrage people he was drunkenly arguing with, but emphasizing that there were "no excuses" for having said them. In Rolling Stone, he said he believed that he was better known for these remarks than for anything else in his career.

Reflecting on the incident in the liner notes of the Rhino reissue of Get Happy!!, Costello expressed his continuing guilt and remorse over the incident, saying the remarks he made were the opposite of his true feelings. He said much the same thing in his 2015 memoir. In his memoir, he added that the incident "may have very well saved my sorry life" by halting the upward trajectory of his career, because he was psychologically unprepared for the level of fame he had seemed headed for and had been behaving self-destructively.

Reflecting on the incident in a 2004 interview, Bramlett said, "All this huge thing that's been made out of it, let it go. Elvis Costello is probably one of the finest arts we have."

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=People,_April_23,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Village_Voice,_April_9,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Rolling_Stone,_May_17,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Soho_Weekly_News,_April_5,_1979 (very clear apology)

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Bowling_Green_Daily_News,_April_22,_1979

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Chicago_Tribune,_April_10,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Philadelphia_Inquirer,_April_6,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Bergen_County_Record,_April_2,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=New_York_Newsday,_April_2,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=New_York_Times,_April_3,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Stereo_Review,_June_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Washington_Post,_April_16,_1980

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Winnipeg_Tribune,_April_12,_1979

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Melody_Maker,_April_14,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=New_Musical_Express,_April_7,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Overthrow,_May_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=New_Musical_Express,_June_9,_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Creem,_July_1979

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Seattle_Times,_January_6,_1981

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Miami_Herald,_February_8,_1981

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Rolling_Stone,_September_2,_1982

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Los_Angeles_Times,_July_18,_1982

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=New_York_Times,_June_27,_1982

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Newsweek,_August_9,_1982

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Boston_Herald,_August_24,_1982

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Columbus_Dispatch,_August_14,_1982

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=New_York_Rocker,_October_1982

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=The_Face,_August_1983

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Billboard,_November_14,_1987

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=Santa_Fe_New_Mexican,_March_10,_1989

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php?title=London_Guardian,_May_30,_2008

Entertainment industry awards
United States:


 * ASCAP Founders Award (2003)
 * Grammy Award, Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, "I Still Have That Other Girl" (1998)
 * Grammy Award, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Look Now (2019)
 * Grammy Hall of Fame, My Aim Is True (2007)
 * MTV Video Music Award, Best Male Video, "Veronica" (1989)
 * Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the Attractions (2003)
 * Songwriters Hall of Fame (2016)

United Kingdom:


 * BAFTA, Best Original Television Music, G.B.H. (1992)
 * Ivor Novello Award, Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection (1995)
 * Ivor Novello Award, PRS Outstanding Contribution to British Music Award (1997)

Netherlands:


 * Edison Award, Pop category, My Aim Is True (1978)
 * Edison Award, Singer/songwriter, Spike (1989)
 * Edison Award, Extra/special production, innovative, The Juliet Letters (1993)
 * Edison Award, International singer, Painted from Memory (1999)

Canada:


 * Gemini Award, Best Talk Series, Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... (2010)

Critics' best-of lists and music press awards
Best of year:


 * NME Awards Best Songwriter (1978)
 * NME Awards Best Songwriter (1983)
 * NME Awards Best Album, Punch the Clock (1983)
 * Village Voice Pazz and Jop critics' poll, number 1 album of the year, This Years Model (1978)
 * Village Voice Pazz and Jop critics' poll, number 1 album of the year, Imperial Bedroom (1982)

Best of all time:


 * Five albums on NME's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2013):
 * This Year’s Model (#256)
 * My Aim is True (#281)
 * Imperial Bedroom (#316)
 * Punch the Clock (#345)
 * Blood and Chocolate (#483)
 * Four albums on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2009):
 * This Years Model (#98)
 * Imperial Bedroom (#166)
 * My Aim Is True (#168)
 * Armed Forces (#475)
 * Number 24 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time (2015)
 * Number 80 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time (2010)

Honorary degrees

 * Doctor of Music, University of Liverpool (2008)
 * Doctor of Music, New England Conservatory of Music (2013)

Certified record sales
Recording Industry Association of America

British Phonograph Industry

Singles:

Albums:

Albums as solo artist and bandleader

 * My Aim Is True (1977)
 * This Year's Model (1978)
 * Armed Forces (1979)
 * Get Happy!! (1980)
 * Trust (1981)
 * Almost Blue (1981)
 * Imperial Bedroom (1982)
 * Punch the Clock (1983)
 * Goodbye Cruel World (1984)
 * King of America (1986)
 * Blood & Chocolate (1986)
 * Spike (1989)
 * Mighty Like a Rose (1991)
 * Brutal Youth (1994)
 * Kojak Variety (1995)
 * All This Useless Beauty (1996)
 * When I Was Cruel (2002)
 * North (2003)
 * The Delivery Man (2004)
 * Momofuku (2008)
 * Secret, Profane & Sugarcane (2009)
 * National Ransom (2010)
 * Look Now (2018)
 * Hey Clockface (2020)
 * The Boy Named If (2022)

Collaborative albums

 * The Juliet Letters, with the Brodsky Quartet (1993)
 * Painted from Memory, with Burt Bacharach (1998)
 * For the Stars, with Anne Sofie von Otter (2001)
 * Piano Jazz, with Marian McPartland (2005)
 * My Flame Burns Blue, with the Metropole Orkest (2006)
 * The River in Reverse, with Allen Toussaint (2006)
 * Wise Up Ghost, with the Roots (2013)
 * Lost on the River, as member of The New Basement Tapes (2014)
 * The Resurrection of Rust, with Allan Mayes (2022)

Composer, soundtracks and scores

 * G.B.H., with Richard Harvey (1991)
 * Jake's Progress, with Richard Harvey (1995)
 * Il Sogno (2004)

Producer for others

 * The Specials – the Specials (1980, with the Specials)
 * East Side Story – Squeeze (1981, with Roger Béchirian)
 * "Free Nelson Mandela" – the Special A.K.A (1984)
 * Rum Sodomy & the Lash – the Pogues (1985)

Songwriter, recorded by others (selected)

 * "Alison" –
 * Linda Ronstadt (1978, Living in the USA)
 * Everything but the Girl (1992, Acoustic)
 * "All This Useless Beauty" – June Tabor (1992, Angel Tiger)
 * "Almost Blue" –
 * Chet Baker – (1987, Chet Baker in Tokyo; 1989, Let's Get Lost film soundtrack)
 * Jennifer Jason Leigh (1995, Georgia film soundtrack)
 * Jimmy Scott (1998, Holding Back the Years)
 * Diana Krall (2004, The Girl in the Other Room)
 * Alison Moyet (2004, Voice)
 * Bespoke Songs, Lost Dogs, Detours & Rendezvous – various (1998)
 * "The Big Light" – Johnny Cash (1987, Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town)
 * "The Comedians" – Roy Orbison (1989, Mystery Girl)
 * "The Deportees Club" – Christy Moore (1989, Voyage)
 * "Forbidden Nights" – Darlene Love (2015, Introducing Darlene Love)
 * "Girls Talk" –
 * Dave Edmunds (1979, Repeat When Necessary)
 * Linda Ronstadt (1980, Mad Love)
 * "God Give Me Strength" –
 * Bette Midler (2000, Bette)
 * Alison Moyet (2004, Voice)
 * "Hidden Shame" – Johnny Cash (1990, Boom Chicka Boom)
 * "Indoor Fireworks" – Nick Lowe (1985, The Rose of England)
 * "The Judgment" – Solomon Burke (2002, Don't Give Up on Me)
 * "Losing You (Just a Memory)" – Dusty Springfield (1982, White Heat)
 * Now Ain't the Time for Your Tears – Wendy James (1993)
 * "The Scarlet Tide" –
 * Alison Krauss (2003, Cold Mountain film soundtrack)
 * Joan Baez (2008, Day After Tomorrow)
 * "Shipbuilding" – Robert Wyatt (1982)
 * "Stranger in the House" – George Jones (1979, My Very Special Guests)
 * The Sweetest Punch – Bill Frisell (1999)
 * Spanish Model – various (2021)
 * Spanish Model – various (2021)

Liner notes to his albums

 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/All_This_Useless_Beauty_(2001)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Almost_Blue_(1994)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Almost_Blue_(2004)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Armed_Forces_(1993)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Armed_Forces_(1993)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Blood_%26_Chocolate_(1995)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Brutal_Youth_(2002)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Blood_%26_Chocolate_(2002)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Get_Happy!!_(1994)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Get_Happy!!_(2003)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Girls_Girls_Girls
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Goodbye_Cruel_World_(1995)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Goodbye_Cruel_World_(2004)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Imperial_Bedroom_(1994)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Imperial_Bedroom_(2002)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_Juliet_Letters_(1993)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/King_Of_America_(2005)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Kojak_Variety_(2004)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/King_Of_America_(1995)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_Juliet_Letters_(2006)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Mighty_Like_A_Rose_(2002)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/My_Aim_Is_True_(1993)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/My_Aim_Is_True_(2001)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/My_Flame_Burns_Blue_(2006)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Punch_The_Clock_(2003)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Punch_The_Clock_(2003)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Bespoke_Songs,_Lost_Dogs,_Detours_%26_Rendezvous_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Spike_(2001)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/This_Year%27s_Model_(1993)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/This_Year%27s_Model_(2002)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Trust_(1994)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Trust_(2003)_liner_notes

Liner notes to albums by others

 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Elvis_Costello:_Artist%27s_Choice_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_Best_Of_Bill_Frisell,_Vol._1_(2009)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Booker_T._%26_the_M.G.%27s_(2006)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Deadicated_(1991)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Dusty_In_Memphis_(2002)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Gram_Parsons_(1982)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Magic_Moments_(2008)_liner_notes
 * http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Wanda_Jackson:_I_Remember_Elvis_(2006)_liner_notes

Books

 * cite book|last=Costello|first=Elvis|title=Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink|date=2015|isbn=978-0399167256|publisher=Blue Rider Press|oclc=1003071086