Behind Beatles insider Ken Mansfield’s star-studded ‘Rock and a Heart Place’ tome

Co-written by Ken Mansfield and Marshall Terrill, the eye-popping, flame red guitar endorsing book cover of “Rock and a Heart Place: A Rock ’n’ Roller-coaster Ride from Rebellion to Sweet Salvation,” an interview-laden tome with 15 rockers who became Christians. Image Credit: Broadstreet Publishing Group

Ken Mansfield, the multi-hyphenate former U.S. manager of the Beatles’ Apple Records, Waylon Jennings producer, and modern-day motivational speaker, partnered with esteemed Steve McQueen chronicler Marshall Terrill to deliver Rock and a Heart Place: A Rock ’n’ Roller-coaster Ride from Rebellion to Sweet Salvation on May 1, 2015.

The engrossing Christian tome depicts the epic rise, fall, and redemption of 15 music icons in their own words with accompanying contextual narrative. Rock and a Heart Place offers an intimate backstage pass brimming with sex, drugs, unabashed debauchery, and nefarious backroom deals to unintended salvation.

All-encompassing conversations were conducted with the legendary Buddy Holly’s backing band the Crickets, the Ronettes, the Hondells, the Byrds, the Turtles, Buffalo Springfield, Grand Funk Railroad, Uriah Heep, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Ozzy Osbourne, the Pointer Sisters, Kansas, Outlaws, Prince, Collective Soul, and neo-metal purveyors Korn.

In email correspondence allocated with this writer, Mansfield pinpointed his fifth book’s spiritual journey. “Marshall has been encouraging me for years to dig deep in my heart and write about the rocks that some of us have encountered in our travels to the top and the bottom of what we fondly call ‘the biz,’” said Mansfield. “It is his research and insight that gave me the point of departure to write about these very special souls who have shared exciting and revealing stories of their fascinating lives.”

Terrill, the hard-hitting author of Steve McQueen: Portrait of an American Rebel, also clarified his serendipitous involvement. “The idea came about after I had a conversation with Ken about all of these former rockers becoming born again Christians,” said Terrill.

“I told him that would be a great idea for a book. He said that getting the cooperation of 15 stars would be like herding cats, and he kept me at bay for about two years. Finally I wrote a proposal, sent it to him, and it finally clicked why this would be an important book.”