Book picks similar to
Can You Feel the Silence?: Van Morrison by Clinton Heylin
music
biography
nonfiction
history
Mozart: Requiem of Genius (The True Story of Wolfgang Mozart) (Historical Biographies of Famous People)
Alexander Kennedy - 2016
In this highly readable short biography, Alexander Kennedy brings Mozart and his times vividly to life. Here we see the sweeping grandeur of the courts Mozart visited as a child prodigy, and the grasping desperation of his scheming father. We follow the composer through the flush of his first love up through his marriage to Constanze Weber, and from his first, half-plagiarized concertos to masterpieces like The Magic Flute. We watch Mozart clash with family and friends, with archbishops and emperors, and we feel again the tragedy of his mysterious early death. And above all, we hear his eternal music: music that captivated a continent, defined a genre, and changed the world. “I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings” - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Buy Now to Discover:
A layperson’s explanation of the devices that made Mozart’s music unique.
The complicated relationship between Mozart and his demanding father.
Mozart’s love affair with his cousin Maria Anna Thekla.
The surprising story behind the premiere of La nozze di Figaro.
Mozart’s friendship with fellow master Joseph Haydn.
The most likely cause of Mozart’s young death.
Mozart’s influence on Rossini, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and more.
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Testimony: A Memoir
Robbie Robertson - 2016
But few could have expected that a young Canadian would pen some of the most distinctively American songs, music that seems soaked in the mythology of the Old South. With songs like The Weight, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, and Up on Cripple Creek, Robertson and his partners in The Band fashioned a new popular music lexicon that has endured for decades, influencing countless musicians.In this captivating memoir of The Band's storied career, Robertson weaves together his half-Jewish, half-Mohawk upbringing on the Brantford Six Nations Reserve and in Toronto; his odyssey south at sixteen and rollicking early years on the road with rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins; the slow formation of The Band, their trial-by-fire with Bob Dylan on his 1966 world tour, and the forging of their unique sound. He recounts being catapulted to fame with the success of their groundbreaking debut, and takes us through the astonishing run of albums that culminated in one of history's most famous farewell concerts: the movie The Last Waltz, directed by Martin Scorcese. This is the story of a time and place--the moment when rock 'n' roll became life, when electric blues legends like Muddy Waters and Otis Rush criss-crossed the circuit of clubs and roadhouses from Texas to Toronto. It's the story of exciting change as the world tumbled into the '60s, and figures like Dylan and The Band redefined music and culture, with a little help from sex and drugs. And it's the moving story of the profound friendship between five young men who together created a new kind of popular music.
Paula, Michael and Bob: Everything You Know Is Wrong
Gerry Agar - 2003
When their lives collided, the events that unfolded were too bizarre even for fiction; the very public seduction and intense love affair, the fights, the drugs bust, heartbreaking custody battles, financial deals and the deaths of Paula and Michael were front-page news for months. But the vital facts of the web the lovers wove together were kept secret, and the reasons for their deaths were never clear, even to their family and friends.Only one person was there to witness every aspect of the story - Gerry Agar. A former publicist and Paula's long-term friend, Gerry's life, both personal and professional, became inextricably tied to those of the star-crossed lovers, and to the one who would be left behind.This is the stuff of modern legend; a red-blooded tragedy played out in the merciless glare of the media spotlight. Here are the facts, divulged in painful and deeply moving detail, and told with an intimacy that could only be disclosed by one caught in the centre of the storm. This is Gerry Agar's story of Paula, Michael & Bob.
Got a Revolution!: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane
Jeff Tamarkin - 2003
Their smash hits "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" virtually invented the era's signature pulsating psychedelic music and, during one of the most tumultuous times in American history, came to personify the decade's radical counterculture. In this groundbreaking biography of the band, veteran music writer and historian Jeff Tamarkin produces a portrait of the band like none that has come before it. Having worked closely with Jefferson Airplane for more than a decade, Tamarkin had unprecedented access to the band members, their families, friends, lovers, crew members, fellow musicians, cultural luminaries, even the highest-ranking politicians of the time. More than just a definitive history, Got a Revolution! is a rock legend unto itself. Jann Wenner, editor-in-chief and publisher of Rolling Stone, wrote, "The classic [Jefferson] Airplane lineup were both architects and messengers of a psychedelic age, a liberation of mind and body that profoundly changed American art, politics, and spirituality. It was a renaissance that could only have been born in San Francisco, and the Airplane, more than any other band in town, spread the good news nationwide."
Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed
Howard Sounes - 2015
To his dedicated admirers, however, he was one of the most innovative and intelligent American songwriters of modern times, a natural outsider who lived a tumultuous and tortured life.In this in-depth, meticulously researched and very entertaining biography, respected biographer Howard Sounes examines the life and work of this fascinating man, from birth to death, including his time as the leader of The Velvet Underground - one of the most important bands in rock'n'roll.Written with a deep knowledge and understanding of the music, Sounes also sheds entirely new light on the artist's creative process, his mental health problems, his bisexuality, his three marriages, and his addictions to drugs and alcohol.In the course of his research, Sounes has interviewed over 140 people from every part of Lou Reed's life - some of whom have not spoken publicly about him before - including music industry figures, band members, fellow celebrities, family members, former wives and lovers.This book brings Lou Reed and his world alive.
Queen: The Definitive Biography
Laura Jackson - 2000
Laura Jackson has interviewed members of Queen, many of their close friends, and several of the world's leading rock musicians to turn the spotlight on the private lives, professional struggles and personal triumphs of the band.
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.
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.
Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar
Peter Benjaminson - 2012
Based in part on four hours of previously unreleased and unpublicized deathbed interviews with Wells, this account delves deeply into her rapid rise and long fall as a recording artist, her spectacular romantic and family life, the violent incidents in which she was a participant, and her abuse of drugs. From tumultuous affairs, including one with R&B superstar Jackie Wilson, to a courageous battle with throat cancer that climaxed in her gutsiest performance, this history draws upon years of interviews with Wells’s friends, lovers, and husband to tell the whole story of a woman whose songs crossed the color line and whose voice captivated the Beatles.
Everything Is Combustible
Richard Lloyd - 2017
Lloyd recounts the founding of Television, the band's rise alongside other bands and personalities in the 1970’s New York Music scene, and the legend-making of the unparalleled music venue CBGB. As the rock ‘n’ roll tales unfold, he accompanies them with insights into his approach to music and the electric guitar.Lloyd’s mid-career vignettes detail his solo years, including the backstory of critically praised records such as Alchemy and Field of Fire, his drug addiction and recovery, his 90s-era work, and touring adventures with artists such as Matthew Sweet, John Doe, and Robert Quine. Throughout the book is an undercurrent—Lloyd’s continually evolving spiritual-philosophical approach to life, emerging from the conscious digestion of the highs and the lows—both ends of the same stick.In Everything is Combustible, Richard Lloyd relates his life, both inner and outer, in the narrative style, digging beneath the events and revealing their meanings.Considered a foundational band of alternative rock, Television’s debut record, Marquee Moon, is widely viewed by critics and musicians as one of the greatest albums ever recorded. As one half of Television’s unique guitar sound, and a legendary solo artist in his own right, Richard Lloyd’s music has influenced a range of bands and artists from U2, Johnny Marr and Joy Division to R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Wilco and John Frusciante.
Death of a Rebel: A Biography of Phil Ochs
Marc Eliot - 1979
Altho his recordings were never bestsellers & there were times when he was more greatly appreciated in the UK, Canada & the 3rd World than at home, the late Philip David Ochs was one of the few American folksingers, aside from Woody Guthrie & Bob Dylan, who wrote & performed his own songs. This singing journalist's earliest ballads--championing civil rights, pacifism & revolution, attacking unemployment & US foreign policy--dealt with the romance of politics. Later ones celebrated the politics of romance. Fascinated by night, death, drowning, James Dean & Elvis Presley, Ochs was only 36 when, after surviving an attack in Africa followed by a psychotic break, he hanged himself in 1976. Eliot's sympathetic, powerful biography 1st appeared in paperback in 1979. Newer editions contain an epilog that updates information on Ochs's family & friends, discusses the FBI's 13-year surveillance of him & offers a revised discography.
Michael: My brother, lost boy of INXS
Tina Hutchence - 2018
INXS singer/songwriter Michael Hutchence was the celebrated frontman of a band that was the biggest in the world. Michael's big sister, Tina, adored him from the start. From a twelve-year-old holding him in her arms as a newborn, to being his teenage nanny, Tina remained Michael's trusted confidant until his sudden death. Tina's intimate and detailed telling of her brother's story-from faltering teenager with a lisp to raging rock star-blazes with love and adventure, and includes the acquired brain injury that changed everything for Michael; the risky schemes that saw him named in the Paradise Papers expose of 2017; his secret philanthropy in support of East Timor; and his bliss at the birth of his only child, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily. 'My brother roamed the world with a book in his hand and one in his suitcase,' Tina writes, and throughout Michael a paper trail of the literature he loved gives clues to the man many see as an enigma. A cry from the heart celebrating the 'lost boy of INXS', Michael Hutchence, this personal and heartfelt biography reveals the incredible, rollercoaster life of Australia's most enduring superstar and shares the private moments of an adored brother, son and father.'Lost boy Michael, who was my dear friend, and who is very much missed. All respect and thanks to Tina for sharing these stories and keeping the memory alive.' Simon le Bon, songwriter / singer, Duran Duran
Getting High: The Adventures of Oasis
Paolo Hewitt - 1997
A popular band in both the United States and United Kingdom allows a respected music writer unprecedented access to the tour bus, backstage dressing rooms, and the five members' lives, resulting in an intimate portrait of the controversial group.
George: A Memory of George Michael
Sean Smith - 2017
Sometimes his two worlds would collide with shattering consequences.Bestselling biographer Sean Smith has gone back to the neighbourhoods of North London to trace the astonishing journey of a sensitive but determined boy who grew up to be one of the biggest British pop stars of all time.Along the way, he talks to those close to George, revealing the real man – funny, articulate, intelligent and generous spirited – who hid behind the powerful image he created.He reveals the complex relationship with his high-achieving Greek-Cypriot father; the unconditional love of his mother; his teenage relationships with girls; and his first tragic love affair with another man.George’s career began falteringly with a schoolboy band, exploded with Wham! before he became a solo phenomenon. But at the height of his fame, the world seemed to turn against him. Smith describes his despair at losing the two people who mattered most, how he sought consolation in drugs, his notorious ‘coming out’ and how he ended up in jail.His health failed him and he died heartbreakingly alone on Christmas Day, 2016.Affectionate yet honest and moving, George is both a celebration of George Michael’s music and a lasting tribute to a decent and much-loved man.
Beatles in Their Own Words
Barry Miles - 1978
Features quotes gathered over the years from family, friends and the artists themselves giving the reader a personal insight into their music and world. Fully illustrated throughout with black and white photographs.