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American culture in the first place. The narrative connects the birth of jazz in New
Orleans, the first drug laws, Louis Armstrong, Mezz Mezzrow, Harry Anslinger and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, swing, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, the Savoy Ballroom, Reefer Madness, Charlie Parker, the birth of bebop, the coming of heroin to Harlem, and the rise of the Beat Generation. The book also examines the template of racism in the formulation of American drug laws, policy and enforcement, as well as the attitudes and policies regarding addiction. Kirkus called the book "A comprehensive and compassionate account of the intersections of jazz, race, and drugs in 20th-century America...A textured story of human hope and hopelessness, of artistry that blossomed in the most daunting and, in some cases, demeaning circumstances."
423:, also serving as Consulting Producer on each: The Drug Years (2006) which was based on his book, Sex: The Revolution (2008), a cultural history of the sexual revolution in America; and Lords of the Revolution. As Torgoff appeared in The Drug Years and Sex as a principal commentator and narrator, he became a recognized TV personality and expert on the pop cultural landscape of the baby boom era. Torgoff then formed Prodigious Media with Richard Lowe. Their first project was the feature-length documentary for VH-1, Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation (2012), which Torgoff co-wrote, produced and directed with Lowe. Narrated by
367:"as not only the best film ever made about Elvis, but also one of the best ever produced on a rock and roll figure" âânever has it been presented with such drama and with such an awareness of the political and social character of the time...by focusing on Elvisâs early promise, Elvis â56 manages to capture much of the pure shock of rock and roll when it was new.â
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Whereas Can't Find My Way Home told the story of how illicit drugs traveled from the underground to the mainstream and changed the cultural landscape of
America, Torgoff's fifth book, Bop Apocalypse (Da Capo Press, 2017,) tells the story of the underground and how the use of drugs entered the DNA of
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in New Yorkâwho all escaped the violence and madness of the crack trade to become seminal hip hop artists. The film also fully explores the political, sociological, and racial dimensions of the story. Rolling Stone described the film as âimpossibly thoroughâŚvisceral and severe, going far beyond the
331:, Torgoff's interests turned to film and television, and he began writing, directing and producing short and long-form pieces about musical and pop cultural subjects that have appeared on
196:. Torgoff grew up playing sports before being swept up in the turbulence of the late 1960s as a teenager, becoming one of the leaders of the student strike at his high school after the
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In 1992, Torgoff began a major work of non-fiction about how the use of illicit drugs shaped the entire cultural landscape of
America during the post war era. The book published as
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Torgoff is married to Laura Last, who is the
Executive Liaison to Jim Tisch, Chairman and CEO of the Loews Corporation. They have one son, William, and live in Westchester.
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104:. He is best known for his book "Canât Find My Way Home: America In the Great Stoned Age, 1945-2000" (2004) a narrative cultural history of illicit drugs, and for "
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that
Torgoff wrote and appeared in, which was based on his book. Over the span of his forty-year career, his work has encompassed music, art, film,
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era of 1986-1992, as told from the point of view of four individuals who at one time were all teenaged crack dealers in inner city neighborhoodsâ
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in New York, which brought him into the literary world. He specialized in oversized illustrated books that reflected his diverse interests like
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places where drugs and music collide⌠a fantastic counterpoint to the sensationalistic media coverage that ran rampant under Nancy Reagan.â
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called it âAn exuberant chronicle of ecstatic inebriation, delusional utopianism, wretched excess and chastened nostalgia for lost highs.â
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In 1987, Torgoff wrote "Elvis '56," an hour-long film about that single meteoric year in
Presley's life. Produced by the
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Torgoff received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his book
American Fool. The Drug Years and Planet Rock both received
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in 2004 took twelve years and involved hundreds of interviews, journeying from the arrival of heroin to the streets of
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Coverage of Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack
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that states a
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277:(1980). Torgoff then edited an anthology and comprehensive reference work on Presley's life and work,
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for both
Outstanding Programming Arts & Culture and Outstanding Achievement in a Craft: Writing.
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After his last book, Torgoff wrote three multi-part series that were co-productions of
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Torgoff left publishing and wrote an inside account of the decline and death of
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in 1947 to the Ecstasy/Rave culture of the new millennium. Duane Davis of the
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Review of Lords of the Revolution in the New Yorker, August 10 & 17, 2009
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Torgoff's first book on Elvis brought him to the attention of artist
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Review of Elvisâ56 in Rolling Stone magazine, February 11, 1988
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personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay
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596:BOP APOCALYPSE by Martin Torgoff | Kirkus Reviews
283:American Fool: The Roots and Improbable Rise of
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65:Learn how and when to remove this message
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86:documentary
632:Categories
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411:Television
357:Levon Helm
307:Journalism
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84:, author,
82:journalist
389:Tom Wolfe
347:Elvis '56
317:Interview
186:sixth man
166:Glen Cove
146:sexuality
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130:biography
421:Sundance
255:Liberace
247:Songbook
216:in both
204:and the
126:politics
114:Sundance
90:director
515:May 18,
445:Raekwon
341:Cinemax
273:titled
218:History
134:history
118:theater
41:Please
465:Honors
437:B-Real
403:. The
395:t and
381:Harlem
228:Career
222:French
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475:Emmys
429:crack
425:Ice-T
294:ASCAP
168:, on
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