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The Covert War Against Rock: What You Don't Know About the Deaths of Jim Morrison, Tupac Shakur, Michael Hutchence, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Phil Ochs, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, John Lennon, The Notorious B.I.G
Who kills the rock stars?
280 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 13, 2008
The Covert War Against Rock explores the unanswered questions and disinformation surrounding the deaths of several rock stars. This was good, but not great. Lots of interesting stuff in this but I think in most of these cases Constantine tries way too hard to connect the dots and show government and/or organized crime complicity in some of these deaths. Just because the FBI had a file on them or they associated with gangsters in the music business doesn't mean they were murdered. That being said, although there is no definitive proof, I lean heavily toward there being government or criminal involvement in the deaths of John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones. All you people that think Jim Morrison faked his death should just forget about it. I think he just got into his girlfriends heroin stash and overdosed.
September 10, 2007
Hey, I like conspiracy theories as much as the next guy, but this one takes the cake. You pick a musician, there's a conspiracy for his/her demise. This book is so good that someone stole it from me.
September 15, 2009
Mostly just read it for the story of Michael Hutchence. Very intriguing!
March 13, 2010
Originally posted on: http://nancythroughthelookingglass.bl...
This book was an Interesting read, it discusses the death of many other Rock and Rap stars dating from the 60's right up until the 90's including Jim Morrison Brian Jones, Peter Tosh and Tupac Shakur.
The book describes an operation by The CIA code named operation CHAOS, and claims and also provides some good evidence that this operation played a part in these peoples deaths. The Operation was basically a list of names of people who were thought to be harmful to the government, or dangerously subversive and were being watched. If this is true then it's an amazing coincidence so many of the people on this list died in mysterious circumstances towards the end of the 60's.
The author from what I can ascertain is another of the crew that alleges The CIA uses Satanic cults and mind control to programme people to commit certain acts. A theory I find a little far fetched I must say. Though my knowledge of psychology tells me that "mind control" is indeed possible though highly unethical, I just don't know why these authors always have to ruin their claims by saying crazy stuff about Satanic rituals.
I also noticed a mistake in the chapter about Hendrix, he says Monica Danneman phoned “Eric Bridges” to inform him Jimi was ill. It's pretty well documented that it was “Eric Burdon” from the famous band “The Animals” she phoned. Only a slight mistake, but if he managed to get a famous persons name wrong how many more mistakes are there in this book?
There are however a lot of claims made that are chillingly believable, though in my opinion there isn't really enough evidence to back it all up. The quotes are mainly taken from the press and interviews with people published in the press (and we all no what bull the media is capable of peddling). The sources for the most disturbing pieces of information are usually anonymous so it's hard to see where he actually got his evidence from. But one could argue that if there really is a massive cover up going on and people are being killed then witnesses would want to talk anonymously!
This book is worth reading if you are interested in the lives and untimely deaths of Rock stars in the 60's, or covert CIA operations from that period, or both! It is well written and where possible sources are given. It paints a very sad picture of what was actually going on in the 60's and raises a lot of questions about peoples untimely deaths. I hope one day books like this will help pressurise the authorities into actually finding out what really happened to guys like Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones. Who were after all not only Rock stars but just 27 year old men with bright futures who did not deserve to die in the violent ways books like this suggest they did.
This book was an Interesting read, it discusses the death of many other Rock and Rap stars dating from the 60's right up until the 90's including Jim Morrison Brian Jones, Peter Tosh and Tupac Shakur.
The book describes an operation by The CIA code named operation CHAOS, and claims and also provides some good evidence that this operation played a part in these peoples deaths. The Operation was basically a list of names of people who were thought to be harmful to the government, or dangerously subversive and were being watched. If this is true then it's an amazing coincidence so many of the people on this list died in mysterious circumstances towards the end of the 60's.
The author from what I can ascertain is another of the crew that alleges The CIA uses Satanic cults and mind control to programme people to commit certain acts. A theory I find a little far fetched I must say. Though my knowledge of psychology tells me that "mind control" is indeed possible though highly unethical, I just don't know why these authors always have to ruin their claims by saying crazy stuff about Satanic rituals.
I also noticed a mistake in the chapter about Hendrix, he says Monica Danneman phoned “Eric Bridges” to inform him Jimi was ill. It's pretty well documented that it was “Eric Burdon” from the famous band “The Animals” she phoned. Only a slight mistake, but if he managed to get a famous persons name wrong how many more mistakes are there in this book?
There are however a lot of claims made that are chillingly believable, though in my opinion there isn't really enough evidence to back it all up. The quotes are mainly taken from the press and interviews with people published in the press (and we all no what bull the media is capable of peddling). The sources for the most disturbing pieces of information are usually anonymous so it's hard to see where he actually got his evidence from. But one could argue that if there really is a massive cover up going on and people are being killed then witnesses would want to talk anonymously!
This book is worth reading if you are interested in the lives and untimely deaths of Rock stars in the 60's, or covert CIA operations from that period, or both! It is well written and where possible sources are given. It paints a very sad picture of what was actually going on in the 60's and raises a lot of questions about peoples untimely deaths. I hope one day books like this will help pressurise the authorities into actually finding out what really happened to guys like Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones. Who were after all not only Rock stars but just 27 year old men with bright futures who did not deserve to die in the violent ways books like this suggest they did.
October 6, 2010
The part of this book that was the most new to me was the section about Tupac Shakur. I recall clearly when he died but I thought little of it. He had seemed like a gangsta to me and gangstas sometimes get shot. I didn’t (and mostly still don’t) listen to rap and knew little about the man, to be honest, but the media portrayal of him painted a picture that substituted itself for real information about the man and his death. Constantine’s research into Shakur’s death revealed a completely different picture of Shakur for me, and pointed to very sound reasons why there might have been a conspiracy to kill him. That Shakur was the heir apparent to an activist family, one of whom escaped from prison and defected to Cuba, the way the shooting occurred, the seeming lack of police attempts to solve the murder, all make it seem as if there were some sort of conspiracy to kill Tupac and obfuscate the investigation. Read my entire review here.
November 24, 2013
things that make you go Hmmmm?
March 12, 2019
Had this book recommended to me for further information into John Lennon's killing. On that front, Alex Constantine's 'The Covert War Against Rock' (2000) did not deliver further detail of Dakota doorman Jose Perdomo, or much that I was not already aware of in relation to the strange background of Mark Chapman, but did document the events relating to thefts, death threats and bugs in the Dakota after December 1980, which was new to me and quite disturbing.
The list of 'poptastic' deaths that are probed here, number into double figures, and as the author writes:- "Anyone with a penchant to research the subject is advised that there are patterns to look for to distinguish a political hit from the apolitical variety." He goes on to write, "the cover-up proves the crime. And in each case examined, the perpetrators and their accomplices have altered history by concealing crucial evidence."
The above quote is very true, and my conspiracy-schmiracy shelf is packed with evidence of cover-ups. Evidence....not theory!
It may be too far out for some to believe that government federal agencies could be behind a war against those drug addled long haired left wing hippy rock stars, but unfortunately there is a wealth of evidence of malignant intent by spooks. A vast amount of the content of Constantine's collection here is disturbing and well reinforced by detailed notes.
Jimi died one night, died in his bed.
Bottle of whiskey, sleeping tablets by his head.
Jimi's life passed him by like a warm summer day.
If you listen to the wind you can still hear him play.
The list of 'poptastic' deaths that are probed here, number into double figures, and as the author writes:- "Anyone with a penchant to research the subject is advised that there are patterns to look for to distinguish a political hit from the apolitical variety." He goes on to write, "the cover-up proves the crime. And in each case examined, the perpetrators and their accomplices have altered history by concealing crucial evidence."
The above quote is very true, and my conspiracy-schmiracy shelf is packed with evidence of cover-ups. Evidence....not theory!
It may be too far out for some to believe that government federal agencies could be behind a war against those drug addled long haired left wing hippy rock stars, but unfortunately there is a wealth of evidence of malignant intent by spooks. A vast amount of the content of Constantine's collection here is disturbing and well reinforced by detailed notes.
Jimi died one night, died in his bed.
Bottle of whiskey, sleeping tablets by his head.
Jimi's life passed him by like a warm summer day.
If you listen to the wind you can still hear him play.
July 27, 2019
Think about all the rock stars who have died untimely deaths over the years and you kind of wonder if there is a conspiracy going on. Sounds far fetched at first and you may not believe what you read at first, why would the government care about musicians.?
Music has long had an impact on human consciousness and the musicians that were being killed were involved in social issue. As the book correctly notes there is a cooperation going on between the mafia, cia , record labels and drug labs. The American government has long wanted to subvert the hippie movement of the 60’s. One way to do this was to malign rock stars and make them look like drug addicts. The American government teamed up with LSD labs for the purpose of both human experimentation and both to get the LSD put there so as to poison the hippie movement. The mafia, government and record labels worked to keep rock music out of the top 40s and jukeboxes.
Sound surprising ? Consider the fact that recently it has been revealed that the FBI has kept files on various entertainers based on remarks they have made in public. Some of these Rock Stars who have died left behind muddled investigations where things do not add up. Take for instance Jim Hendrix. The great guitar player had a road manager who used to work for the government . This guy terrified Jimi Hendrix. Used to rip him off, set him up for drug busts and finally arranged for his death. The connections between the entertainment industry, government and the mob run deep.
Music has long had an impact on human consciousness and the musicians that were being killed were involved in social issue. As the book correctly notes there is a cooperation going on between the mafia, cia , record labels and drug labs. The American government has long wanted to subvert the hippie movement of the 60’s. One way to do this was to malign rock stars and make them look like drug addicts. The American government teamed up with LSD labs for the purpose of both human experimentation and both to get the LSD put there so as to poison the hippie movement. The mafia, government and record labels worked to keep rock music out of the top 40s and jukeboxes.
Sound surprising ? Consider the fact that recently it has been revealed that the FBI has kept files on various entertainers based on remarks they have made in public. Some of these Rock Stars who have died left behind muddled investigations where things do not add up. Take for instance Jim Hendrix. The great guitar player had a road manager who used to work for the government . This guy terrified Jimi Hendrix. Used to rip him off, set him up for drug busts and finally arranged for his death. The connections between the entertainment industry, government and the mob run deep.
February 11, 2022
Definitely an interesting read. Had to fact check along the way, see what was proven and what was a theory. But even on cases that are complete conjecture, the official files are built on nonsense, so foulplay is very easily called in. Either way, we know cointelpro happened, so did MKultra and operation chaos, the fact that a similar thing influenced the fate of "unruly" musicians is not a stretch in my opinion. Until more files are declassified basically.
March 23, 2017
The evidence presented in this book concerning the covert assassination of well-known rock stars, especially during the Nixon era, is compelling and frightening. How many rock stars idolised by the public have actually been murdered? A must read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews