‘There is no such singer’: Dean Reed, Communism and Rock ‘n’ Roll
‘There is no such singer’: Dean Reed, Communism and Rock ‘n’ Roll MILES ELLINGHAM charts journey from true-blue crooner and cowboy actor to the man would become known as 'Red Elvis' for his radical Marxism before defecting to the Soviet Bloc DEAN REED was the epitome of the all-American boy; born in Denver 1938, he was athletic, attractive, a frontiersman, boy scout as a child, track star and musician as a teen. He showed all the promise of a Jimmy Stewart, Van Heflin or John Wayne, and sure enough, at 20, Reed dropped out of college in pursuit of Hollywood stardom. His big break came that same year in 1958, when he signed a contract with Capitol Records, and even got a slot on TV’s Bachelor Father. Proceeding the Capitol contract, Reed’s music saw initial popularity in the United States, but in the wake of Elvis, and the dawn of The Bri...
