Everything is Everything: Tom Wilson and Pop Music in 1966
By Steven E. Jones (Stanford University Press, 2026)
This is not a biography of Tom Wilson. But it uses Wilson as a framing device to chronicle musicians and bands he produced in the 1960s. As such, the book offers fascinating vignettes, insightful opinions, and scholarly history about Sun Ra, Lou Reed/The Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention, The Blues Project, Hugh Masekela, Eric Burdon, and others in Wilson’s orbit — as well as about Wilson himself.
The book’s cast includes Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Nico, Edgard Varèse, Muddy Waters, Dave van Ronk, Al Kooper, and Jimi Hendrix. And though Wilson didn’t produce the group, The Monkees were a big part of pop music in 1966 and Jones weaves them deservedly into the narrative.
Sometimes out front, often lurking in the shadows, never making predictable moves, Tom Wilson was a transformative figure in pop music during this period. His influence was idiosyncratic and undeniable. Everything is Everything is a worthwhile read.
“The Summer of Love” — 1967 — is often referenced as a touchstone of the ’60s. But 1966 provided the fertile soil for 1967’s flowering. Jones herewith makes the case for that year’s importance in pop music. (I would argue that 1968 was a musically more interesting year than 1967, but someone else will have to write that book.)