Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece


Michael Streissguth - 2004
    The concert and the live album, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, propelled him to worldwide superstardom. He reached new audiences, ignited tremendous growth in the country music industry, and connected with fans in a way no other artist has before or since.Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is a riveting account of that day, what led to it, and what came after. Scrupulously researched, rich with the author's unprecedented access to Folsom Prison's and Columbia Records' archives, illustrated with more than 100 photos, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison shows how Johnny Cash forever became a champion of the downtrodden, as well as one of the more enduring forces in American music.

A Pianist's A–Z: A piano lover's reader


Alfred Brendel - 2012
    This reader for lovers of the piano distils his musical and linguistic eloquence and vast knowledge, and will prove invaluable to anyone with an interest in the technique, history and repertoire of the piano. Erudite, witty, enlightening and deeply personal, A Pianist's A to Z is the ideal book for all piano lovers, musicians and music aficionados: rarely has the instrument been described in such an entertaining and intelligent fashion.

Still Whispering After All These Years: My Autobiography


Bob Harris - 2015
    He continues to be a household name today and his velvety voice can be heard on Radio 2's The Bob Harris Show and Bob Harris Country. In this fully revised and updated autobiography, with a forward by Robert Plant, Bob tells his story of over 40 years of broadcasting with the BBC, from the young, passionate music fan who moved to London determined to make music his life, to being presented with an OBE for his services to music broadcasting. Much like his musical heroes, Bob's personal life has had somewhat of a rock 'n' roll vibe: he has been married three times, gone bankrupt, fought cancer, weathered a very public spat with a fellow DJ and has had to revamp his career four times. Throughout all these times, however, his love of music and talent for broadcasting has endured. The Whispering Years is a frank, vibrant and inspiring tale of one of the most influential names on the radio and reveals the story of the man behind the voice.

Are You Morbid?


Thomas Gabriel Fischer - 2000
    This book is Celtic Frost's official history written by the front-man, Thomas Gabriel Fischer, who describes his story as full of facts and anecdotes, some unflattering, many trashy, some embarassing, many senselessly funny but all putting right the band's reported notoriety.

His Christmas Package


Bella Love-Wins - 2016
    As a tight end, I rise to the occasion just like the best of them...and then some. I have a reputation with the hot little college chicks, and my package does too. There's just one problem. Holly Snow. She's the rebellious firecracker of a wildcat, living it up in her senior year, and now she's fixing to find out firsthand if all the rumors are true. Oh, and she's the daughter of my head coach. Holly shows up at a party a few days before thanksgiving, and one thing leads to another. Next thing I know, we're way too close. I know better than to look in her direction. I don't even like the holidays. Dating her is as dangerous as it gets for me, on and off the football field. But hell, I live for danger. Holly Snow I'm wild and mouthy, but I have my head in the game. I worked hard, put in my time, and waited until senior year of college to let loose. My future is set. At least I thought so until I got dirty with Carver Johnson, the arrogant jock with the filthy mouth. His touch alone ignites my skin and leaves me breathless...never mind that the rumors are not just true, they're understated. Daddy still thinks I'm a good girl. Boy, is he wrong. It's going to take a holiday miracle to keep a scandalous secret under wraps. *Author's notes. - His Christmas Package is a full-length, standalone holiday story with a HEA ending and no cliffhanger. This story is light on football and heavy on steamy romance. - Lance Jones Tattoo Model, image photography by SC-Photo (Shelton Cole)

The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah"


Alan Light - 2012
    An adored, tragic interpreter. An uncomplicated, memorable melody. Ambiguous, evocative words. Faith and uncertainty. Pain and pleasure.” Today, “Hallelujah” is one of the most-performed rock songs in history. It has become a staple of movies and television shows as diverse as Shrek and The West Wing, of tribute videos and telethons. It has been covered by hundreds of artists, including Bob Dylan, U2, Justin Timberlake, and k.d. lang, and it is played every year at countless events—both sacred and secular—around the world.Yet when music legend Leonard Cohen first wrote and recorded “Hallelujah,” it was for an album rejected by his longtime record label. Ten years later, charismatic newcomer Jeff Buckley reimagined the song for his much-anticipated debut album, Grace. Three years after that, Buckley would be dead, his album largely unknown, and “Hallelujah” still unreleased as a single. After two such commercially disappointing outings, how did one obscure song become an international anthem for human triumph and tragedy, a song each successive generation seems to feel they have discovered and claimed as uniquely their own?Through in-depth interviews with its interpreters and the key figures who were actually there for its original recordings, acclaimed music journalist Alan Light follows the improbable journey of “Hallelujah” straight to the heart of popular culture. The Holy or the Broken gives insight into how great songs come to be, how they come to be listened to, and how they can be forever reinterpreted.

The Rolling Stone Interviews


Joe Levy - 1971
    The greatest interviews with the greatest rock stars, movie stars, and cultural icons -- uncensored and unfiltered -- are published together in one remarkable volume in celebration of Rolling Stones 40th anniversary.

The Lives of the Great Composers


Harold C. Schonberg - 1970
    Music, the author contends, is a continually evolving art, and all geniuses, unique as they are, were influenced by their predecessors. Schonberg discusses the lives and works of the foremost figures in classical music, among them Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, the Schumanns, Copland, and Stravinsky, weaving a fabric rich in detail and anecdote. He also includes the creators of light music, such as Gilbert and Sullivan and the Strausses.Schonberg has extended the volume's coverage to provide informative and clearly written descriptions of the later serialists such as Stockhausen and Carter, the iconoclastic John Cage, the individualistic Messiaen, minimalist composers, the new tonalists, and women composers of all eras, including Mendelssohn Hensel, Chaminade, Smyth, Beach, and Zwilich. Scattered throughout are many changes and additions reflecting musicological findings of the past fifteen years.

Pocket Bowie Wisdom: Witty Quotes and Wise Words from David Bowie


Hardie Grant Books - 2016
    A collection of some of Bowie's most famous and insightful words that will continue to inspire gener....

This is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco


Garry Mulholland - 2002
    Along with that song, every one of these singles helped reshape the culture’s style, language, and performance. This is the story of how music and the world change, how bands reach a peak and dominate the scene briefly before fading away, and about the undeniable power of certain songs (Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” for example). Here are punk and grunge, disco and rock, funk and electronica, rap and hip-hop. Every incisive, illuminating, and outspokenessay defies the accepted view of music journalism. From Elvis Costello’s “Alison” and The Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” to Bjork’s “Hyperballad” and Missy Elliot’s “The Rain”, it’s a truly provocative read.

Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota


Chuck Klosterman - 2001
    With a voice like Ace Frehley's guitar, Klosterman hacks his way through hair-band history, beginning with that fateful day in 1983 when his older brother brought home Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. The fifth-grade Chuck wasn't quite ready to rock -- his hair was too short and his farm was too quiet -- but he still found a way to bang his nappy little head. Before the journey was over, he would slow-dance to Poison, sleep innocently beneath satanic pentagrams, lust for Lita Ford, and get ridiculously intellectual about Guns N' Roses. C'mon and feel his noize.

Guerrilla Home Recording: How to Get Great Sound from Any Studio {No Matter How Weird or Cheap Your Gear Is}


Karl Coryat - 2004
    The revised edition is updated with a greater focus on digital recording techniques, the most powerful tools available to the home recordist. There are chapters devoted to instrument recording, humanizing drum patterns, mixing with plug-ins and virtual consoles, and a new section on using digital audio skills. And since, many true "Guerrillas" still record to analog tape, we have retained the best of that world. This edition features many more graphics than in the original edition, further enforcing Guerrilla Home Recording's reputation as the most readable, user-frienly recording title on the market.

Audition Success


Don Greene - 1998
    Combining specially designed self-tests and real-life examples from the careers of two performers, Audition Success will help performers understand what prevents them from nailing an audition and give them the tools to reach their goals.

Guitar Aerobics: A 52-Week, One-lick-per-day Workout Program for Developing, Improving and Maintaining Guitar Technique


Troy Nelson - 2007
    The guitar exercises cover several musical styles including rock, blues, jazz, metal, country, and funk. Techniques taught include alternate picking, arpeggios, sweep picking, string skipping, legato, string bending, and rhythm guitar. These exercises will increase your speed and improve your dexterity and pick- and fret-hand accuracy the more you practice them. The accompanying CD includes all 365 workout licks plus play-along grooves in every style at eight different metronome settings.

All I Want For Christmas


Sheila Roberts - 2011
    People come from all over to admire her house and meet “Suzi Christmas”. Well, almost everyone. Luke Potter does not have the holiday spirit. He doesn’t want it either, and is determined to put an end to Suzi Christmas’s fun before she can drive away any more of his renters. And if it takes going in on a lawsuit with his grumpy godfather, so be it. Until a practical joke by his brother gives him a chance to meet Suzi herself under false pretenses. Suddenly the season is merry and bright. Masquerading as Nicholas Claus, Luke has a chance to grow a heart and maybe find love with Susan. But what will happen when she finds out that Nick is really Luke, the man who’s out to shut her down and kill Christmas? Debbie Macomber fans will enjoy this classic Sheila Roberts Christmas romance.