Tim (Mikesell) Riley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tim Riley (b. February 19, 1960, in New York City) is an author, campus speaker, and pianist who contributes to many publications, including NPR. He was raised in Boulder, Colorado.
Riley graduated from Oberlin College with a double degree in English and piano, and got his Masters in piano from the Eastman School of Music in 1985. He has authored several books chronicling the history of rock; his 1988 book on the Beatles, Tell Me Why, is used as a textbook in many music courses across the United States. The book was hailed by Jon Pareles in the New York Times as bringing "new insight to the act we've known for all these years".
Since 1990, Riley has toured the country giving speeches on Censorship in the Arts and rock history. In addition to NPR and books, Riley has contributed to the Washington Post, Boston Magazine, the Boston Phoenix, the Village Voice, and many other publications. He gave a keynote address at BEATLES 2000, the first international academic conference on the band in Finland.
In February 2007 he launched the Riley Rock Index (beta), "music's metaportal":
He is currently working on a major new biography of John Lennon for W. W. Norton.
Books:
- Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (1988) ISBN 0-306-81120-0
- Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary (1992) ISBN 0-679-74527-0
- Madonna Illustrated (1992) ISBN 1-56282-983-1
- Fever: How Rock Transformed Gender in America (2002) ISBN 0-312-28611-2
