Born to Die is the acclaimed breakthrough album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. This matching folio songbook features all the songs from the Paradise Edition of the album. All the songs are arranged for piano, voice and guitar with full lyrics and guitar chord boxes. Songs include: American * Blue Velvet * Born to Die * Carmen * Dark Paradise * Diet Mountain Dew * Gods and Monsters * Lucky Ones * National Anthem * Off to the Races * Ride * Summertime Sadness * Video Games * and more.

    They had awards, credibility, commercial success and creative freedom. They deleted their records, erased themselves from musical history and burnt their last million pounds in a boathouse on the Isle of Jura.And they couldn’t say why.This is the story of The KLF, told through the ideas that drove them. It is a story about Carl Jung, Alan Moore, Robert Anton Wilson, Ken Campbell, Dada, Situationism, Discordianism, magic, chaos, punk, rave and the alchemical symbolism of Doctor Who. Wildly unauthorised and totally unlike any other music biography, ‘KLF: Chaos Magic Music Money’ is a trawl through chaos on the trail of a beautiful accidental mythology.

    An enormous influence on these musicians as well as Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck, he is the living embodiment of Chicago blues. Guy's epic story stands at the absolute nexus of modern blues. He came to Chicago from rural Louisiana in the fifties—the very moment when urban blues were electrifying our culture. He was a regular session player at Chess Records. Willie Dixon was his mentor. He was a sideman in the bands of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. He and Junior Wells formed a band of their own. In the sixties, he became a recording star in his own right.When I Left Home tells Guy's picaresque story in his own unique voice, that of a storyteller who remembers everything, including blues masters in their prime and the exploding, evolving culture of music that happened all around him.

    From there he moved to documentary series for LWT and over the years worked on a variety of quiz shows (Win, Lose or Draw, Pets Win Prizes, TV Heroes), as well two television commercials which made him a household name—Daz and Mars Bars. With a number of guest appearences on comedy shows such as Have I Got News For You, Shooting Stars, and Room 101, Danny has also presented on BBC Radio since 1989. Most recently he presents a weekday show on BBC London 94.9 and a weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live. This book charts Danny's showbiz career, the highs and lows, and everything in between, including the accusation that he killed Bob Marley.

    Hooktheory is an intuitive, modern take on music theory that answers the questions you care the most about: Why do certain chords fit together easily, and others not so easily? How can I get from this chord to that chord? How can I create a great sounding melody? The concepts we teach are applicable to all types of music, but examples are drawn from popular songs you’ve probably heard on the radio. Also, because the explanations are drawn from our TheoryTab format, people that don’t read conventional sheet music will benefit from the concepts we cover just as much as those that do.The book is 6 chapters long with 41 exercises and 94 audiovisual examples from artists like: Aerosmith, Avicii, Beyonce, Bon Jovi, Bruno Mars, Celine Dion, Daughtry, Diana Ross, Green Day, John Mayer, Journey, Kelly Clarkson, Kenny Chesney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Matchbox 20, Pink, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, The Four Seasons, The Killers, Tom Petty, … and more. Table of contents:1. Building Blocks- The building blocks of music- Relative notation- Chords- Combining chords and melody- Wrap up2. Harmony I- The I chord: home base- Basic chord function- The vi chord: a minor sound- Being creative- Check for understanding3. Melody- Introduction- Meter- Stable vs. unstable scale degrees- Rhythmic patterns- Melodic themes- Check for understanding4. Harmony II- The iii chord- The ii chord5. Inversions- Introduction- The I6 chord- The V6 chord- The cadential 64 chord- Pedal harmony- Final Thoughts6. Conclusion - Closing remarks

    The Los Angeles Times called them “the most influential harmony team in the history of country music,” but Emmylou Harris may have hit closer to the heart of the matter, saying “there was something scary and washed in the blood about the sound of the Louvin Brothers.” For readers of Johnny Cash’s irresistible autobiography and Merle Haggard’s My House of Memories, no country music library will be complete without this raw and powerful story of the duo that everyone from Dolly Parton to Gram Parsons described as their favorites: the Louvin Brothers.

    This essential book for music lovers tells the story of more than 250 key jazz songs, and includes a listening guideto more than 2,000 recordings.Many books recommend jazz CDs or discuss musicians and styles, but this is the first to tell the story of the songs themselves. The fan who wants to know more about a jazz song heard at the club or on the radio will find this book indispensable. Musicians who play these songs night after nightnow have a handy guide, outlining their history and significance and telling how they have been performed by different generations of jazz artists. Students learning about jazz standards now have a complete reference work for all of these cornerstones of the repertoire.Author Ted Gioia, whose body of work includes the award-winning The History of Jazz and Delta Blues, is the perfect guide to lead readers through the classics of the genre. As a jazz pianist and recording artist, he has performed these songs for decades. As a music historian and critic, he hasgained a reputation as a leading expert on jazz. Here he draws on his deep experience with this music in creating the ultimate work on the subject.An introduction for new fans, a useful handbook for jazz enthusiasts and performers, and an important reference for students and educators, The Jazz Standards belongs on the shelf of every serious jazz lover or musician.

    Interviewees include band members Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Jaimoe, Butch Trucks, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge, Chuck Leavell, Jack Pearson, Jimmy Herring, David Goldflies, and the late Allen Woody; plus Eric Clapton, Tom Dowd, Phil Walden, Billy Gibbons, Dr. John, and many other band friends and associates. One Way Out is the most complete exploration of the Allman Brothers music yet written, tracking the band's career from its 1969 formation through its historic 40th-anniversary star-studded Beacon run, right on up to today. Filled with musical and cultural insights that only these insiders can provide, it includes the most in-depth look at the acrimonious 2000 parting with founding guitarist Dickey Betts; an intense discussion of Betts and Duane Allman's revolutionary guitar styles; and thorough behind-the-scenes information on the recording of At Fillmore East, Layla, Eat a Peach, and other classic albums. You will not find this information anywhere else. The book also includes a highly opinionated discography with short reviews of over 50 albums, plus a bonus list of essential Southern rock albums.

    This is the first art-driven book about the costumes, apparel, shoes, and accessories worn by Michael Jackson, including hundreds of lavish photographs and a behind-the-scenes look into the process of collaborating with him on the making of his wardrobe, written by his longtime costume designer Michael Bush.Dressing Michael Jackson will feature exquisite photographs of the striking fashions worn by Michael at the height of his career, as well as images showing the carefully planned construction of the clothes to incorporate his unique dance moves and the details of the dynamic fabrics, metals, and other materials used. Accompanying text will provide insight into the artists’ methodology and captivating stories from the decades-long relationship between Michael Jackson and his fashion designers Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins. Their stories are funny and touching, and show a personal and artistic side of Michael Jackson never before revealed.

    Godfathers of alternative rock, they reinvented music in the post-punk era, creating a new sound—dark, hypnotic, and intense—that would influence U2, Morrissey, R.E.M., Radiohead, and numerous others. The story is now legendary: in 1980, on the heels of their groundbreaking debut, Unknown Pleasures, and on the eve of their first U.S. tour, the band was rent asunder by the tragic death of their enigmatic lead singer, Ian Curtis. Yet in the mere three years they were together, Joy Division produced two landmark albums and a handful of singles—including the iconic anthem "Love Will Tear Us Apart"—that continue to have a powerful resonance.Now, for the first time, their story is told by one of their own. In Unknown Pleasures, founding member and bass player Peter Hook recounts how four young men from Manchester and Salisbury, with makeshift instruments and a broken-down van, rose from the punk scene to create a haunting, atmospheric music that would define a generation. Peter talks with eye-opening candor and reflection about the suicide of Ian Curtis; the band's friendships and fallouts; the evolution of their sound and image; and the larger-than-life characters who formed a vital part of the Joy Division legend, including Factory Records founder Tony Wilson and producer Martin Hannett. Told with surprising humor and vivid detail, Unknown Pleasures is the book Joy Division fans have awaited for decades.

    John Lennon was one of the greatest songwriters the world has ever known, creator of "Help!", "Come Together", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Imagine", and dozens more. But it was in his correspondences that he let his personality and poetry flow unguarded. Now, gathered for the first time in book form, are his letters to family, friends, strangers, and lovers from every point in his life. Funny, informative, wise, poetic, and sometimes heartbreaking, his letters illuminate a never-before-seen intimate side of the private genius. This groundbreaking collection of almost 300 letters and postcards has been edited and annotated by Hunter Davies, whose authorized biography The Beatles (1968) was published to great acclaim. With unparalleled knowledge of Lennon and his contemporaries, Davies reads between the lines of the artist's words, contextualizing them in Lennon's life and using them to reveal the man himself.

    Conductor, composer, pianist, writer, educator, and human rights activist, Bernstein truly led a life of Byronic intensity--passionate, risk-taking, and convention-breaking.In November 1989, just a year before his death, Bernstein invited writer Jonathan Cott to his country home in Fairfield, Connecticut for what turned out to be his last major interview--an unprecedented and astonishingly frank twelve-hour conversation. Now, in Dinner with Lenny, Cott provides a complete account of this remarkable dialogue in which Bernstein discourses with disarming frankness, humor, and intensity on matters musical, pedagogical, political, psychological, spiritual, and the unabashedly personal. Bernstein comes alive again, with vodka glass in hand, singing, humming, and making pointed comments on a wide array of topics, from popular music ("the Beatles were the best songwriters since Gershwin"), to great composers ("Wagner was always in a psychotic frenzy. He was a madman, a megalomaniac"), and politics (lamenting "the brainlessness, the mindlessness, the carelessness, and the heedlessness of the Reagans of the world"). And of course, Bernstein talks of conducting, advising students "to look at the score and make it come alive as if they were the composer. If you can do that, you're a conductor and if you can't, you're not. If I don't become Brahms or Tchaikovsky or Stravinsky when I'm conducting their works, then it won't be a great performance."After Rolling Stone magazine published an abridged version of the conversation in 1990, the Chicago Tribune praised it as "an extraordinary interview" filled with "passion, wit, and acute analysis." Studs Terkel called the interview "astonishing and revelatory." Now, this full-length version provides the reader with a unique, you-are-there perspective on what it was like to converse with this gregarious, witty, candid, and inspiring American dynamo.

    The world mourned his untimely death in 1991, but he was incredibly prolific and left behind a rich legacy of recordings, not all of which have been released to date.The twentieth anniversary of Freddie’s death will see the reissue of Barcelona, the groundbreaking album he recorded with Montserrat Caballé, and everyone is talking about the movie that stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury. In addition, Queen remains one of the most popular bands in history.This lavishly illustrated book celebrates one of the key players in the influential British music scene. Freddie’s colorful life is lovingly and painstakingly recounted in photographs and insightful text. Famed as an electric showman with no equal, these images capture the man in the moment, through many stages of his incredible life.

    They set the bar for every boy band to come and changed the course of pop music forever. In the 1980s, for millions of young people around the world, they were gods. But behind the scenes, they were just kids. In this completely authorized biography of the band, the New Kids tell it all to rock author Nikki Van Noy.From makeshift stages in Boston clubs to sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, through winning American Music Awards and selling 80 million records, the New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) were a rite of passage and a touchstone of youthful memories. Scoring platinum albums, and with a series of sold-out international tours, NKOTB blazed through North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, leaving throngs of screaming teen and tween girls in their wake. Today, fans both old and new celebrate the band's triumphant comeback. Nikki Van Noy talks directly to those loyal fans, as well as the band members, weaving their stories together in this no-holds-barred chronicle.With frankness and honesty, each New Kid recalls nearly thirty years of experience with the group, both on and off the stage, from their first auditions in a run-down brownstone in Boston to the lackluster sales of their first album, and finally to their current status as a household name. Like a time machine, this book will take you right back--giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the New Kids like you've never seen them before.

    For 16 years he was the Director of Programming for the National Music Foundation, where he developed and ran the American Music Education Initiative and the Berkshire Music Festival. As a contributing editor for the National Guitar Workshop, he wrote about musical subjects ranging from the Grammy Awards to Tuvan throat-singing. For WorkshopLive, NGW’s online learning platform, he interviewed guitar, bass and piano teachers about their views on practicing, performing and playing. He has created content for online courses in guitar instruction, folk music, bluegrass and country music, and advised the Boy Scouts of America on the requirements for the Music Merit Badge. Tom has also taught guitar, performed in the rockabilly band Real Gone, arranged the music of George Gershwin and Duke Ellington for solo acoustic guitar and written dozens of songs. First, Learn to Practice is a book about how to practice a musical instrument – any musical instrument. It’s suitable for all musicians – professional, amateur, student or beginner. Whether you play in a concert hall or your own basement, First, Learn to Practice can show you how to get the most pleasure, and the most progress, out of your practice time."Certainly part of the problem in learning how to play an instrument is the way an individual approaches practicing. One must be committed to spending lots of time on eye, ear, and hand coordination; learning how to listen; learning how to sight-read; and, having fun during those many hours of conquering notes on and off the page. But, how many “students” really know how to practice in the first place? The answers can be found in Tom Heany’s new book First, Learn to Practice.It is structured in a way that the novice musician who is serious about learning to play can make substantial progress and enjoy the art of practicing while engaged in making music. This very basic text is a must have for all music makers who want to build their mental and physical attitudes toward great practice sessions." ~ Dr. Willie Hill, Director of the Fine Arts Center, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst."Tom Heany has developed an approach to mastering a musical instrument that is both simple and effective. First Learn to Practice is a must for anyone who is serious about learning to play." ~ David Smolover, Founder of National Guitar Workshop and WorkshopLive

    This super collection features 366 more well-known songs arranged for ukulele from the 1950s through today, by artists such as Carole King, Elton John, the Bee Gees, Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson and others, plus favorites from movies, Broadway, Motown and more! Just like the first Daily Ukulele book, all arrangements feature melody, lyrics and ukulele chord grids in uke-friendly keys. A special "Ukulele 101" section, a chord chart, and vintage ukulele-themed photos round out the fun. Tunes include: Ain't No Sunshine * Anticipation * Bubbly * Calendar Girl * Come Monday * Falling Slowly * Hallelujah * I Got You Babe * Lean on Me * Moondance * Route 66 * Sweet Caroline * We Are the World * Y.M.C.A. and scores more! The Daily Ukulele: Leap Year Edition offers ukulele fun all year long even on February 29th!

    Many writers have grappled with Cage’s music—which used notes chosen by chance, randomly tuned radios, and even silence—trying to understand what his music means rather than where it came from. An unprecedented and revelatory book, Where the Heart Beats reveals what actually empowered Cage to compose his incredible music, and how he inspired the tremendous artistic transformations of mid-century America.Where the Heart Beats is the first biography of John Cage to address the phenomenal importance of Zen Buddhism to the composer’s life, and to the artistic avant-garde of the 1950s and 60s. Zen’s power of transforming Cage’s troubled mind, by showing him his own enlightened nature—which is also the nature of all living things—liberated Cage from an acute personal crisis that threatened his life, his music, and his relationship with his life-partner, Merce Cunningham. Caught in a society that rejected his music, his politics, and his sexual orientation, Cage was transformed by Zen from an overlooked and somewhat marginal musician into the absolute epicenter of the avant garde.Using Cage’s life as a starting point, Where the Heart Beats looks beyond to the individuals he influenced and the art he inspired. His circle included Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Merce Cunningham, Yoko Ono, Jasper Johns, Morton Feldman, and Leo Castelli, who all went on to revolutionize their respective disciplines. As Cage’s story progresses, as his students’ trajectories unfurl, Where the Heart Beats shows the blossoming of Zen in the very heart of American culture. Both an innovative biography and a ground-breaking cultural history of the American Century, Where the Heart Beats is the work of acclaimed art critic Kay Larson. Following her time at New York Magazine and The Village Voice, Larson practiced Zen at a Buddhist monastery in upstate New York. Larson’s deep knowledge of Zen Buddhism, her long familiarity with New York’s art world, and her exhaustive original research all make Where the Heart Beats the definitive story about one of America’s most enduringly important artists.

    Lots of posters and memorabilia.

    Drawing on more than two hundred interviews, the book offers a captivating and intimate fly-on-the-wall account of their launch, charting the struggles and ultimate victories that led them to the threshold of superstardom.Constructed as an oral history, the book includes original interviews with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss, as well as with producers; engineers; management; record company personnel; roadies; club owners; booking agents; concert promoters; costume, stage, and art designers; rock photographers; publicists; and key music journalists.Many of KISS's musical contemporaries from the time, most of whom shared concert bills with the band on their early tours, also lend their perspective via new interviews; these include Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, and Ted Nugent, as well as members of Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Rush, Slade, Blue Öyster Cult, Mott the Hoople, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Raspberries, The James Gang, The New York Dolls, Iggy & the Stooges, The Ramones, Suzi Quatro, Argent, and Uriah Heep, among others.The result is an indelible and irresistible portrait of a band on the rise and of the music scene they changed forever.

    The band's notorious exploits have been chronicled in bestselling books; yet none of the individual members of the band has penned a memoir nor cooperated to any degree with the press or a biographer.  In Light & Shade, Jimmy Page, the band’s most reticent and inscrutable member, opens up to journalist Brad Tolinski, for the first time exploring his remarkable life and musical journey in great depth and intimate detail.   Based on extensive interviews conducted with the guitarist/producer over the past 20 years, Light & Shade encompasses Page’s entire career, beginning with his early years as England’s top session guitarist when he worked with artists ranging from Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, and Burt Bacharach to the Kinks, The Who, and Eric Clapton.  Page speaks frankly about his decadent yet immensely creative years in Led Zeppelin, his synergistic relationships with band members Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones, and his notable post-Zeppelin pursuits.  While examining every major track recorded by Zeppelin, including “Stairway to Heaven,” “Whole Lotta Love,” and “Kashmir,” Page reflects on the band’s sensational tours, the filming of the concert movie The Song Remains the Same, his fascination with the occult, meeting Elvis Presley, and the making of the rock masterpiece Led Zeppelin IV, about which he offers a complete behind-the-scenes account. Additionally, the book is peppered with “sidebar” chapters that include conversations between Page and other guitar greats, including his childhood friend Jeff Beck and hipster icon Jack White.   Through Page’s own words, Light and Shade presents an unprecedented first-person view of one of the most important musicians of our era.

    Tripp, who plays guitar only for himself, and Lyla, a cellist whose talent has already made her famous but not happy, form an unlikely friendship when they are forced to share a practice room at their high school.

    It covered jazz, of course, but it also included Davis’s ruminations on race, politics and culture. Fascinated, Hef sent the writer—future Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Alex Haley, an unknown at the time—back to glean even more opinion and insight from Davis. The resulting exchange, published in the September 1962 issue, became the first official Playboy Interview and kicked off a remarkable run of public inquisition that continues today—and that has featured just about every cultural titan of the last half century.To celebrate the Interview’s 50th anniversary, the editors of Playboy have culled 50 of its most (in)famous Interviews and will publish them over the course of 50 weekdays (from September 4, 2012 to November 12, 2012) via Amazon’s Kindle Direct platform. Here is the interview with the musican John Lennon and artist Yoko Ono from the January 1981 issue.

    Serious, funny, profound, whimsical and enigmatic, it contains descriptions of his days in teenage garage bands, the rise of The Waterboys, his exploits with Steve Wickham and the rest of the gang in the west of Ireland, and much, much more.

    What do you do when someone's sold more comedy recordings than any other artist in history? How do you commemorate over three decades' worth of live concerts and groundbreaking music videos? And what's a fitting way to celebrate a slew of Grammy-award-winning albums and singles of brilliant satire? You write a book - a big, fat, career retrospective book, that's what!This comprehensive illustrated tribute to the undisputed king of pop-culture parody, "Weird Al" Yankovic, covers his songs, videos, performances, and life story in words and pictures, including phot captions, tweets, lists and an introduction by the man himself.Weird Al: The Book is the fitting companion piece to an extraordinary career.

    His music still vibrantly lives around the world, and his spirit of humaneness lives in Travels with Louis by Mick Carlon, teacher of jazz to the young of all ages."—Nat Hentoff"Thanks to his friendship with the great Louis Armstrong, twelve-year old Fred sees his world expand from ice cream and baseball in Queens to jazz at the Village Vanguard, a civil rights sit-in in Nashville, and ecstatic concerts in London and Paris. A wonderful story, which rings true on many levels."—Michael Cogswell, director, Louis Armstrong House Museum"Carlon is driven by a love divided evenly between the subject and the act of writing itself."—Brian Morton, author of The Penguin Guide to JazzPraise for Mick Carlon's Riding on Duke's Train:"In schools where students are lucky enough to experience classroom jazz studies, this title, combining rich musical history and a 'you are there' approach, is a natural."—Kirkus Reviews"Enthralling. . . . An adventure story with a smart, historical framework."—ForeWord, Recommended Books for Kids"A ripping good yarn."—Brian MortonQueens, 1959. Twelve-year-old Fred loves reading, baseball, and playing trumpet with his neighbor, Louis Armstrong. Fred accompanies Louis to Nashville, where he encounters a Civil Rights lunch counter strike, and to London and Paris. Characters include Langston Hughes, Dizzy Gillespie, and Duke Ellington. Says jazz photographer Jack Bradley, "Reading this book is like visiting my friend again. This is the way he was, folks."

    One of the most inspiring talents to emerge from British pop culture, Jessie J's message is loud and clear: be strong, be determined and never shy away from Who You Are.An international sensation and a multi-award-winning superstar, she took the music industry by storm, selling 11 million singles and 2.5 million albums worldwide. In this fully illustrated and highly personal book, Jessie J tells her own story in her own words with all the strength, honesty and passion you would expect.This is Jessie J's real story, opening the doors on the individuality and unique voice that have made her an inspiration to young women around the world. She talks openly about her health issues and a heart condition, her thoughts on body images and how she discovered her own identity whilst breaking into one of the world's most competitive industries.The bold and intimate tale of this young woman will shock and enthral as she delivers her personal message with an unshakable confidence and modesty that will cement her place in pop culture as a much-loved star.

    I've tried to imagine myself sitting down with you explaining what I was thinking and feeling during those times. I hope this book will give you a behind-the-scenes view of my journey into a place where I finally found what had been missing in my life for all those years: music.'Endearingly written with disarming honesty and filled with exclusive new and unseen photographs on and offstage, Happy Days takes you closer to Olly than you've ever been before.

    In 2011, the world celebrated the 40th anniversary of Queen one of the most innovative, glamorous, and influential bands in history. Over the course of the band's career, they have grossed 170 million album sales worldwide, have written 18 number one hits, and performed 700 concerts. While some acts enjoy a forte of incredible showmanship, a virtuoso instrumentalist, a strong, charismatic leader, or a prolific sole songwriter, Queen beholds all of these strengths. Although Freddie Mercury and Brian May are recognized as the prime songwriters, each of the members have penned number one hits, including classics such as "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Freddie Mercury), "Another One Bites the Dust" (John Deacon), "A Kind of Magic" (Roger Taylor), and "We Will Rock You" (Brian May). The fates brought the four creative and cerebral youths together in London in 1971 (Mercury was by then an established fine and graphic artist, May was enveloped in the study of astrophysics, Roger Taylor enrolled in dental school, and John studying electronics). Since then, they have made history with their sophisticated fusion of operatic expression, theatrical performance, symphonic melody, and raw rock-and-roll. Beginning with their debut Queen in 1973 (EMI/Electra Records), the band took the UK by storm, then conquered the United States along with rest of the world, serving as pioneers of stadium rock and enjoying commercial success and momentum well into the 1980s (marked by the famous Live Aid appearance in 1985) through the early 1990s. The whirlwind took a startling pause when singer Freddie Mercury passed away from AIDS on November 24, 1991. The living members have forged ahead and remain great music makers. The Complete Illustrated Lyrics is the first book of its kind. Never before has there been a complete Queen lyric book. The hundreds of images that accompany the songs range from handwritten lyrics to rare photographs from the stage to the studio. Also included is a complete discography, pairing each song to the album on which it was originally released. Designed by the band's longtime creative director, Richard Gray, the book is as true to the band as can be, carrying with it the flamboyance, expression, and depth that Queen embodies as writers and performers. If there is one book for a fan of the band to possess, this is the one.

    It covered jazz, of course, but it also included Davis’s ruminations on race, politics and culture. Fascinated, Hef sent the writer—future Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Alex Haley, an unknown at the time—back to glean even more opinion and insight from Davis. The resulting exchange, published in the September 1962 issue, became the first official Playboy Interview and kicked off a remarkable run of public inquisition that continues today—and that has featured just about every cultural titan of the last half century.To celebrate the Interview’s 50th anniversary, the editors of Playboy have culled 50 of its most (in)famous Interviews and will publish them over the course of 50 weekdays (from September 4, 2012 to November 12, 2012) via Amazon’s Kindle Direct platform. Here is that first Interview with Miles Davis.

    In this follow up novella, find out what happens after the tours have ended. Who can persevere under the pressure of love in the public eye? Who will fall apart? And who will become almost unrecognizable?Some stars last for an eternity, some stars fade, and others evolve.** Not a stand alone. To fully enjoy this novella, I suggest you first read Falling Stars. **

    Bowie: Album by Album is the ultimate celebration of his entire career. Longtime fans and new followers alike can explore in detail every album and every track—from his eponymous 1967 debut album, through his monumental rise in the seventies, including The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Station to Station, Low, and Heroes, and culminating in the critically acclaimed Blackstar..  Featuring a galaxy of rare and iconic images from the world’s leading photographers, fans will love iconic images from album covers and performances from across the decades. These are combined with more intimate, behind-the-scenes images that reveal the musician at work. Written by acclaimed music critic Paolo Hewitt, the text assesses the writing and recording of each release, and reflects on their impact and influence on the art of popular music. Featuring a discography of studio albums, live albums, notable compilations and soundtracks, this is the essential companion to David Bowie’s legendary achievements.

    and asked if I wanted to play piano on the song.A - Which you agreed to do despite not knowing how to play piano.W - Yes...A man who acts under the name Will Oldham and a singer songwriter who performs under the name Bonnie Prince Billy has, over the past quarter of a century, made an idiosyncratic journey through, and an indelible mark on, the worlds of indie rock and independent cinema, intersecting with such disparate figures as Johnny Cash, Bjork, James Earl Jones, and R. Kelly along the way.These conversations with longtime friend and associate Alan Licht probe his highly individualistic approach to music making and the music industry, one that cherishes notions of intimacy, community, mystery, and spontaneity.

    Since finding their love of music and performing as teenagers in Seattle, Washington, Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, have been part of the American rock music landscape. From 70s classics like “Magic Man” and “Barracuda” to chart- topping 80s ballads like “Alone,” and all the way up to 2012, when they will release their latest studio album, Fanatic, Heart has been thrilling their fans and producing hit after hit. In Kicking and Dreaming, the Wilsons recount their story as two sisters who have a shared over three decades on the stage, as songwriters, as musicians, and as the leaders of one of our most beloved rock bands. An intimate, honest, and a uniquely female take on the rock and roll life, readers of bestselling music memoirs like Life by Keith Richards and Steven Tyler’s Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? will love this quintessential music story finally told from a female perspective.

    Now with an expanded examination of opera as an institution in the twenty-first century, this “lucid and sweeping” (Boston Globe) narrative explores the tensions that have sustained opera over four hundred years: between words and music, character and singer, inattention and absorption. Abbate and Parker argue that, though the genre’s most popular and enduring works were almost all written in a distant European past, opera continues to change the viewer— physically, emotionally, intellectually—with its enduring power.

    But even if you've never heard of the band, the book stands as one of the best ways to experience being in a tight, cohesive band. You get everything except the sweat, spilled beer, and blood. It's a fun ride, and the closest thing possible to getting in the van with these guys."--Mother Jones"Book is a valuable document that brings us back to the era when artists were conditioned to practice the art of self-defense."--Pitchfork"Crawling out of the same noisy, punk and hardcore indie underground of the early 1980s, Dinosaur Jr. and the Jesus Lizard took somewhat similar paths on the road to becoming two of the most influential bands of their generation...Now the two bands have something else in common: books. Two beautiful volumes, The Jesus Lizard Book (Akashic) and Rocket 88‘s Dinosaur Jr. scrapbook...Both are loving tributes to two very unique bands."--Flavorwire"Book is pretty much the sort of thing you would want from any band you adore: thoughtful, articulate comments from all of the players, short essays, some only a few lines, from various folks who knew or worked with them and a ton of excellent photos."--Austin American-Statesman"The Jesus Lizard Book by The Jesus Lizard (out now). Much like Dinosaur Jr., the band has created a detailed, full-color hardcover for its fans. And as a bonus, members are reuniting to promote it at South by Southwest and elsewhere."--Pensacola News Journal"The only way to truly do this band justice in book form is with exactly the kind of energetic and engaging visual weight that Book provides."--KGB Bar Lit Magazine"There is finally a book that captures the godhead megalithic monstrosity that was the Jesus Lizard. ... know this is going to be one of my favourite books of all-time."--The HuffPost Music (Canada)"The deluxe coffee-table book about The Jesus Lizard that we can't believe exists."--Oregon Public Broadcasting/NPR"The big, beautiful Jesus Lizard Book…delivers a fun, albeit wild ride fans are sure to enjoy thoroughly."--BookPeople Blog"Book suits the Jesus Lizard as well as, say, The Dirt suits Mötley Crüe….Everyone I know loves the Jesus Lizard, and all those same folks are going to love Book."--Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches"Stunning new work of popular culture historiography…The Jesus Lizard Book is a work of art, and it should be treated as such."--Alibi.comIncluded in "A Book I'd Read" for Washington City Paper/Arts DeskThe Jesus Lizard Book is a coffee table affair of exclusive photography, art, and other imagery with written pieces by all four members of the seminal indie rock band the Jesus Lizard. The layout is stylish and elegant, particularly in contrast with the harshness of much of the band's music. Other contributors include Steve Albini, Mike Watt, Krist Novoselic, and more.

    Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain, for we've received orders for to sail for old England but we hope in a short while to see you again. One of the great English popular art forms, the folk song can be painful, satirical, erotic, dramatic, rueful or funny. They have thrived when sung on a whim to a handful of friends in a pub; they have bewitched generations of English composers who have set them for everything from solo violin to full orchestra; they are sung in concerts, festivals, weddings, funerals and with nobody to hear but the singer. This magical new collection brings together all the classic folk songs as well as many lesser-known discoveries, complete with music and annotations on their original sources and meaning.

    Originating at the crossroads of art, design, popular culture, and street savvy, Pharrell Williams’s output is unique. By playing off different disciplines—namely music, fashion, street art, and design—and using each as an element in the other, Pharrell has redefined the role of the contemporary recording artist, blazing a trail for other musicians and prominent cultural figures. Illustrated with lavish photography, this book also explores his musical career in depth, charting his many projects from his production team The Neptunes, to the band N.E.R.D., and his collaborations with friends Kanye West, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and other hip-hop royalty. This unprecedented volume documents Pharrell’s prolific body of work and his contribution to contemporary culture. In his own unique graphic language, he details his extensive creative pursuits, including clothing lines, jewelry, and accessories designs for Louis Vuitton, furniture and other product design, limited-edition toys, graphic designs, skate graphics, and collaborations with Moncler, Marc Jacobs, the artist KAWS, and with architects Zaha Hadid and Masamichi Katayama/Wonderwall.  The book includes ontributions from Buzz Aldrin, Toby Feltwell, Zaha Hadid, Shae Haley, Chad Hugo, Jay-Z, Masamichi Katayama, Ambra Medda, Takashi Murakami, NIGO ®, Loïc Villepontoux, Kanye West, Anna Wintour, Hans Zimmer, Ian Luna and Lauren A. Gould.This book was originally published with three different colored covers and a year later, reprinted with a new set of three colors.  Customers will be shipped any of the six different colors at random.

    Shut Up and Give Me the Mic

    This official songbook presents all the songs from the show arranged for voice and piano with chord symbols, as well as an eight-page colour photo section and an exclusive foreword written by Tim Minchin.The book has been carefully designed to minimise awkward page turns and to make playing from it a real pleasure.Song list:MiracleNaughtySchool SongPatheticThe HammerLoudThis Little GirlBruceTellyWhen I Grow UpI’m HereThe Smell Of RebellionQuietMy HouseRevolting ChildrenWhen I Grow Up/NaughtySkill Level Intermediate/Advanced

    Orchestras can be inspired to the heights of musical and expressive possibility by their maestros, or flabbergasted that someone who doesn't even make a sound should be elevated to demigod-like status by the public.This is the first book to go inside the rehearsal rooms of some of the most inspirational orchestral partnerships in the world. It's the first to see how Simon Rattle works with his musicians at the Berlin Philharmonic, how Mariss Jansons deals with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, and how Claudio Abbado creates the world's most luxurious pick-up band every year with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. From London to Budapest, Bamberg to Vienna, great orchestral concerts are recreated as a collection of countless human and musical stories. The book reveals how the catalysts of place, time, and personal history are alchemised into the indelible magic of life-changing performances.

    All 16 songs from Swift's 2012 blockbuster arranged specifically for the uke. Includes: All Too Well * Begin Again * Everything Has Changed * Holy Ground * I Almost Do * I Knew You Were Trouble. * The Last Time * The Lucky One * Red * Sad Beautiful Tragic * Starlight * State of Grace * Stay Stay Stay * Treacherous * 22 * We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

    Featuring ten articles and a previously unpublished bonus chapter, this fascinating mosaic explores a wide range of subject matter: from the impact of race on Jackson’s career, to the ways he challenged and expanded the definition of “pop,” to behind-the-scenes histories of his songs. Based on original research and personal interviews with the singer’s close collaborators, Featuring Michael Jackson is a book no fan or music history buff will want to be without.

    Critics and sales figures told a similar story: six albums between 1984 and 1988 made number one or number two in the UK charts. Twenty-five years after their break-up, the band remain as adored and discussed as ever. To this day, there is a collective understanding that The Smiths were one of the greatest of all British bands. The Smiths - Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce - were four working-class youths who came together, by fate or chance, in Manchester in the early 1980s. Their sound was both traditional and radically different, a music that spoke to a generation, and defied the dark social-economic mood of the Thatcher years. By early 1984, barely a year after their first headlining gig, they were the hottest - certainly the hippest - name in modern music. In the years that followed the group produced an extraordinary body of work: seventeen classic singles, seven albums, and [some] seventy songs composed by the team of Morrissey and Marr. Yet for all their brilliance and adoration - their famously energetic live shows routinely interrupted by stage invasions - The Smiths were continually plagued by their own reticence to play the game, and by the time of 1987's Strangeways Here We Come, they had split. The Smiths have never played together again - their enormous contribution to pop culture forever condensed into a prolific and prosperous halcyon period, their legacy intact and untarnished. Thirty years after their formation, twenty-five since they broke up, The Smiths' firmament remains as bright as ever. It's time their tale was told. Tony Fletcher's A Light That Never Goes Out is a meticulous and evocative group biography - part celebration, part paean - moving from Manchester in the nineteenth-century to the present day to tell the complete story of The Smiths. Penned by a contemporary and life-long fan, and the product of extensive research, dozens of interviews, and unprecedented access, it will serve to confirm The Smiths as one of the greatest, most important and influential rock groups of all time.

    Complete with full-color, heyday-of-home-play-inspired art for each song and a lavishly produced hardcover carrying case, Song Reader is an experiment in what an album can be at the end of 2012—an alternative that enlists the listener in the tone of every track, and that’s as visually absorbing as a dozen gatefold LPs put together. The songs here are as unfailingly exciting as you’d expect from their author, but if you want to hear “Do We? We Do,” or “Don’t Act Like Your Heart Isn’t Hard,” bringing them to life depends on you.• Featuring original art from Marcel Dzama (who created the imagery for Beck’s acclaimed Guero), Leanne Shapton, Josh Cochran, Jessica Hische, and many more.• Including an introduction by Jody Rosen (Slate, the New York Times) and a preface by Beck.• Readers’ (and select musicians’) renditions of the songs will be featured on the McSweeney’s website.

    Lucier explains in detail how each piece is made, unlocking secrets of the composers' style and technique. The book as a whole charts the progress of American experimental music from the 1950s to the present, covering such topics as indeterminacy, electronics, and minimalism, as well as radical innovations in music for the piano, string quartet, and opera. Clear, approachable and lively, Music 109 is Lucier's indispensable guide to late 20th-century composition. No previous musical knowledge is required, and all readers are welcome.

    Book annotation not available for this title.

    This highly anticipated blockbuster stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway. Our songbook features piano/vocal selections of 16 songs from the film, including the new title "Suddenly," plus beautiful full-color art from the movie throughout as well as introduction by the composers about the new adaptation. Songs include: At the End of the Day * Bring Him Home * Castle on a Cloud * Do You Hear the People Sing? * Empty Chairs at Empty Tables * I Dreamed a Dream * A Little Fall of Rain * Master of the House * On My Own * Stars * Who Am I? * and more.

    Easy piano arrangements of all 12 tracks from Katy Perry's smash album: California Gurls * Circle the Drain * E.T. * Firework * Hummingbird Heartbeat * Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) * Not like the Movies * The One That Got Away * Peacock * Pearl * Teenage Dream * Who Am I Living For?.

    "There is only one Eddie Green and, without question, his name is permanently etched in band history." On Teaching Band includes: An extensive, insightful interview with Eddie Green on his early career and development of his teaching methods Comprehensive, step-by-step techniques for all aspects of beginning wind instruction Guidelines for organizing a band program Tips on resumes, interviews, and securing a position Practical advice on relationships with administrators, parents, and colleagues

    Practical and direct information, conveying professional techniques, is guaranteed to give you the sort of mixing insight that would traditionaly take years to develop as a studio intern. These are the same techniques that have taken the author from being an industry newcomer, to one of the most highly sought after independent mix engineers in the country & abroad."The mixing guide is an idea that came to fruition shortly after I started writing a series of tutorials for a closed online community. I soon realized that in order to contain the wealth of information which was beginning to surface, I would need a much more refined and cohesive format than the online bulletin board system - thus, the Ebook was born. It contains some of the best insight you will find into a professional mix engineer's workflow - from set-up & the basics all the way through to dealing with large, multi-instrumental sessions, the Systematic Mixing Guide has you covered".- Ermin Hamidovic

    Bands like D.O.A., the Subhumans, the Viletones, and Teenage Head — alongside lesser-known regional acts from all over Canada — reshaped a dull musical landscape, injecting new energy and new sounds into halls, bars, and record stores from Victoria to St. John’s. Reaching beyond the realm of standard band biographies, Sutherland unearths a detailed historical context to offer an idea of how the advent of punk reshaped the culture of cities across Canada, speeding along the creation of alternative means of cultural production, consumption, and distribution.

    In The Music of James Bond, author Jon Burlingame throws open studio and courtroom doors alike to reveal the full and extraordinary history of the soundsof James Bond, spicing the story with a wealth of fascinating and previously undisclosed tales.Burlingame devotes a chapter to each Bond film, providing the backstory for the music (including a reader-friendly analysis of each score) from the last-minute creation of the now-famous James Bond Theme in Dr. No to John Barry's trend-setting early scores for such films as Goldfinger andThunderball. We learn how synthesizers, disco and modern electronica techniques played a role in subsequent scores, and how composer David Arnold reinvented the Bond sound for the 1990s and beyond.The book brims with behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Burlingame examines the decades-long controversy over authorship of the Bond theme; how Frank Sinatra almost sang the title song for Moonraker; and how top artists like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Carly Simon, Duran Duran, GladysKnight, Tina Turner, and Madonna turned Bond songs into chart-topping hits. The author shares the untold stories of how Eric Clapton played guitar for Licence to Kill but saw his work shelved, and how Amy Winehouse very nearly co-wrote and sang the theme for Quantum of Solace.New interviews with many Bond songwriters and composers, coupled with extensive research as well as fascinating and previously undiscovered details--temperamental artists, unexpected hits, and the convergence of great music and unforgettable imagery--make The Music of James Bond a must read for 007buffs and all popular music fans. This paperback edition is brought up-to-date with a new chapter on Skyfall.

    Instead he leads us through the story of music as it happened, idea by idea, so that each musical innovation – harmony, notation, sung theatre, the orchestra, dance music, recording, broadcasting – strikes us with its original force. He focuses on what changed when and why, picking out the discoveries that revolutionised man-made sound and bringing to life musical visionaries from the little-known Pérotin to the colossus of Wagner. Along the way, he also gives refreshingly clear descriptions of what music is and how it works: what scales are all about, why some chords sound discordant and what all post-war pop songs have in common.The story of music is the story of our urge to invent, connect, rebel – and entertain. Howard Goodall’s beautifully clear and compelling account is both a hymn to human endeavour and a groundbreaking map of our musical journey.

    This official sheet music companion folio to the stage version allows music makers to apply their own talent to the beloved score of Once. The 12 selections are based on the renditions from the Original Broadway Cast Recording, arranged for piano and voice, with basic chord fingering grids included for guitarists. Titles: Leave * Falling Slowly * The Moon * If You Want Me * Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy * Say It to Me Now * Gold * Sleeping * When Your Mind's Made Up * The Hill * Gold (a cappella) * Falling Slowly (reprise).

    It fills a need for accurate, well-researched, and easy-to-read information on how to teach and learn singing in both solo and choral contexts. This concise yet comprehensive guidebook offers numerous, practical voice-building and problem-solving suggestions and exercises, as well as clear photographs and elegant illustrations. The authors thoroughly address important topics such as breathing, onset, resonance, vowel modification, vibrato, register transitions, range extension, intonation, changing voices both adolescent and aging, and vocal health. They integrate the perspectives of renowned artists, choral professionals, vocal pedagogues, and the latest in vocal science. This is a must-have for conductors, voice teachers, and music educators, and will benefit solo and choral singers of all ages and abilities. Titles of related interest from Waveland Press Emmons-Sonntag, The Art of the Song Recital ISBN 9781577662204 McClosky with members of the McClosky Institute of Voice, Your Voice at Its Best Enhancement of the Healthy Voice, Help for the Troubled Voice, Fifth Edition ISBN 9781577667056 McKinney, The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults A Manual for Teachers of Singing and for Choir Directors ISBN 9781577664031 Melton-Tom, One Voice Integrating Singing and Theatre Voice Techniques, Second Edition ISBN 9781577667711 and Stanton, Steps to Singing for Voice Classes, Third Edition ISBN 9781577661351.

    If you always assumed the musicians you listened to were the same people you saw onstage, you are in for a big surprise!"--Dusty Street, host of Classic Vinyl on Sirius XM Satellite RadioIf you were a fan of popular music in the 1960s and early '70s, you were a fan of the Wrecking Crew--whether you knew it or not.On hit record after hit record by everyone from the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and the Monkees to the Grass Roots, the 5th Dimension, Sonny & Cher, and Simon & Garfunkel, this collection of West Coast studio musicians from diverse backgrounds established themselves in Los Angeles, California as the driving sound of pop music--sometimes over the objection of actual band members forced to make way for Wrecking Crew members. Industry insider Kent Hartman tells the dramatic, definitive story of the musicians who forged a reputation throughout the business as the secret weapons behind the top recording stars.Mining invaluable interviews, the author follows the careers of such session masters as drummer Hal Blaine and keyboardist Larry Knechtel, as well as trailblazing bassist Carol Kaye--the only female in the bunch--who went on to play in thousands of recording sessions in this rock history. Readers will discover the Wrecking Crew members who would forge careers in their own right, including Glen Campbell and Leon Russell, and learn of the relationship between the Crew and such legends as Phil Spector and Jimmy Webb. Hartman also takes us inside the studio for the legendary sessions that gave us Pet Sounds, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and the rock classic "Layla," which Wrecking Crew drummer Jim Gordon cowrote with Eric Clapton for Derek and the Dominos. And the author recounts priceless scenes such as Mike Nesmith of the Monkees facing off with studio head Don Kirshner, Grass Roots lead guitarist (and future star of The Office) Creed Bratton getting fired from the group, and Michel Rubini unseating Frank Sinatra's pianist for the session in which the iconic singer improvised the hit-making ending to "Strangers in the Night."The Wrecking Crew tells the collective, behind-the-scenes stories of the artists who dominated Top 40 radio during the most exciting time in American popular culture.

    Featuring classic, rare, and previously unseen artwork by long-time Talk Talk collaborator and renowned album art designer James Marsh, it includes numerous tributes and eulogies from musicians, artists, and fans of the band. As well as previously unseen photographs of the band, there is a specially commissioned biography of them by music journalist and author Chris Roberts.Spirit of Talk Talk is available in two editions - The Classic EditionClothbound, 200-page, full-colour hardback, printed on heavy art paper, signed by James Marsh.The Deluxe EditionLimited to 300 numbered copies, each presented in a clamshell box designed by James Marsh, along with three signed fine art prints of his original Talk Talk artwork.

    

    Mixerman lays out the many organizational and creative roles of an effective producer as budget manager, time manager, personnel manager, product manager, arranger, visionary, and leader, and without ever foregoing the politics involved in the process. As Mixerman points out, "Producing is an art in which reading and understanding people nearly always trumps any theoretical knowledge - whether musical or technical in nature." Whether you're currently positioned as musician, engineer, songwriter, DJ, studio owner, or just avid music fan, Mixerman delivers you a seemingly one-on-one, personal lesson on effective producing.

    Her beauty, style, and spirit made her an icon.In this magnificent collection, more than twenty of the world’s top photographers have joined together to celebrate the brilliant woman they were privileged to capture through their camera lenses. These photographs are a testament to Whitney’s dazzling physical presence, but they also remind us that she was a multidimensional woman: powerful, vulnerable, commanding, enchanting, thoughtful, bewitching . . . and absolutely unforgettable—a singer whose smile was as bright and true as her voice. Curated by renowned photographer Randee St. Nicholas, these images, which span thirty years of Whitney Houston’s career, are a fitting tribute to a legendary recording artist, style icon, and devoted mother, who touched millions of lives by doing what she loved.

    Here are 15 great songs from the soundtrack to the latest Twilight hit, featuring Bruno Mars, The Joy Formidable, Christina Perri, Iron & Wine and more! Includes: Cold * Endtapes * Flightless Bird, American Mouth (Wedding Version) * From Now On * I Didn't Mean It * It Will Rain * Llovera * Love Death Birth * Love Will Take You * Neighbors * Northern Lights * Requiem on Water * Sister Rosetta * A Thousand Years * Turning Page.

    David Bowie The Golden Years chronicles Bowie's creative life during that decade in a year by year, month by month, day by day format, placing his works in their historical, personal and creative contexts. Every live performance: when and where and who played with him. Every known recording: session details, who played on it, who produced it and release details. Every collaboration is also covered, including production and guest appearances. Film, stage and television appearances: Bowie brought his theatrical training into every performance and created a new form of rock spectacle. Follows Bowie on his journeys across the countries that fired his imagination and inspired his greatest work. Golden Years documents every Bowie recording from this period, including tracks he left in the vault. Many of these ended up on reissues and compilations, which are covered comprehensively - an invaluable reference work..

    Verdict: Svenonius’s sociopolitical analysis of rock and roll is intellectually interesting, as when he posits that the genre was ‘brought about by the industrial revolution, the harnessing of electricity, and the miscegenation of various poor, exploited, and indentured cultures in the USA.’”-- Library Journal "So much of the allure here is in watching Svenonius skirt absurdity. He’s always seemed delighted by the fact that the profound and the preposterous can sound awfully alike, a realization that puts him in line with an avant-garde tradition that stretches back before rock ’n’ roll crystallized this fact...Svenonius has the spirit of a long-gone punk past, but his book has more to tell us about rock’s here-and-now than about its hereafter. Neither bourgeois nor prestigious, Supernatural Strategies may be the rare book by a rock musician to retain any power or threat."-- Los Angeles Review of Books "Like its author, Supernatural Strategies is part tongue-in-cheek, part deadly serious -- a satire of rock's consumerist origins but also a thoughtful treatise on what it means to devote yourself to a collective…Drawing from the wisdom of rock'n'roll’s most famous ghosts, Svenonius’ advice ranges from hilarious to cryptic to surprisingly useful."-- Pitchfork "Svenonius has walked the walk. . . Even today—as the frontman of Chain & The Gang and the host of the online talk show Soft Focus—he remains cool, cryptic, and impeccably dressed, a mod magician with a trick always lurking up his tailored sleeve.”-- The Onion AV Club “If 'write what you know' is one of authorship’s prime dictates, then Ian F. Svenonius seems uniquely qualified...Svenonius’ contrarian, anti-establishment rhetoric is his greatest gift...Strategies plays to these same strengths by allowing him to run roughshod riot over hallowed ground he’s already trod—and sometimes paved—more than a few times.”-- Baltimore City Paper Ian F. Svenonius's experience as an iconic underground rock musician--playing in such highly influential and revolutionary outfits as The Make-Up and The Nation of Ulysses--gives him special insight on techniques for not only starting but also surviving a rock 'n' roll group. Therefore, he's written an instructional guide, which doubles as a warning device, a philosophical text, an exercise in terror, an aerobics manual, and a coloring book.This volume features essays (and black-and-white illustrations) on everything the would-be star should know to get started, such as Sex, Drugs, Sound, Group Photo, The Van, and Manufacturing Nostalgia. Supernatural Strategies will serve as an indispensable guide for a new generation just aching to boogie.

    Following up and expanding on the concepts presented in his best-selling DVD of the same name, Benny here brings forth a wealth of practice material for drummers of all styles and levels, presented in a beautifully illustrated book with a timeless, classic look. The Language of Drumming Book teaches a complete system for achieving freedom of expression on the drumset. Benny's approach is a practical method that is based on a concept familiar to everyone: learning a language. Providing exercises for grooves, fills, independence, and more, this system progresses from rhythmic "letters" and "words" to "syntax" and "language," ultimately providing an easily understandable system that is suitable for beginning to advanced-level drummers. Included along the way are new hi-hat groove variations, dozens of ghost-note exercises, and a complete system for mastering odd groupings (3, 5, and 7) in your playing.

    In Ghana and South Africa, drummer Guy Warren and vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin fused local musical forms with the dizzying innovations of modern jazz. These four were among hundreds of musicians in the 1950s and ’60s who forged connections between jazz and Africa that definitively reshaped both their music and the world.Each artist identified in particular ways with Africa’s struggle for liberation and made music dedicated to, or inspired by, demands for independence and self-determination. That music was the wild, boundary-breaking exultation of modern jazz. The result was an abundance of conversation, collaboration, and tension between African and African American musicians during the era of decolonization. This collective biography demonstrates how modern Africa reshaped jazz, how modern jazz helped form a new African identity, and how musical convergences and crossings altered politics and culture on both continents.In a crucial moment when freedom electrified the African diaspora, these black artists sought one another out to create new modes of expression. Documenting individuals and places, from Lagos to Chicago, from New York to Cape Town, Robin Kelley gives us a meditation on modernity: we see innovation not as an imposition from the West but rather as indigenous, multilingual, and messy, the result of innumerable exchanges across a breadth of cultures.

    This latest set includes newly drawn family trees of Elton john, the Alman Brothers Band, ELP, Fleetwood Mac, Steve Winwood, the Drifters, Roxy Music, Roger McGuinn, the Beach Boys, Martin Carthy, Shirley Collins, Yes, Asia, Eric Clapton, the Yardbirds, Miles Davis, the Creation label and many more.

    Sometimes, it feels as if the last few years have encompassed a few decades. . . . You might have heard my voice on the radio, seen me onstage and on the red carpet, or in a music video, but that’s only a part of the story. In these pages, I’m revealing a more complete picture of what my life is really like. It’s not all glamorous and it’s not all pretty, but it’s all real. . . . I want you to come on a whirlwind journey with an all-access pass to My Crazy Beautiful Life.

    Savor this bound museum of the finest graphic arts masterpieces that celebrate a bygone era ... Enjoy the accompanying interviews with the record company execs, musicians, and revolutionary artists, designers and painters whose genius decorated a generation, and whose legendary work remains vibrant, provocative and inspirational.... Buy one for yourself, and more for your family and friends -- it's an elegant holiday gift that will be long treasured...

    You don't need to spend a lot of money and you don't need to have a shop full of tools. All you need to do is follow the author's step-by-step instructions for making three different styles of guitar. They're fun (some would say addictive) to build and even more fun to play!The guitars that can be made with this book:     • Basic CBG: A simple build with the minimum number of components. It's a three string acoustic instrument built from a paper covered box and played with a slide and has burned-in fret lines, but no real frets.     • Slightly Nicer CBG. Uses a nicer cigar box, has a more decorative, built-up headstock. Also has burned in fret-lines and three strings. In addition, this one incorporates a very simple piezo pickup so it can be played through an amplifier. Slightly more complex in woodworking terms and involves a bit of wiring and soldering.     • Cigar Box Telecaster. This one would be built from a cigar box and a pre-fabbed six-string guitar neck. It would use commercial pickups and volume/tone controls. I'm picturing it as a tribute to the Fender Telecaster. It involves more complicated woodworking and much more wiring/soldering, as well as filling much of the box with wood to support the tension of six steel strings. More than just a how-to guide, this book chronicles the modern revival of the cigar box guitar. You’ll learn a bit about its roots, influential personalities and the cultural trends that are bringing this instrument back to the musical landscape. Author and professional photographer, David Sutton introduces readers the faces of the CGB movement with in-depth profiles and photographic portraits of fascinating builders and performers. Basic information about learning to play and tune a cigar box guitar are also included. A perfect opportunity to put a real American tradition in your own hands.

    Musician-journalist-producer-author Sidran uses his first person experience to frame the story behind the story of Jews in American popular music.

    From barbershop groups to madrigal choirs to vocal rock bands, there are tens of thousands of vocal groups in America. The success of mainstream television programs such as Glee and The Sing-Off not only demonstrates the rising popularity of vocal music; it reflects how current trends inspire others to join in. In addition, through various online and on-the-ground vocal music societies, the "a cappella market" is well defined and well connected. Like singing itself, a cappella is a global phenomenon. At the heart of every vocal group is the music it performs. This often means writing its own arrangements of popular or traditional songs. This book is the long-awaited definitive work on the subject, wide ranging both in its scope and in its target audience - which spans beginners, music students, and community groups to professional and semi-professional performers, vocal/instrumental songwriters, composers, and producers - providing genre-specific insight on a cappella writing. The tone of the book is instructive and informative, yet conversational: it is intended to stand alongside any academic publication while remaining interesting and fun. A Cappella Arranging is a good textbook - and a "good read" - for every vocal arranger, whether amateur or professional; every vocal music classroom, and any professional recording studio.

    and a summer concert tour of America that set new standards for magnificence in live performance. Covering the tour for Life magazine, photographer Jim Marshall captured indelible moments of the Stones in their glory onstage, as well as the camaraderie behind the scenes. Featuring a foreword by Keith Richards, this volume presents Marshall's shots alongside dozens of never-before-seen frames. Stones fans celebrating their fiftieth anniversary will revel in this unprecedented look at one of the biggest rock bands of all time from the photographer who captured them best.

    What began in Venezuela has now reached children in Los Angeles, New York City, Baltimore, and cities around the world. No matter the location, the overarching goal of El Sistema is unwavering: to rescue children from the depredations of poverty through music. Part history, part reportage, this book reveals that arts education can indeed effect positive social change.

    It wasn't meant to be elegant, pretty, or sophisticated. Designed to be a utilitarian musical instrument, it has lived up to that destiny. In the hands of players from Muddy Waters to James Burton, Bruce Springsteen to Joe Strummer, the Telecaster has made the music of working people - country, blues, punk, rock 'n' roll, and even jazz.Now available in paperback, this is the complete tale of the electric guitar that came to work and continues to work hard more than a half century after its birth, still resonating with the purity of the first slab of swamp ash that was carved into that now-iconic single-cutaway design. Packed with more than 400 photos of players, guitars, and memorabilia, as well as profiles of the greatest Telecaster players ever, here, finally, is the first suitable tribute to the electric guitar that changed the world.

    

    Including the children's play song "Shortenin' Bread," the fiddle tune "Bonaparte's Retreat," the blues "Another Man Done Gone," and the spiritual "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down," these performances were recorded in kitchens and churches, on porches and in prisons, in hotel rooms and school auditoriums. Documented during the golden age of the Library of Congress recordings, they capture not only the words and tunes of traditional songs but also the sounds of life in which the performances were embedded: children laugh, neighbors comment, trucks pass by.Musician and researcher Stephen Wade sought out the performers on these recordings, their families, fellow musicians, and others who remembered them. He reconstructs the sights and sounds of the recording sessions themselves and how the music worked in all their lives. Some of these performers developed musical reputations beyond these field recordings, but for many, these tracks represent their only appearances on record: prisoners at the Arkansas State Penitentiary jumping on "the Library's recording machine" in a rendering of "Rock Island Line"; Ora Dell Graham being called away from the schoolyard to sing the jump-rope rhyme "Pullin' the Skiff"; Luther Strong shaking off a hungover night in jail and borrowing a fiddle to rip into "Glory in the Meetinghouse."Alongside loving and expert profiles of these performers and their locales and communities, Wade also untangles the histories of these iconic songs and tunes, tracing them through slave songs and spirituals, British and homegrown ballads, fiddle contests, gospel quartets, and labor laments. By exploring how these singers and instrumentalists exerted their own creativity on inherited forms, "amplifying tradition's gifts," Wade shows how a single artist can make a difference within a democracy.Reflecting decades of research and detective work, the profiles and abundant photos in The Beautiful Music All Around Us bring to life largely unheralded individuals--domestics, farm laborers, state prisoners, schoolchildren, cowboys, housewives and mothers, loggers and miners--whose music has become part of the wider American musical soundscape. The hardcover edition  also includes an accompanying CD that presents these thirteen performances, songs and sounds of America in the 1930s and '40s.

    A fascinating look at topics such as: self-awareness and the importance of emotional intelligence getting the best out of pupils dealing with challenging pupils asking the right questions creating a master-plan taking the stress out of learning teaching for the right reasons. This seminal book is an inspirational read for all music teachers, encouraging everyone to consider themselves in a new and uplifted light, and transform their teaching.

    It provides an intimate and compelling look at the many forces that shaped this most American of art forms and the many influences that gave rise to jazz’s post-war styles. Rich with the voices of musicians, producers, promoters, and others on the scene during the decades following World War II, this book views jazz’s evolution through the prism of technological advances, social transformations, changes in the law, economic trends, and much more.In an absorbing narrative enlivened by the commentary of key personalities, Marc Myers describes the myriad of events and trends that affected the music's evolution, among them, the American Federation of Musicians strike in the early 1940s, changes in radio and concert-promotion, the introduction of the long-playing record, the suburbanization of Los Angeles, the Civil Rights movement, the “British invasion” and the rise of electronic instruments. This groundbreaking book deepens our appreciation of this music by identifying many of the developments outside of jazz itself that contributed most to its texture, complexity, and growth.

    This is THE book of the year for all 1D fans!Check our what One Direction have been up to in the past year and their plans for the future. Written in collaboration with the band, this is the only annual to include exclusive interviews, up to the minute news and info, and never before seen photos. Find out straight from the boys themselves what they think about success, touring, their fans and much more!This is a must-have for all One Direction fans, and a fantastic Christmas gift!

    Moving from gospel to soul, funk to freestyle, Young sifts through the shadows, the bootleg, the remix, the grey areas of our history, literature, and music.

    This monstrous collection includes instrumental solos of more than 70 Disney classics: Beauty and the Beast * Can You Feel the Love Tonight * Friend like Me * It's a Small World * Mickey Mouse March * A Pirate's Life * Reflection * The Siamese Cat Song * A Spoonful of Sugar * Trashin' the Camp * Under the Sea * We're All in This Together * Written in the Stars * You've Got a Friend in Me * Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah * and dozens more.

    After her forest has disappeared, the last remaining Pine, together with the help of an adorably sincere and insightful little Bird, embarks upon an remarkable journey to try and find her home again.

    Ed, often referred to by Elvis, as "my second daddy" was such a person. As the fierce-eyed, silver-streaked Kenpo combatant stepped forward in 1978, he resolved to tell his story. Ed was the man Elvis chose as his strong right arm, a true brother, friend, confidant, as well as Elvis' protective companion.Ed had enjoyed seventeen years of close, personal association with Elvis Presley. Frequently traveling together, Ed observed, listened, and understood as they shared their personal confidences and innermost feelings with one another. He had a wealth of insights and anecdotes about his close friend and was determined to share those insights in an incredible backstage look at one of the most famous men in the world--a man millions admired, thousands worshipped, but only a handful knew or understood. Still in a state of grief, he wrote of the loss of his "friend" Elvis; and shared insights into the King's on stage genius, his lifestyle, generosity, views on religion and life as well as his inner thoughts. He was deeply impressed by Elvis' character, charisma, loyalty, intellect, organizational skills and above all, his humility.Many years earlier, Elvis, had nicknamed Ed, "Kahuna" (a Hawaiian word meaning high priest). Now Elvis' "Kahuna" had an opportunity to write from the heart, capturing many of the Christ-like characteristics Elvis exhibited, through his simple faith and unselfish caring. As a result of this interesting, intimate, insightful work, Ed was invited on a book tour by the Elvis Presley Fan club to share his feelings in person. From that time forth, he began to develop strong ties and bonds of friendship with dedicated and sincere Elvis fans around the world. A warm relationship that remained strong and continued to develop up until Ed's untimely death in December 1990. This book was 5th on the best seller list in America and number 3 in the South.

    It covered jazz, of course, but it also included Davis’s ruminations on race, politics and culture. Fascinated, Hef sent the writer—future Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Alex Haley, an unknown at the time—back to glean even more opinion and insight from Davis. The resulting exchange, published in the September 1962 issue, became the first official Playboy Interview and kicked off a remarkable run of public inquisition that continues today—and that has featured just about every cultural titan of the last half century.To celebrate the Interview’s 50th anniversary, the editors of Playboy have culled 50 of its most (in)famous Interviews and will publish them over the course of 50 weekdays (from September 4, 2012 to November 12, 2012) via Amazon’s Kindle Direct platform. Here is the interview with the rocker Keith Richards from the October 1989 issue.

    Their text and cameras captured the early punk spirit of Black Flag, the Minutemen, Social Distortion, Red Cross/Redd Kross, Suicidal Tendencies, the Descendents, White Flag, the Last, the Gun Club, Saccharine Trust, Sin 34, Nip Drivers, Circle One, M.D.C., Big Boys, Youth Brigade, D.R.I., the Butthole Surfers, Firehose, and many others at the height of their precocious punk powers.In the process, the duo’s amazing photographs also captured the dilapidated suburbs, abandoned storefronts, and dereliction of the early Reagan era—a rubble-strewn social apocalypse that demanded a youth uprising! Never before seen except in crude fanzine form, these detailed and richly narrative photos are now collected to present an intimate portrayal of a uniquely fertile creative moment.Featuring essays by David Markey, Jordan Schwartz, Jennifer Schwartz, Henry Rollins, Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, Louiche Mayorga, Cameron Jamie, Pat Fear, Steve Humann, Tony Adolescent, Jack Brewer, Jula Bell, Mike Watt, Sean Wheeler, Joe Carducci, Daniel “Shredder” Weizmann, and Janet Housden.

    Writings from pop journalists and historians such as Daniel J. Levitin, John Tobler, Digby Diehl, Ray Coleman, Robert Hilburn, and Lester Bangs provide insight into the music and personalities of the duo who produced such timeless pop music. From serious musical analyses of the Carpenters’ arrangements to lighter pieces in which Karen and Richard discuss dating, cars, and high school, this new edition has been revised and expanded to include nearly a dozen additional pieces, some of which have never been published.

    It also details 10 strategies to incorporate music more intentionally in all our lives – to curb stress, boost morale, and restore health. Combining powerful professional stories, cutting-edge clinical research, and straightforward strategies and exercises that have immediate take-home value, Tune In is an accessible and perspective-shifting read unlike any other that’s been written to date by a music therapist. Tune In provides a roadmap to the incredible ways in which music can help us feel better connected and find wellbeing – even (or especially!) in the darkest and most stressful of times.Intended to help readers from all walks of life learn how to use music to reduce stress, boost morale, and restore health – and when to access a music therapist for optimum benefit. “Music can and does save healthcare dollars, but its effects go far deeper than its monetary value,” says Buchanan. “Tune In is about people and the music-based practices that have worked for them, and gives actual strategies to use at home and at the office. The goal is simple: I want you to feel better, empowered, and uplifted through music!” A useful, enlightening and ear-opening read, Tune In explores:- The “triggering” power of music – to emotional states both good and bad – and how to use this information to your advantage;- Intentional listening: how to find the right tunes, and employ them at the right time in the right way;- What music therapy is, and how working with a music therapist can change your perspective, wellbeing, and life;- Simple, personalized strategies and exercises to get the most out of music.

    High school Halloween parties are different from middle school Halloween parties.

    It's about their adventures in pizza. It's about them discovering the DIY punk community and starting a record label. It's about a lot of other stuff too."

    Over the years, he’s toured with Dos, fIREHOSE, his own The Black Gang, The Secondmen, The Missingmen, and others, and he has worked bass as a sideman for Porno for Pyros, J Mascis and the Fog, as well as punk godfathers The Stooges.Off the road, at his beloved San Pedro, CA home base, Watt developed a deep interest in photography. In Spring 2010, Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica, CA hosted an exhibit of his photos: “Mike Watt: Eye-Gifts from Pedro.” According to Track 16 executive director Laurie Steelink, who curated the exhibit, “He has this knack for finding the early morning sweet spots when venturing out alone on his bike or kayak. The resulting photographs never seem to dry: light, flight, salt, rust, and tide commingle in fiery sunrises, endless heavens, roiling waves and fog.” The photos offer another side of Watt that fans of his punk rock music may not be familiar with: While seemingly serene, many have an underlying tension and that often shows the sharp contrast between industry and nature.In “Mike Watt: On and Off Bass,” photographs that appeared in the exhibit are punctuated by Watt’s poetry and snippets selected from 10 years of his diaries. Watt’s writing is insightful, funny, intimate and honest, as he explores topics like John Coltrane, long hauls and overcoming performance fears. “Mike Watt: On and Off Bass” exposes Watt’s vision as a photographer, diarist and poet, taking its readers on a trip. And when you stop turning the pages of Watt’s story, you start turning the pages of yours, re-ignited.

    Feelgood, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and his own three-piece r'n'b bands.

    The book is written by Dylan Jones who has been given complete access, including behind the scenes at Glastonbury 2011.

    H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a legendary spirit whose rise parallels the revival of the American whiskey industry itself after nearly 30 years of flat sales and discouraged marketers. It is also the story of a small distillery in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, whose fame dates back to the 1750s, and whose final collapse prefaced its famous product's reign. Seemingly the story of a single product, it touches numerous strands of American history and includes a colorful cast of characters, from the whiskey-making Beams, to the giants of the post-Prohibition distilled spirits business, to the mysterious Mr. Hirsch himself. A great product needs a great story, and A. H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey had that in abundance. A one-of-a-kind whiskey, it was only around for about 20 years and is now largely out of circulation, but even now tasting it may not be quite impossible. Charles Cowdery is one of the most acclaimed writers about whiskey and whiskey-making in the United States. The author of Bourbon, Straight; The Uncut And Unfiltered Story Of American Whiskey, he is a Kentucky Colonel and a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.

    It all comes down to music, they were without a doubt the greatest band of the 20th century, and that’s why these photographs are so important. – Harry Benson, 2011 In early 1964, Harry Benson was getting on a plane for a foreign assignment in Africa, when he got a call from his photo editor of London newspaper The Daily Express. He was now going with the Beatles to Paris to document French Beatlemania and what followed was the biggest (ticket to) ride of his life. Benson was warmly welcomed into the Beatles’ inner sanctum, resulting in some of the most intimate photographs ever taken of the band, then on the cusp of world domination. In Paris, he took the iconic photograph of the Fab Four having a pillow fight at the George V hotel; he shot their groundbreaking first visit to the United States, the full impact of New York hysteria, their famous appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, the band in Florida, including their surprising encounter with Cassius Clay; as well as on the set of A Hard Day’s Night. The relationship continued in 1966, including George’s honeymoon in Barbados and their notorious US tour, under the shadow cast by Lennon’s comment that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus Christ.” Benson’s luminous black and white photographs show at close quarters the Beatles composing, performing, encountering their fans, relaxing, and engaging with each other, while trying to cope with their increasingly isolating fame. As well as hundreds of photographs, many previously unseen, there is an introductory essay by Benson as well as quotes and newspaper clippings from the period.Collector’s Edition of 1,764 copies, all numbered and signed by the photographer. Also available in two Art Editions of 100 copies each and coming with a silver gelatin print.

    Amplifiers may look dull to the rest of the world, but to guitarists they are full of mystique, romance, and rockin' sound. And while there are many strong-selling electric guitar histories available, here's the first illustrated history of the electric guitar’s best friend, the amp. World-famous guitar and amp historian Dave Hunter tells the story of 60 of the greatest amps ever built, including classics from Fender, Marshall, Vox, the bizarre EchoSonic that created Elvis' sound, and the ultimate esoteric $75,000+ Dumble amps. The story is illustrated with hundreds of technical photos, rare machines, catalogs, memorabilia, and the amps of the stars, from Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Eric Clapton. This is a book guitarists will drool over.

    Today hip-hop is a global phenomenon, and the sight and sound of DJs mixing and scratching is familiar in every corner of the world. But hip-hop was born in the streets of New York in the 1970s when a handful of teenagers started experimenting with spinning vinyl records on turntables in new ways. Although rapping has become the face of hip-hop, for nearly 40 years the DJ has proven the backbone of the culture. In Groove Music, Katz (an amateur DJ himself) delves into the fascinating world of the DJ, tracing the art of the turntable from its humble beginnings in the Bronx in the 1970s to its meteoric rise to global phenomenon today. Based on extensive interviews with practicing DJs, historical research, and his own personal experience, Katz presents a history of hip-hop from the point of view of the people who invented the genre. Here, DJs step up to discuss a wide range of topics, including the transformation of the turntable from a playback device to an instrument in its own right, the highly charged competitive DJ battles, the game-changing introduction of digital technology, and the complex politics of race and gender in the DJ scene. Exhaustively researched and written with all the verve and energy of hip-hop itself, Groove Music will delight experienced and aspiring DJs, hip-hop fans, and all students or scholars of popular music and culture.

    Pete Seeger: His Life in His Own Words, collects Seeger's letters, notes, published articles, rough drafts, stories and poetry - creating the most intimate picture yet available of Seeger as a musician, an activist and a family man. The book covers the passions, personalities and experiences of a lifetime of struggle - from the pre-WWII labour movement and the Communist Party, to Woody Guthrie, the Civil Rights movement and the struggle against the war in Vietnam. The portrait that emerges is not of a saint, but a flesh-and-blood man, struggling to understand his time and his place.

    RD revolutionized Hindi film music in the 1970s, and with his emphasis on rhythm and beats, this Pied Piper of Hindi film music had young India swinging to his tunes. At the same time, this genius proved his many detractors who criticized him for corrupting popular taste wrong by composing some of the most influential raga-based songs in Hindi cinema and showing an immense comfort with all kinds of music, including Indian folk. RD: The Man, The Music looks at the phenomenon called R.D. Burman and how he changed the way Indians perceived Hindi film music. Through anecdotes and trivia that went into the making of Pancham’s music – the many innovations he introduced, like mixed rhythm patterns, piquant chords and sound mixing – and through interactions with the musicians who were part of RD’s team, the authors create a fascinating portrait of a man who, through his music, continues to thrive, even fifteen years after his death.

    Ludwig van Beethoven's life - its dramas, conflicts, loves and losses, his deafness coupled with continuous health problems, his epic struggle with his sister-in-law for sole custody of her son, his nephew - is played out in his music.Now John Suchet has portrayed the real man behind the music in this compelling biography of a musical genius. He reveals a difficult and complex character, struggling to continue his profession as musician despite increasing deafness, alienating friends with unprovoked outbursts of anger one moment, overwhelming them with excessive kindness and generosity the next, living in a city in almost constant disarray because of war with France.This is not the god-like immortal portrayed in statues and paintings in heroic pose garlanded with laurel leaves. Beethoven may have been one of the greatest artists who ever lived, but he was still a man who had to live among fellow mortals, eat and drink, fall in love, pay his rent. This is the real Beethoven, and Suchet brings him effortlessly to life.'I have loved and performed Beethoven since I was very young and have read a good deal about the life and times of this giant among composers, but John Suchet's infectious enthusiasm and fascination, probing the details behind every step of his life, and turning sensitive sleuth when the facts are less clear, opens new vistas and makes for a gripping and thought-provoking read.' -- Howard Shelley, Pianist and Conductor'John Suchet offers us a fascinating and touchingly human insight into a great figure who has consumed him for decades. By exercising a genuine authority in identifying how Beethoven, the man, manifests himself in our appreciation of the music, Suchet brings an incisive freshness to an extraordinary life. The results in his 'Beethovenia' are always rigorously researched and accompanied by a child-like passion to communicate the composer's true essence.' -- Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music'Beethoven's music continues to form one of the cornerstones of the concert repertoire some 200 years after it was written, and its sheer ingenuity and inventiveness never cease to amaze the perceptive listener. Knowing the context in which it was written can aid our understanding of the music, and every biography of Beethoven's unusual life has something new to say. Although some aspects of his life, such as his deafness, and his great love for his only nephew, are well known, this book also includes many details that are less familiar. John Suchet writes with infectious enthusiasm, and his avoidance of technical detail makes this a biography that can be read and understood by anyone interested in the composer.' -- Professor Barry Cooper, University of Manchester'John Suchet's wonderfully readable biography of Beethoven will give a fresh insight for many people into the happenings behind the music. Beautifully illustrated, it will appeal to the music lover who wants to enhance the experience of listening to some of the greatest music ever written.' --Angela Hewitt, Pianist

    Their fans screamed from the fences as the Fab Four walked across the airport tarmac or into a vast stadium. They wanted to touch the Beatles. They wanted to know the Beatles. Who might help them? One photographer was inside. The young Australian Robert Whitaker had been noticed by Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who then hired him. When Beatlemania exploded, Whitaker was along for the wild ride. He was backstage, he was in the studio, he went to the boys' homes, he became their friend and confidante (He grew particularly close to John). Robert Whitaker fashioned many of the iconic Beatles images, and all his pictures of the band were taken in the period that Beatles fans most like to remember: when they were fab, when they changed our culture. Bob Whitaker-a great photographer, after all-was a friend of LIFE's and made contributions to earlier books on John Lennon and George Harrison. In the months before his death in September 2011, he was collaborating with us on this book, his Beatles magnum opus. In these pages are rarely or never seen photographs and his personal reflections, which add resonance to the images. For those who once wanted to touch the Beatles, wanted to know them, this is an essential document. It is full of vitality. Beatlemania was a crazy, crazy place to be, and it is captured here in all its nutty glory. Then, too, there are the famous Whitaker album covers, including the early drafts of the notorious-and banned-Yesterday and Today jacket. It is LIFE's good fortune, and it will be our readers', that Bob Whitaker talked about all this with us and others through the years. His testimony is that of a proverbial fifth Beatle: He was there, part of the scene. He saw it all, he recorded much of it on film, and he remembered even more. Here, then, is Bob Whitaker's final word on the Beatles-all his best photographs, all his reminiscences. LIFE is proud to bring forth this book. It does what we always try to do-present great photography-and it also pays tribute to a bygone time, a bygone band that we all loved, and a man who was a dear friend.