The Red Elvis: Dean Reed
By Sami on July 01st, 2008
Dean Reed’s strange journey to become the best known rock star in the Eastern Bloc started in 1958 when, at the age of 20, he moved to Los Angeles to become just like Elvis, his idol. Capitol Records signed him and started molding him into a teen idol. Everything he released was a massive flop in the United States, but following a South American tour it was discovered that “A Summer Romance” was a huge hit in Argentina.
He decided to do a follow-up tour in Argentina and discovered that he was a rock god: his shows all sold out, he sold more records than Elvis, and women mobbed him wherever he went. While living in there he put out a string of hit records, starred in cheaply made movies, and even had a variety TV show in Buenos Aires. But most of South America was in the middle of a left wing revolutionary movement and after playing in barrios, for political prisoners, and at protests he started speaking out against oppression and poverty. The few reports about him that made it to the United States dubbed him “Red Elvis.”
An outspoken left wing American rubbed the right wing governments of Chile and Argentina the wrong way and he was eventually kicked out of both countries.
By then the USSR already knew of him and he was quickly signed to Melodiya, the state-run record label, to put out even more records and to tour extensively. He conquered Eastern Europe the way the Beatles conquered the United States, and was even viewed as an antidote to the Beatles. People questioned if he was truly a Marxist-revolutionary or just a money hungry American going wherever he could become famous, but Reed claimed to be sincere and would even stop in between songs to speak out. He would extol the virtues of a Communist life and even denounced the United States’ policies. In 1973, he chose to settle down in the German Democratic Republic where he put out a series of popular spaghetti westerns. He starred in 20 movies, had 13 hit records, and performed in 32 countries – and yet, no one really knew about him in the United States.
By 1985 no one in the Eastern Bloc cared about his music anymore and he attempted to return to the United States. He recorded a song for a movie about his life, American Rebel, called “Nobody Knows Me Back In My Hometown” and planned on using the film as a way to tour colleges where he expected to find audiences that had his political views. He found his family after being estranged from them for years and started building positive links with them. But all of that took a negative turn in 1986 when he was interviewed by 60 Minutes. He compared Ronald Regan to Stalin, defended the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, promoted the Berlin Wall as a safety measure, and came across as a mouthpiece for the Soviets. Hate mail, death threats, and people calling him a traitor ended with him fleeing back to East Berlin.
After the 60 Minutes interview, Reed sank into a deep depression. He cut himself severely with a machete, argued extensively with his wife, and saw his movie career in the Eastern Bloc start to taper off. After one argument with his wife he stormed out and was found dead in a lake a few days later. Even though the official story was that he committed suicide, conspiracy stories spread: the Stasi killed him for returning to the United States, the KGB killed him for being a CIA double agent, the CIA killed him for being a traitor, or that he is still alive. Maybe that last one is the most fitting since people believe the same about his idol, Elvis.
Further reading: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
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