Dean Reed was one of the strangest superstars in the history of popular cluture. Failing to gain recognition in his native United States, he gained celebrity in South America in the early 1960s; following this, unbelievably, he became the biggest star in the Soviet Union, where he was awarded the Lenin Prize and his icons were sold alongside those of Joseph Stalin. His Albums went gold from Bulgaria to Berlin. He made highly successful movies and, naively earnest, was also an unwitting acolyte for socialism; everywhere he went, he was mobbed by his fans. And then, in 1986, at the height of his fame, right after 60 Minutes had devoted a segment to him finally giving him the recognition he had never attained at home, he drowned in mysterious circumstances in East Berlin.
Drawn magnetically to his story, Reggie Nadelson pursued the mystery of Dean Reed’s life and death across America and Eastern Europe, her own journey mirroring his. As she traveled, the Berlin Wall came down, the Soviet Union crumbled, and Reed became an increasingly alluring figure, his life an unrepeatable tale of the Cold War world. Encountering the characters – musicians and DJs, politicians and public figures, lovers and wives – who peopled Reed’s life, Nadelson was drawn further and further into a seedy, often hilarious, subculture of sex, politics, and rock ‘n’ roll. Part biography, part memoir and personal journey, Comrade Rockstar is an unforgettable chronicle of an utterly improbable man, who retains a cult following to this day.
Comrade rockstar : the life and mystery of Dean Reed, the all-American boy who brought rock ’n’ roll to the Soviet Union / Reggie Nadelson. Edition: Rev. ed. New York : Walker & Co. : Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers, 2006. Gift of Allan Rogg.
Special Collections Rogg Collection ML 420 .R298 N33 2006