Marshall Crenshaw Releases 1980s Home Recordings Ahead of 73rd Birthday
The rocker turns 73 on Nov. 11 and is reissuing his first two albums while sharing previously unheard tape recorded at a converted church studio.
By Adrian Kovalenko ·
Marshall Crenshaw is set to release a collection of unreleased home recordings from 1984 to 1987 titled The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw: 1984-87. The Detroit native will turn 73 on Nov. 11, and the new material arrives alongside deluxe reissues of his 1982 self-titled debut and 1983 album Field Day via Yep Roc Records.
The new collection was produced during a one-week session at Jerry Marotta’s Dreamland Studios. The facility, which was formerly a church, is equipped with analog gear. The team baked the original tapes to preserve the audio before releasing it to the public.
Crenshaw described the review process as a mix of nostalgia and self-evaluation. He noted that hearing the early work reminded him of instruments he no longer owns, including a Fender six-string bass and a 1960 Esquire. “I just felt good about hearing it,” he said. He also discovered a fragment of a recording from friend Kirsty MacColl, a find he described as a pleasant surprise.
The singer has been touring with the same trio of sidemen for the past four years. The band includes Fernando Perdomo on guitar and vocals, Derrick Anderson on bass and vocals, and Mark Ortmann on drums. Crenshaw performs without a fixed set list, citing the group’s developed chemistry and his 11-album catalog. “Everybody in the band is really good,” he said.
Crenshaw’s musical roots trace back to his father’s playing in the Detroit suburb of Berkeley. He picked up a Sears guitar at age 10 after a cousin taught him how to tune it. His early influences included Buddy Holly singles and The Beatles, a band whose breakthrough occurred the summer he began playing. He later played John Lennon in the touring musical Beatlemania, a role he took to find a path forward in the industry.
In 1986, Crenshaw was cast as Buddy Holly in the film La Bamba. The project was a collaboration between director Luis Valdez and producer Taylor Hackford. The movie’s soundtrack reached number one on the charts. Crenshaw has cited the film’s lasting impact as a major highlight of his career. He will perform at My Father’s Place at the Roslyn Hotel in Roslyn on Nov. 14.
