Book picks similar to
The John Lennon Family Album by Yoko Ono
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Beatlesongs
William J. Dowlding - 1989
Drawing together information from sources that include interviews, insider accounts, magazines, and news wire services, this is a complete profile of every Beatles song ever written -- from recording details such as who played which instruments and sang what harmonies to how each song fared on the charts and how other musicians and critics felt about it. Chronologically arranged by U.K. release date, Beatlesongs nails down dates, places, participants, and other intriguing facts in a truly remarkable portrait of the Liverpudlian legends. Behind each song is a story -- like Paul's criticism of George's guitar playing during the Rubber Soul sessions, John's acid trip during the Sgt. Pepper's session, and the selection process for the Revolver album cover. And carefully examined along the way are the Beatles' evolving musical talents, their stormy private lives, and their successful -- and unsuccessful -- collaborations. Beatlesongs is truly an inside look at the Fab Four and a treasure for all their fans.
George Michael: The Life: 1963-2016
Emily Herbert - 2017
He was a giant in the industry and remained so until his death but there was the distinct feeling that his heart wasn’t in it any more.George Michael was raised in a family of Greek Cypriot immigrants in North London. He dreamed of pop stardom and at twelve years-old met Andrew Ridgeley. The two of them went on to achieve stunning success with Wham!, producing joyful hits for pop fans around the world. Nevertheless, Michael wanted more and set about recreating himself as a solo artist. From the get-go, he was keen to do things his way and spent his career fighting for his artistic independence. He railed against the music industry’s desire to relegate him as a sexy pop singer when, in fact, he was a soul singer.Beneath this strong veneer, however, was the shy boy raised within the confines of a conservative and religious family, plagued by insecurity, especially in terms of his own sexuality. He stayed closeted through the height of his career and found himself ensnared in numerous scandals that derailed his success in the United States. Combined with the calamity of losing his first lover to AIDS and his mother to cancer, he was plunged into a lifelong battle with depression and drug addiction. He struggled to find that one stabilizing relationship he desperately craved. Tragically, he died mysteriously and prematurely, at the age of fifty-three, on Christmas Day 2016.In this thoughtful, respectful and riveting remembrance, Emily Herbert looks back on the complicated and complex life of this singular artist, whose music made him the quintessential male pop star of the ‘80s. Filled with George Michael’s own frank opinions, reflections and observations, this book succeeds in reminding us of why he meant so much to so many.
The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock
David Weigel - 2018
Epitomized by such classic, chart-topping bands as Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and Emerson Lake Palmer, along with such successors as Rush, Marillion, Asia, Styx, and Porcupine Tree, prog sold hundreds of millions of records. It brought into the mainstream concept albums, spaced-out cover art, crazy time signatures, multitrack recording, and stagecraft so bombastic it was spoofed in the classic movie This Is Spinal Tap.With a vast knowledge of what Rolling Stone has called “the deliciously decadent genre that the punks failed to kill,” access to key people who made the music, and the passion of a true enthusiast, Washington Post national reporter David Weigel tells the story of prog in all its pomp, creativity, and excess.Weigel explains exactly what was “progressive” about prog rock and how its complexity and experimentalism arose from such precursors as the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper. He traces prog’s popularity from the massive success of Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” and the Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin” in 1967. He reveals how prog’s best-selling, epochal albums were made, including The Dark Side of the Moon, Thick as a Brick, and Tubular Bells. And he explores the rise of new instruments into the prog mix, such as the synthesizer, flute, mellotron, and—famously—the double-neck guitar.The Show That Never Ends is filled with the candid reminiscences of prog’s celebrated musicians. It also features memorable portraits of the vital contributions of producers, empresarios, and technicians such as Richard Branson, Brian Eno, Ahmet Ertegun, and Bob Moog.Ultimately, Weigel defends prog from the enormous derision it has received for a generation, and he reveals the new critical respect and popularity it has achieved in its contemporary resurgence.
The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour
Peter Asher - 2019
He had a front-row seat as they elevated pop music into an art form, and he was present at the creation of some of the most iconic music of our times.Asher is also a talented musician in his own right, with a great ear for what was new and fresh. Once, when Paul McCartney wrote a song that John Lennon didn’t think was right for the Beatles, Asher asked if he could record it. “A World Without Love” became a global No. 1 hit for his duo, Peter & Gordon. A few years later Asher was asked by Paul McCartney to help start Apple Records; the first artist Asher discovered and signed up was a young American singer-songwriter named James Taylor. Before long he would be not only managing and producing Taylor but also (having left Apple and moved to Los Angeles) working with Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Robin Williams, Joni Mitchell, and Cher, among others.The Beatles from A to Zed grows out of his popular radio program “From Me to You” on SiriusXM's The Beatles Channel, where he shares memories and insights about the Fab Four and their music. Here he weaves his reflections into a whimsical alphabetical journey that focuses not only on songs whose titles start with each letter, but also on recurrent themes in the Beatles’ music, the instruments they played, the innovations they pioneered, the artists who influenced them, the key people in their lives, and the cultural events of the time.Few can match Peter Asher for his fresh and personal perspective on the Beatles. And no one is a more congenial and entertaining guide to their music.
Backstage Pass
Paul Stanley - 2019
Paul shows you how you can rock ‘n’ roll all night and party every day—without missing a beat.
Freaky Dancin': Me and the Mondays
Bez - 1998
This is a book that became an instant cult classic.
Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon
Jack Jones - 1992
Offers a chilling, tragic, and frightening portrait of the enigmatic young man who murdered John Lennon in December 1980 and answers many lingering questions about Chapman's motives and the killing itself.
Corn Flakes with John Lennon: And Other Tales from a Rock 'n' Roll Life
Robert Hilburn - 2009
He was the only music critic to visit Folsom Prison with Johnny Cash. He met John Lennon during his lost weekend period in Los Angeles and they became friends. Bob Dylan granted him his only interviews during his "born-again" period and the occasion of his 50th birthday. Michael Jackson invited Hilburn to watch cartoons with him in his bedroom. When Springsteen took to playing only old hits, Hilburn scolded him for turning his legendary concerts into oldies revues, and Springsteen changed his set list.In this totally unique account of the symbiotic relationship between critic and musical artist, Hilburn reflects on the ways in which he has changed and been changed by the subjects he's covered; Bono weighs in with an introduction about how Hilburn's criticism influenced and altered his own development as a musician.Corn Flakes with John Lennon is more than about one man's adventures in rock and roll: It's the gripping and untold story of how popular music reshapes the way we think about the world and helps to define the modern American character.
Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music
John Fogerty - 2015
Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the most important and beloved bands in the history of rock, and John Fogerty wrote, sang, and produced their instantly recognizable classics: "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Born on the Bayou," and more. Now he reveals how he brought CCR to number one in the world, eclipsing even the Beatles in 1969. By the next year, though, Creedence was falling apart; their amazing, enduring success exploded and faded in just a few short years. Fortunate Son takes readers from Fogerty's Northern California roots, through Creedence's success and the retreat from music and public life, to his hard-won revival as a solo artist who finally found love.
Love Me Do!: The Beatles' Progress
Michael Braun - 1964
John, Paul, George and Ringo celebrate their new found success with a hectic six-week tour, briefly interrupted by an historic live appearance at the "Royal Variety Performance" at the London Palladium. This is the beginning of "Beatlemania" and American writer, Mike Braun, is there to chronicle events and watch as the drama unfolds. A year later, The Beatles are the world's biggest pop group. This book details what really happened in those first magic weeks.
Rock Stars Stole My Life!
Mark Ellen - 2014
He dreamt that music was a rich meadow of possibility, a liberating leap to a sparkling future, an industry of human happiness - and he wanted to be part of it. Thus began his 50-year love affair with rock and roll. From his time at the NME and Smash Hits to Radio One, Old Grey Whistle Test, Live Aid, Q, Select, Mojo and The Word magazines, he's been at the molten core of its evolution, and watched its key figures from a unique perspective. This funny and touching personal memoir maps out his eventful journey. It tells stories and settles scores. It charts the peaks and disappointments. It flags up surprising heroes and barbecues the dull and self-deluded. It puts a chaotic world to rights and pours petrol on the embers of a glorious industry now in spiralling decline.
Dancing with Demons: The Authorized Biography of Dusty Springfield
Penny Valentine - 2000
Her signature voice made songs such as, "I Only Want to Be With You," "Son of A Preacher Man," and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," international hits. In Dancing With Demons, two of her closest friends, Valentine and Wickham, capture, with vivid memories and personal anecdotes, a Dusty most people never glimpsed in this no-holds-barred yet touching portrait of one of the world's true grand dames of popular music.
Two Times Intro: On the Road with Patti Smith
Michael Stipe - 1998
Offers a behind-the scenes, photographic look at a 1996 concert tour with the legendary Patti Smith, presenting more than one hundred images that capture life on the road with the artist.
Miles Davis: The Playboy Interview
Miles Davis - 2012
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.
Ronnie
Ron Wood - 2007
This is his story, in his own words, about his life, loves, family, friends, music, art and survival against the odds. It's a roller-coaster ride of unbelievable highs and unimaginable lows.