Bob Spitz on the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and the Art of Biography

Bob Spitz, biographer of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and now the Rolling Stones, joins Tyler to discuss his unconventional path into rock biography and his surprising books on Reagan and Julia Child. The conversation covers how the Stones rose so fast, the band’s chemistry, underrated songs, the enigma of Charlie Watts, and the fate of Brian Jones. They also touch on Mick Jagger’s LSE training, why popular music lost its cultural dominance, what remains to ask Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the Beatles’ breakup, Reagan’s senility and communist flirtation, Julia Child’s cooking skills, and Spitz’s next project on John Lennon.