Includes bibliographical references (pages [283]-285) and index.

September 14, 1955, Rampart Street, New Orleans, Louisiana : Enter the first rock star -- September 26, 1956, from Memphis to Tupelo : The first rock idol -- July 6, 1957, Woolton Village Fete, Liverpool, England : The first rock fans form a band -- May 22, 1958, London Airport, England : A bad boy flies in -- February 3, 1959, Clear Lake, Iowa : A good boy flies out -- July 1, 1960, London, England : Enter the guitar hero -- September 25, 1961, Gerde's Folk City, New York City : A boy invents himself -- September 28, 1962, Sefton Street, Liverpool, England : The man who fit in -- May 1, 1963, London, England : The man who didn't fit in -- December 23, 1964, Los Angeles airport : The rock star as tragic genius -- September 26, 1965, Aarhus, Denmark : The rock band as perpetual drama -- October 1, 1966, Central London Polytechnic, England : A new sheriff in town -- June 18, 1967, Monterey, California : The first female rock star -- May 15, 1968, New York City : The view from Olympus -- August 9, 1969, Birmingham, England : The devil's business -- June 24, 1970, New York City : Rock god embraces the occult -- May 16, 1971, New York City : The comeback -- July 26, 1972, Madison Square Garden, New York City : Rock goes high society -- July 3, 1973, Hammersmith, London, England : A "rock star" retires -- August 6, 1974, 914 Studios, Blauvelt, New York : Rock in a complicated world -- July 18, 1975, the Lyceum, London, England : The best rock isn't always rock -- July 4, 1976, Tampa, Florida : The X-factor -- August 16, 1977, Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee : Death is good for business -- December 9, 1978, London, England : A raspberry on top of the charts -- August 4, 1979, Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, England : Twilight of the gods -- December 8, 1980, New York City : Death by fan -- August 13, 1981, Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Middlesex, England : Sex, violence, and television -- March 19, 1982, Leesburg, Florida : Road fever -- September 31, 1983, the Continental Hyatt House, Hollywood, California : The absurdity of rock stars -- January 27, 1984, the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California : A superstar on fire -- July 13, 1985, Wembley Stadium, London, England : From dumper to sainthood -- July 16, 1986, Madison Square Garden, New York City : Rock royalty up close -- August 1, 1987, Greyhound bus station, Hollywood and Vine, Los Angeles, California : Looking the part -- September 9, 1988, Sotheby's, London, England : Elton John clears out his closet -- March 21, 1989, United States of America : Clean and sober -- May 29, 1990, Toronto SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario, Canada : Rock star as celeb -- November 24, 1991, Kensington, London, England : The party's over -- May 7, 1992, Tokyo, Japan : Man overboard -- June 7, 1993, Minneapolis, Minnesota : Career suicide -- April 5, 1994, Seattle, Washington : The last rock star -- August 9, 1995, Mountain View, California : Revenge of the nerds