the roots of ROCKIN'

With ROCKIN' now published, and with people everywhere now getting their hands on it, the question has been raised, "Paul, have you always been into rock and cars?" Yes, I do believe so, and these pictures are my witness.

My Dad, Philip Grushkin, was a prominent book man all his life. He was SVP and art director at Harry N. Abrams, the world's largest artbook publisher, a graphic arts lecturer at many universities, and a renowned caligrapher. My Mom, Jean, is still a librarian (at age 84!) at the Englewood, NJ Public Library. So, I've been surrounded by books all my life. When I was a teenager, however, I was a complete gonzo dragster-driver fan, and I know that confused Mom and Dad, especially when I pasted photos from Hot Rod and Rod & Custom all over my bedroom walls (and ceiling too). I was a huge Don "the Snake" Prudhomme guy, and I rooted for Stone/Woods/Cooke and Big John Mazmanian (love those gassers!). And, I was TOTALLY into Motown, being that I went to a half-black, half-white public high school (Dwight Morrow High School), and ran track. But, I suspect the roots of all this came much earlier.

That's me in the driver's seat of my Dad's Jeep, in our driveway, with my cousin Joel in the back. But what was I listening to, on that Victrola??