Sylvie Simmons is a London-born, California-based

music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, named as a "principal player" in

Paul Gorman Paul Gorman is a writer whose journalism has appeared in many of the world's leading publications. He has also published several books on art, design, fashion, media and music and curated exhibitions in Europe and the US. Journalism From 1978, ...

's book on the history of the rock music press '' In Their Own Write'' (

Sanctuary Publishing A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

, 2001). A widely regarded writer and rock historian since the late 1970s, she is one of the few women to be included among the predominantly male rock elite. Simmons is the author of a number of books, including biography and cult fiction. Simmons is also a singer-songwriter, ukulele player and recording artist.

Biography

1977–1984

In 1977 Simmons decamped to Los Angeles and became US correspondent for ''Sounds'', one of the four major UK rock music weeklies of the period. She wrote interviews, reviews and a weekly column, 'Hollywood Highs'. One of her earliest assignments was being sent on the road with Black Sabbath. During her first years in L.A, among the hundreds of artists she interviewed were

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

, Blondie,

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. During the '80s, when Los Angeles witnessed an upsurge in heavy metal,

hair metal Hair is a protein filament that grows from hair follicle, follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick ter ...

and

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

, Simmons wrote what are regarded as the definitive features on the movement, being the first journalist to bring then-unknown acts like

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

and

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

to international attention. (She would go on to co-author the first book on Mötley Crüe with rock writer

Malcolm Dome Malcolm Dome (1955 – 29 October 2021) was an English music journalist. He wrote about rock and heavy metal from 1979. In addition to writing books, he was a journalist for ''Record Mirror'', ''Kerrang!'', ''Metal Hammer'' and ''Classic Rock ...

, '' Lüde, Crüde and Rüde'', 1994, out of print). In 1981 when Sounds editor

Geoff Barton Geoff Barton (born July 1955) is a British journalist who founded the heavy metal magazine ''Kerrang!'' and was an editor of ''Sounds'' music magazine. He joined ''Sounds'' at the age of 19 after completing a journalism course at the London Col ...

founded the UK heavy metal magazine ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'', he asked Simmons to be its L.A correspondent. She did so, under the pseudonym (and blonde wig) of Laura Canyon, while continuing to write under her own name for ''Sounds''. During her LA period Simmons wrote a weekly music column for the

Knight-Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper brand ...

newspaper syndicate; a monthly column for the Japanese magazine ''

Music Life ''Music Life'' is the thirteenth studio album by Japanese pop rock band Glay, released on November 5, 2014. It reached #2 at the Oricon weekly charts, #5 at their monthly chart for November, and #58 at their 2014 Year-End Chart, besides reaching ...

''; and interviews/articles for a number of European publications. She was a regular contributor to the US rock magazine ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential criti ...

'' and co-hosted the syndicated US rock radio show "London Wavelength".

1984–1993

In 1984 Simmons moved back to

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

continuing to write for ''Sounds'' and ''Kerrang!'' along with other UK magazines and newspapers - '' Q'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', ''

the Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. She wrote for US, European and Japanese magazines, this time as a UK correspondent, including ''

'', ''Creem Metal, Rockin F''; ''Metal Hammer''. Among the artists she interviewed during this period were

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

;

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

;

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

;

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...

;

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

;

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

;

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

;

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

;

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

;

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

;

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

;

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

. In 1990 Simmons moved to France. She continued to write about music, making frequent trips to London and L.A. to do interviews. Simmons started writing rock-related short fiction. These would later be published as ''Too Weird For Ziggy'', (Black Cat, ) a collection of interlinked short stories about the weirdness of celebrity. Grove/Atlantic resurrected its Black Cat imprint (previously home to

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

and

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

) to publish Simmons' first collection of fiction. The book bore testimonials from

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, later Arden; born 9 October 1952) is a British-American television personality, music manager and author. She is married to heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing ...

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

and

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

, and was widely praised. During her years in France, Simmons started investigating French pop music and was particularly taken with Serge Gainsbourg. This too would result in a book - the highly lauded ''

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

: A Fistful of Gitanes'' (Helter Skelter Publishing, 2001 ).

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass medi ...

chose it as his book of the year. It was published in the UK in 2001 and translated from the English original into ten languages. In 2015 an expanded digital edition of ''Serge Gainsbourg: A Fistful of Gitanes'' was released, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. In the Summer of 1993, Simmons was contacted by the editors of ''Q'' about a new magazine they were designing, with the focus on classic rock artists. ''

MOJO Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' magazine was launched in October 1993. Simmons wrote for the first issue and has written for ''MOJO'', as Contributing Editor, ever since.

1994–2004

Simmons moved back to London and continued to write. Her Interviews during this period included

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

;

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

;

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

;

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

;

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

;

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

;

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

;

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

;

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

;

; and

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

. In 1997 Simmons inaugurated ''MOJO'''s influential "

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

" column to give more exposure to the new wave of independent roots music by artists. She has written the Americana column ever since. Subsequently, she compiled and wrote liner notes for the compilation album ''The Rough Guide to Americana'', on the World Music Network, in 2001 and the follow-up album released in 2016. Simmons' essay, "States of Mind", on Country music, Americana and America's myth of itself, was published in the book ''1000 Songs To Change Your Life'' (Random House, 2008, ), an anthology that also featured essays by Bjork,

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

, Linda Thompson and

. During this period she made a number of appearances on radio, TV and DVDs. talking about music, including '' Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile'' (director

David Leaf David Leaf (born April 20, 1952) is a Peabody and WGAW award-winning writer, director, and producer, known for his associations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the late 1970s. Leaf's 1978 biography ''The Beach Boys and the California ...

, 2004). Simmons contributed essays and writings to a number of books during this period, including The Virgin Story of Rock ’N Roll (1995), Girls Will Be Boys: Women Report on Rock (1997), Kiss: Modern Icons (1997), The MOJO Collection: Ultimate Music Companion (2000), and Let Fury Have the Hour: the Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer (2004). In 2001 Simmons's biography of Neil Young was published: Neil Young- Reflections in Broken Glass (MOJO Books/Canongate, ). Simmons compiled and/or curated a number of liner notes for artists ranging from

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

to the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

. Perhaps the best known is "Unearthed", the widely regarded hardback book she wrote, at the request of Johnny Cash and Rick Rubin, Cash's producer. It was to be released in conjunction with a CD box set to celebrate Cash and Rubin's decade of working together. (American Recordings, 2003). "Unearthed" turned out to be Cash's first posthumous release, and their interviews – conducted over a one-week period at Cash's home less than six weeks before he died – the last major interviews he would give.

2004–present

In 2004 Simmons moved to San Francisco, California. She continued to write and publish interviews, articles, reviews, for ''MOJO'', ''The Guardian'', various European publications, and during her early years in Frisco, her local newspaper, the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Her interviews during this period included

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

; the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

;

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

;

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...

;

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

; Crosby Stills & Nash;

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

;

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

;

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

. Her liner notes now included Americana and country artists, including

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

and

. Her liner notes for the CD/DVD ''Leonard Cohen: Live at the Isle of Wight'' (Sony) won her an ASCAP Deems-Taylor Award. She appeared on a number of radio shows and music-related TV shows including '' The Seven Ages of Rock'' (

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

, 2007; VH1 2008). In 2010 Simmons was featured in the movie ''The Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog'', talking about the upsurge of interest in the ukulele. Simmons had played piano, recorder, clarinet, and guitar at various times in her life, but when she moved to San Francisco she left her instruments in storage in England. So she acquired a ukulele. It was given its first public airing at the end of a documentary that the BBC made on Simmons in 2011, called ''The Rock Chick''

Leonard Cohen

From 2009 to 2012, Simmons was writing a major biography of Leonard Cohen. With Cohen's blessing, Simmons interviewed more than a hundred people for the book, including Cohen himself. '' I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen'' was published in September 2012 by Ecco/Harper Collins in the US, McClelland & Stewart in Canada and Jonathan Cape/Random House in the UK. A ''New York Times'' best-seller, the book received extremely favourable reviews. The ''New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin described it as "The definitive Cohen portrait, fearless and smart. The major, soul-searching biography that Cohen deserves." The ''LA Times'' called it "A new gold standard of biographies." ''NPR'' critic Michael Scaub named it the best biography of the year. ''I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen'' was also an international best-seller, and No 1 on the Canadian national book charts. In September 2012, Simmons began an unconventional book tour. Traveling across America and then the world with her book and a ukulele, she talked about Leonard Cohen, read from the book and performed his songs – often accompanied by different guest musicians in each town. Her performances were not only in bookstores, libraries and literary festivals, but in rock music nightclubs, record stores, churches, synagogues, and at museums and music festivals. The tour continued for more than a year, with shows performed in the US, UK, Germany, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Although the tour officially ended with the release of the paperback edition of the book in September 2013, she continues to play Leonard Cohen shows at special events. She has made numerous appearances as a keynote speaker at universities, museums and other institutions, talking about Cohen and writing his biography. The book itself has been published in more than 20 languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, French-Canadian, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Turkish, Taiwanese, with more translations underway. In March 2014 the audiobook edition won an Audiofile Earphones Award. In 2017 a French-language version of the audiobook was released. In 2017, a year after Cohen passed away, Simmons wrote another chapter for her book, picking up where the original book stopped - a conversation with Leonard on the balcony of his L.A home - and telling the story of his life and work from 2012 up to his end. The new updated edition was published in the UK and Canada and Spain and in the more recent translated editions. In 2017, Simmons was invited to the ''Museum of Contemporary Ar''t in Montreal be keynote speaker and a panelist at a major exhibition dedicated to Leonard Cohen ''Une Breche en Toute Chose/A Crack in Everything''. She was interviewed onstage by Eleanor Wachtel for the prestigious CBC cultural radio program ''Writers & Company''. Simmons wrote an essay on Cohen for the exhibition's catalog, the hardback book ''Leonard Cohen: A Crack In Everything'' In 2018 the Leonard Cohen exhibition went on tour, making its first stop at the ''Jewish Museum of New York'', and Simmons did an event there. Later the same year, when the exhibition moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, Simmons was the keynote speaker and hosted a Masterclass in writing biography.

Music

When she was in her fifties, Simmons came out as a singer-songwriter. In interviews she said that performing Leonard Cohen songs on her book tour cured her of the stage fright that put a stop to her being a singer in her youth, and had led to her decision to write about music instead. She started featuring her own songs in concerts, continuing to accompany herself on a ukulele. She recorded her debut album, ''Sylvie'', at'' Wavelab Studio'' in Tucson, AZ, produced by ''Howe Gelb'' of ''Giant Sand''. Gelb had been an early supporter of her songs and encouraged her to make a record. The record label ''Light In The Attic Records'' asked to release it, making Simmons the first artist to release their debut on the label. The album ''Sylvie'' was released in November 2014 and earned universally good reviews. The ''Guardian'' called it ''"one of the most beautiful low-key albums of the year"'' and the ''Times'' called it ''"Poetic, Guileless, reminiscent of a female Leonard Cohen."'' In 2015, following a concert in Santiago, Chile, Simmons and two Chilean musicians Matias Cena and Diego Alorda recorded ''Algo En Algo'', a pop-up record of six songs they played at the show and released it for free. In 2018 Simmons' songs, ''"Hard Act To Follow"'', appeared in the Hollywood movie based on the Nick Hornby book ''"Juliet, Naked."'' Simmons' second album ''Blue on Blue'' was released August 14, 2020 on

Compass Records Compass Records is an independent record label founded in 1995 by musicians Garry West and Alison Brown that specializes in folk music, folk, bluegrass music, bluegrass, Celtic music, Celtic, jazz, and acoustic music. In 2006, Compass purchased t ...

. Howe Gelb once again handled production duties and various members of Giant Sand contribute. This too was greeted with universally good reviews such as this one:
AllMusic Review by Mark Deming

Books and journalism

In 2015, Simmons began a collaboration with

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

, co-writing Harry's memoir ''Face It''. The book was published in 2019 and was a New York Times bestseller. Simmons was a featured essayist in the anthology ''Faith: Essays from Believers, Agnostics, and Essayists'' (Simon and Schuster, 2015). Her articles on rock and interviews were featured in anthologies on

;

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

;

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

; and

Bibliography

Books by Sylvie Simmons 2012 I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen. (Ecco, US; Jonathan Cape, UK; McClelland & Stewart, Canada) 2018 Updated edition (Vinage, UK; McClelland, Canada) Translations: Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, French-Canadian, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Turkish, Taiwanese. 2004 Too Weird for Ziggy. (Black Cat/Grove, US; Grove Atlantic, UK). Translations: Russian. 2003 Johnny Cash: Unearthed (American Recordings) 2001 Serge Gainsbourg: A Fistful of Gitanes.. (Helter Skelter UK; 2002 Da Capo, US. Updated digital edition 2015) Translations: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, French, German, Dutch. 2001 Neil Young: Reflections in Broken Glass. Biography (UK and US (MOJO/Canongate) Books co-written by Sylvie Simmons 2019 Face It by Debbie Harry and Sylvie Simmons (Dey St, US) 1994 Lüde Crüde and Rüde:- The Story of Mötley Crüe - by Sylvie Simmons and Malcolm Dome (Castle Communications) {{ISBN, 9781898141952 Anthologies: featuring essays or articles by Sylvie Simmons Joni on Joni: Interviews with Joni Mitchell (2019) - essay/interview My Week Beats Your Year: Encounters with Lou Reed (2019) Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything (2018) Major Dudes: A Steely Dan Companion (2018) Visions from the Tower of Song: Essays (2017) Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac (2016) Faith: Essays from Believers, Agnostics and Atheists (2015) Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters (2011) 1000 Songs to Change Your Life (2008) Creem: America's Only Rock 'N Roll Magazine (2007) London Noir (2006) Let Fury Have the Hour: the Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer (2004) The MOJO Collection: Ultimate Music Companion (2000) Kiss: Modern Icons (1997) Girls Will Be Boys: Women Report on Rock (1997) The Virgin Story of Rock n Roll (1995){{Cite book , isbn = 1852275413, title = The Virgin Story of Rock 'n' Roll: Telling it the Way Things Really Were - the Heart and Soul of Rock 'n' Roll, last1 = Du Noyer, first1 = Paul , year = 1995

Notes

{{Reflist

References

*Paul Gorman, ''In Their Own Write: Adventures in the Rock Press'', Sanctuary Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN, 1-86074-341-2

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.sylviesimmons.com *{{worldcat id, lccn-no98-75864 {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Sylvie English music journalists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Writers from London English women journalists English women non-fiction writers 20th-century English women writers English women singer-songwriters Women writers about music Light In The Attic Records artists