Jerry Winston

Elisha Gerald Hopkins, born in 1935 and passing in 2018, was an American journalist and prolific author. He gained significant recognition for authoring some of the earliest biographies of prominent figures like Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison of The Doors. His career also included a substantial tenure as a correspondent and contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine, where he worked for two decades. Beyond these notable works, Hopkins penned numerous other biographies, explored themes of history and humor, and contributed as a writer-producer for television personalities such as Mike Wallace and Steve Allen.

Throughout his career, Hopkins published 37 books and an estimated thousand magazine articles, with some of his works being translated into more than a dozen languages. His early life and education included formative years in Quaker environments and a journalism degree from Washington & Lee University, followed by a master's from Columbia University. His professional journey spanned various roles, from reporting to television production, and even included establishing one of the first head shops in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. This period also saw him engage with counterculture media, editing "The Hippie Papers" and writing about rock and roll history.

Hopkins was deeply involved in the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s, opening one of the first head shops in Los Angeles. He became a significant voice in alternative media, writing for publications like the Los Angeles Free Press and contributing to TeenSet and AUM magazines. His role as an MC for early Los Angeles love-ins and his editorship of "The Hippie Papers" (1968), a collection from the underground press, cemented his connection to the era's ethos. He also chronicled the history of rock and roll with "The Rock Story" (1970). His work with Rolling Stone, both as a Los Angeles correspondent and later as a London correspondent, provided a platform for his in-depth biographical projects on cultural icons.

Hopkins is primarily celebrated for his groundbreaking biographies of influential musicians. His "Elvis: A Biography" (1971) was among the first comprehensive accounts of the King of Rock and Roll. Following this, his biography of Jim Morrison, "No One Here Gets Out Alive" (1980), achieved immense success, topping bestseller lists and is widely credited with revitalizing interest in The Doors and establishing the rock biography as a distinct publishing genre. He continued to explore the lives of music legends, writing biographies on Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie, and later on figures like Yoko Ono and Raquel Welch, though the latter was authorized but not published. His later works included "Elvis in Hawaii" (2002) and "Don Ho: My Life, My Music" (2007), continuing his focus on musical figures.

Relocating to Honolulu, Hopkins engaged with local culture, editing a newsletter on Hawaiian music and dance and publishing books such as "The Hula" (1981) and "How to Make Your Own Hawaiian Musical Instruments" (1988). He also served as an editor at Pacific Business News and as a speechwriter for Mayor Frank Fasi. His later life involved a move to Thailand in 1993, where he shifted his focus to travel, food, and cultural exploration. Collaborating with photographer Michael Freeman, he produced "Strange Foods: An Epicurean Adventure Around the World" (1999), later expanded as "Extreme Cuisine" (2004), which gained acclaim with a foreword by Anthony Bourdain. His Thai period also yielded "Bangkok Babylon" (2005), "Thailand Confidential" (2005), and "Asian Aphrodisiacs" (2006), culminating in "Romancing the East" (2013), which profiled Western novelists shaping perceptions of Asia.