Geoffrey Stokes (May 3, 1940 – September 12, 1995) was an American journalist and author. Stokes is best known for ''Star-Making Machinery: The Odyssey of an Album'', his 1976 book about the creation of a

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were an American rock band founded in 1967. The group's leader and co-founder was pianist and vocalist George Frayne IV, alias Commander Cody (born July 19, 1944 in Boise, Idaho, died September 26, 2021 ...

album. The book received strong reviews. ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' considered it "the best piece of reportage on how the music biz processes its wayward art." Robert Christgau called it "one of the best rock books ever written and the definitive account of how the music biz operates." '' Kirkus Reviews'' wrote that it was a "deflating chronicle of 'the interplay between giant corporations' at the expense of the musicians and the music—once thought to be the harbinger of radical consciousness." ''Pinstripe Pandemonium: A Season With the New York Yankees'', an overview of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

' 1983 season, was favorably reviewed by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. The paper preferred it to ''Balls'',

Graig Nettles Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankee ...

and

Peter Golenbock Peter Golenbock (born July 19, 1946) is an American author. He is noted for his many books about baseball and other sports. Many of his books have been bestsellers. Career Golenbock initially worked as a lawyer for Prentice Hall, a publishing hou ...

's book about the same season. Stokes worked at ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' for many years, writing the “Press Clips” column and using the pseudonym ''Vladimir Estragon'' for his food column. He also contributed to ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' and the ''

Valley News The ''Valley News'' (and ''Sunday Valley News'') is a seven-day morning daily newspaper based in Lebanon, New Hampshire, covering the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont, in the United States. Although the newspaper's offices are ...

''.

Books

* ''Star-Making Machinery: The Odyssey of an Album'' (1976) * ''Waiting for Dessert'' (1982) * ''The Village Voice Anthology (1956-1980)'' (1982) *''Pinstripe Pandemonium: A Season With the New York Yankees'' (1984) * ''Beatles'' (1987)

References

1995 deaths 1940 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers The Village Voice people {{US-journalist-1940s-stub