Goldmine Magazine

A review of Goldmine Magazine, July 12, 2007
Submitted by: bruce hopkins from island park, ID

For some reason it seems Goldmine has decided that nothing important, other than Elvis & the Beatles, happened in the music industry before the late seventies.  Originally I subscribed to Goldmine because I am a record collector and thought here is a magazine that would share my love of music from all eras including the age of early rock & roll.  Being a former DJ and Radio Station Programmer and a child of the fifites and sixties, I was looking forward to reading articles about some of the pioneers of rock & roll.  To my disappointment it seems Goldmine has all but forgotten the fifties & sixties, the era that started it all.  Let me give you an example.  Gene Pitney,  one of the most prolific hit makers and song writers of the sixties and early seventies died a few months ago.  There was a small obituary in Goldmine and then nothing but silence.  Why no feature article?  Was it too long ago for the editor to remember the great contribution this artist made to early rock & roll?  I would like to hear more about the artists and bands that use to drive their station wagons from town to town playing in high school gyms and hoping for discovery and a hit record.  One of my fondest memories was seeing Conway Twitty,  when he was a rock pioneer, playing at a local junior high school sock hop.  Where are the stories about such great early rockers as  Jack Scott, The Burnette Brothers, Ral Donner, Ronnie and Dale Hawkins.  When was the last time Goldmine featured a story about one of the teenage idols of the middle sixties,  or for that matter artists of the British Invasion other than the Beatles or Stones. Last but certainly not least,  how can you have the top ten records of early rock and not include Buddy Holly.  Are you kidding me?  Did any of your judges actually live during this era?  Do they understand the impact Buddy had,  in a career that lasted less than two years, on modern rock & country music.  In conclusion, if the trend of ignoring artists of the fifties & sixties continues I'm afraid Goldmine will  lose its' appeal to the subscribers that actually lived, loved and dated during the beginning of rock & roll.  Since these subscribers are getting older and their numbers are decreasing, maybe that's the Goldmine marketing plan.  I certainly hope not.