White Line Fever: The Autobiography


Lemmy Kilmister - 2002
    This is the story of the heaviest drinking, most oversexed speed freak in the music business.Ian Fraser Kilmister was born on Christmas Eve, 1945. Learning from an early age that chicks really do appreciate a guy with a guitar, and inspired by the music of Elvis and Buddy Holly, Lemmy quickly outgrew his local bands in Wales, choosing instead to head to Manchester to experience everything he could get his hands on. And he never looked back.Lemmy tripped through his early career with the Rocking Vicars, backstage touring with Jimi Hendrix, as a member of Opal Butterflies and Hawkwind. In 1975, he went on to create speed metal and form the legendary band Motorhead.During their twenty-seven-year history, Motorhead has released 21 albums, been nominated for a Grammy, and conquered the rock world with such songs as "Ace of Spades," "Bomber," and "Overkill." Throughout the creation of this impressive discography, the Motorhead lineup has seen many changes, but Lemmy has always been firmly at the helm.White Line Fever, a headbanging tour of the excesses of a man being true to his music and his pleasures, offers a sometimes hilarious, often outrageous, but always highly entertaining ride with the frontman of the loudest rock band in the world.

FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio


Richard Neer - 2001
    Top Forty jocks screamed and yelled and sounded mightier than God on millions of transistor radios. But on FM radio it was all spun out for only you. On a golden web by a master weaver driven by fifty thousand magical watts of crystal clear power . . . before the days of trashy, hedonistic dumbspeak and disposable three-minute ditties . . . in the days where rock lived at many addresses in many cities."–from FMAs a young man, Richard Neer dreamed of landing a job at WNEW in New York–one of the revolutionary FM stations across the country that were changing the face of radio by rejecting strict formatting and letting disc jockeys play whatever they wanted. He felt that when he got there, he’d have made the big time. Little did he know he’d have shaped rock history as well.FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio chronicles the birth, growth, and death of free-form rock-and-roll radio through the stories of the movement’s flagship stations. In the late sixties and early seventies–at stations like KSAN in San Francisco, WBCN in Boston, WMMR in Philadelphia, KMET in Los Angeles, WNEW, and others–disc jockeys became the gatekeepers, critics, and gurus of new music. Jocks like Scott Muni, Vin Scelsa, Jonathan Schwartz, and Neer developed loyal followings and had incredible influence on their listeners and on the early careers of artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Genesis, the Cars, and many others.Full of fascinating firsthand stories, FM documents the commodification of an iconoclastic phenomenon, revealing how counterculture was coopted and consumed by the mainstream. Richard Neer was an eyewitness to, and participant in, this history. FM is the tale of his exhilarating ride.

The Stranglers: Song by Song 1974-1990


Hugh Cornwell - 2002
    Their hits, including Golden Brown, No More Heroes and Always The Sun, were written against a background of spectacular success, dismal failure, drug dependency, financial ruin, infighting and misfortune. Understandably, the band have been loath to reveal the true meaning behind their songs, instead revelling in the mystery and confusion they created. As a response to David Buckley's one-sided biography of the band (No Mercy, Hodder & Stoughton, 1997), Hugh Cornwell, founding member and songwriter, is determined to set the record straight, displace the myths and explain for the first time the real stories behind The Stranglers, his departure and the origins of all their songs.

Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy


Ken Sharp - 2010
    The most acclaimed singer/songwriter of his generation, first a Beatle and then a boundary-pushing solo artist, was senselessly silenced forever at age forty; immediately, his final musical statement, an intimate, pop-infused collection called Double Fantasy, released only weeks before his death, skyrocketed to #1 worldwide, as did its poignantly titled single, "(Just Like) Starting Over." His first studio recording since 1975’s Rock ’n’ Roll—and his first musical endeavor of any kind since taking a much-needed hiatus to raise Sean, his son with Yoko Ono—Double Fantasy represents more than a comeback album to Lennon fans and music critics alike. It captures a cultural icon at the pinnacle of his creative success and personal fulfillment; thirty years later it remains a musical touchstone and an affecting reminder of what could have been.Starting Over is an oral history of the making of Double Fantasy and the definitive account of John Lennon’s last days. From early demos to sessions at New York City’s The Hit Factory, from the electrifying chemistry of the studio band to keeping the project under wraps to the album’s release and critical reception, here is fascinating, insightful commentary from all of the key players involved in its extraordinary creation: Yoko Ono, David Geffen, producer Jack Douglas, engineers, arrangers, session musicians, music journalists, and even Lennon himself via archival interviews.Featuring never-before-seen photos of John and Yoko in the studio, candid images taken by David M. Spindel and Roger Farrington, Starting Over is the essential portrait for anyone who hears both a beginning and ending in the tracks of Double Fantasy.

Party Out of Bounds: The B-52's, R.E.M., and the Kids Who Rocked Athens, Georgia


Rodger Lyle Brown - 1991
    (Music)

Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947-1977


James Miller - 1999
    You just make it up as you go along." Certainly, the history of the plugged-in genre seems more like a mad romp than a logical development. James Miller sets out here to capture the evolution of early R&R as an industry and as a force in American life. Without descending into diatribe or veering towards critical theory, this former Michel Foucault biographer writes about the metamorphosis of casual basement jamming into a sometimes devious multi-million dollar business. Strewn along the way are epiphanies of music history: Bob Dylan turning the Beatles onto marijuana at their first meeting in 1964; Berry Gordy producing his first big hit by instructing Jackie Wilson to imitate Elvis Presley; the less-than-endearing first appearance of the Sex Pistols on British TV. Both literate and unpretentious, Miller catches the frantic surrealism of the rock scene. As Jerry Garcia said, "By comparison, real life is very dull." — Jules Herbert

Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man


Marcus Baram - 2014
    He tantalized audiences with his charismatic stage presence, and his biting, observant lyrics in such singles as "The Bottle" and "Johannesburg" provide a time capsule for a decade marked by turbulence, uncertainty, and racism. While he was exalted by his devoted fans as the “black Bob Dylan” (a term he hated) and widely sampled by the likes of Kanye West, Prince, Common, and Elvis Costello, he never really achieved mainstream success. Yet he maintained a cult following throughout his life, even as he grappled with the personal demons that fueled so many of his lyrics. Scott-Heron performed and occasionally recorded well into his later years, until eventually succumbing to his life-long struggle with addiction. He passed away in 2011, the end to what had become a hermit-like existence.In this biography, Marcus Baram--an acquaintance of Gil Scott-Heron's--will trace the volatile journey of a troubled musical genius. Baram will chart Scott-Heron's musical odyssey, from Chicago to Tennessee to New York: a drug addict's twisted path to redemption and enduring fame. In Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man, Marcus Baram puts the complicated icon into full focus.

The Day the Music Died: The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens


Larry Lehmer - 1997
    Drawing on new documentary information, the author recreates the often grueling conditions of an early rock and roll tour, and provides new facts about "the day the music died." With 50 photos.

Punk: The Whole Story


Mark Blake - 2006
    

The Gospel of Filth: A Bible of Decadence & Darkness


Gavin Baddeley - 2009
    Now Dani Filth and Gavin Baddeley lay bare the fascinating underworld of contemporary culture. Dissecting the Satanic sources that have influenced and informed Cradle of Filth, with a roadmap to every significant landmark in the domains of darkness, including the arcane secrets of Black Magic, via the sex rites of vampirism. Artfully combining Hammer horror style schlock, dripping with eroticism, backed by authentic Black Arts info and a wicked sense of humor, this will dazzle devoted disciples of darkness. Contributors include actor Christopher Lee and Satanist Anton LaVey, to serial killer expert Robert Ressler and necrophile Karen Greenlee.

Sweet Chaos: The Grateful Dead's American Adventure


Carol Brightman - 1998
    Without radio play and virtually unnoticed by the press, the Dead forged a vast underground following whose loyalty survives to the present day. National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author Carol Brightman returns to the band's roots—to Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, the acid tests and the heady days of Haight-Ashbury, the free concerts in Golden Gate Park and the formative shows of New York's Fillmore East—to uncover the secrets of the band's longevity. Drawing on exclusive interviews With band members, staff and crew, Deadheads, other musicians, journalists—and her own experience as a '60s activist—Brightman shows us how, amid the turbulent Free Speech Movement and antiwar rallies, the Grateful Dead's abandonment to music, drugs, and dance offered the faithful a shelter in the storm. Her riveting, in-depth portrait of Jerry Garcia, the "nonleader leader" who held to a vision of the Grateful Dead's destiny even as he recoiled from the juggernaut it became, shows us how it was that a Dead concert become something halfway between a revival meeting and a family reunion. An absorbing and exhilarating exploration, Sweet Chaos offers, at last, a complete understanding of the Dead phenomenon and its place in American culture.

Old Maine Woman: Stories from the Coast to the County


Glenna Johnson Smith - 2010
    The book also includes some of her best fiction pieces.

You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup


Peter Doggett - 2010
    His statement not only marked the end of the band's remarkable career, but also seemed to signal the demise of an era of unprecedented optimism in social history. Though the Beatles' breakup was widely viewed as a cultural tragedy, one of the most fascinating phases of their story was just about to begin. Now, for the first time, You Never Give Me Your Money tells the behind-the-scenes story of the personal rivalries and legal feuds that have dominated the Beatles' lives since 1969. Journalist Peter Doggett charts the Shakespearean battles between Lennon and McCartney, the conflict in George Harrison's life between spirituality and fame, and the struggle with alcoholism that threatened to take Richard Starkey's life. In vivid detail, Doggett also describes the wild mismanagement of the Beatles' fortune staked largely in Apple Corps. You Never Give Me Your Money is a compelling human drama and an equally rich and absorbing story of the Beatles' creative and financial empire, set up to safeguard their interests but destined to control their lives. From tragedy to triumphant reunion, and chart success to courtroom battles, this meticulously researched work tells the previously untold story of a group and a legacy that will never be forgotten.

Face It


Debbie Harry - 2019
    I wasn’t submissive or begging him to come back, I was kicking his ass, kicking him out, kicking my own ass too. My Blondie character was an inflatable doll but with a dark, provocative, aggressive side. I was playing it up, yet I was very serious.’ BRAVE, BEAUTIFUL AND BORN TO BE PUNK DEBBIE HARRY is a musician, actor, activist and the iconic face of New York City cool. As the front-woman of Blondie, she and the band forged a new sound that brought together the worlds of rock, punk, disco, reggae and hip-hop to create some of the most beloved pop songs of all time. As a muse, she collaborated with some of the boldest artists of the past four decades. The scope of Debbie Harry’s impact on our culture has been matched only by her reticence to reveal her rich inner life – until now.In an arresting mix of visceral, soulful storytelling and stunning visuals that includes never-before-seen photographs, bespoke illustrations and fan art installations, Face It upends the standard music memoir while delivering a truly prismatic portrait. With all the grit, grime, and glory recounted in intimate detail, Face It recreates the downtown scene of 1970s New York City, where Blondie played alongside the Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop and David Bowie.Following her path from glorious commercial success to heroin addiction, the near-death of partner Chris Stein, a heart-wrenching bankruptcy, and Blondie’s break-up as a band to her multifaceted acting career in more than thirty films, a stunning solo career and the triumphant return of her band, and her tireless advocacy for the environment and LGBTQ rights, Face It is a cinematic story of a woman who made her own path, and set the standard for a generation of artists who followed in her footsteps – a memoir as dynamic as its subject.

Greetings from E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band


Robert Santelli - 2006
    Written with their cooperation, this fully illustrated informal biography combines rare photographs with 30 removable facsimiles of E Street memorabilia, including Bruce Springsteen's first business card and hand-written set list, and even two fabulous posters. Longtime band intimate Robert Santelli captures the ecstatic highs and devastating lows on the E Street Band's roller coaster ride to stardom. He follows the band from the early days in Asbury Park, New Jersey, to the critical acclaim of Born to Run, the mania of Born in the U.S.A. and international touring, and each member's unique projects. Throughout, the band's signature combination of friendship, humor, and stellar musicianship is revealed in stories, snapshots, and the ephemera of life of the road. Warm and personal, Greetings from E Street is a postcard from the most famous address in rock and roll.