''Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation'' is the third and final

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics o ...

album by the American

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

ist and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian an ...

, released in January 1960 on

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

. The album was recorded during 1959, prior to the publication of Kerouac's sixth novel, ''

Doctor Sax ''Doctor Sax'' (''Doctor Sax: Faust Part Three'') is a novel by Jack Kerouac published in 1959. Kerouac wrote it in 1952 while living with William S. Burroughs in Mexico City. The novel was written quickly in the improvisatory style Kerouac ca ...

''.

Composition

Jack Kerouac had released '' Poetry for the Beat Generation'' and '' Blues and Haikus'' (1959) following the publication of ''

The Dharma Bums ''The Dharma Bums'' is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The basis for the novel's semi-fictional accounts are events occurring years after the events of ''On the Road''. The main characters are the narrator Ray Smith, based on ...

''. Both albums featured

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

-based accompaniment, however, for ''Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation'', Kerouac had decided to record the album solely in

. Despite having no musical accompaniment, biographer Gerald Nicosia stated that "the musicality of Kerouac's art is best exemplified by the ''Readings'' album." Several readings on the album are from several of Kerouac's written works. The opening track, "San Francisco Scene (The Beat Generation)," is read from extracts of '' Desolation Angels''. Extracts from the eponymous novel '' The Subterraneans'' and poetry collection ''San Francisco Blues'' are also featured. "Visions of Neal" features extracts from the original drafts of Kerouac's most notable novel ''

On the Road ''On the Road'' is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagonis ...

''.

Packaging

The front cover of the album features a picture of Kerouac tuning a radio, taken by photographer and musician John Cohen and other photography by

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-da ...

is featured elsewhere on the album's artwork. ''Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation'' also included

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

written by Jack Kerouac's close friend and fellow

Beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

writer

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

. Later CD pressings of the album reproduced Ginsberg's liner notes on fifteen illustrated postcards, addressed to Kerouac.

Release

''Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation'' was released in January 1960 on

on LP. In June 1990,

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was originall ...

reissued the album on CD as part of the

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

''The Jack Kerouac Collection'', also featuring ''Poetry for the Beat Generation'', ''Blues and Haikus'' and ''The Last Word''. The CD reissue included a bonus track, "Is There a Beat Generation?", a live lecture by Kerouac to students of

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admin ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on November 6, 1958. A remastered CD version was issued on October 28, 1997 on Verve Records. Upon its release, the album received minimal critical reception.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

reviewer Bruce Eder has since called ''Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation'' "a solo performance that transcends poetry and music" and added "it's literally spoken jazz ..Kerouac's most musical performance ..using his voice and language the way a saxophonist might improvise on a particular melodic line or riff. He's spellbinding throughout, intense, focused, and even subtly changing voices with the work itself." Eder awarded the album a full five-star rating. The album was later nominated for the 1999

Grammy Award for Best Recording Package The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer(s), unless the performer is also the art dir ...

Track listing

Personnel

All personnel credits adapted from the album's liner notes. ;Performer *

– voice ;Technical personnel *

Bill Randle Bill Randle (March 14, 1923 – July 9, 2004) was an American disc jockey, lawyer and university professor. Randle was born William McKinley Randle Jr. in Detroit, Michigan. In Detroit, he hosted a popular show on WJLB-AM radio (now WDTK) calle ...

– producer *Fred W. Meyer – mastering *Richard Seidel – executive producer *Aric Lach Morrison – producer *Robert Silverburg – assistant producer * Michael Lang – supervisor *Ben Young – technician ;Design personnel *

– photography * John Cohen – photography *

– photography,

*Randy Hutton – liner notes *Peter Pullman – liner notes editor *Chika Azuma –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

, design *Nichell Delvaille – design

Notes

*A Denotes personnel on the 1990 CD reissue.

References

{{Authority control 1960 albums Jack Kerouac albums Albums produced by Bob Thiele