Musicians, singers, bands and groups Books

Book Synopsis Being the child of a global superstar is never easy. Being the daughter of the Godfather of Soul—that’s a category unto itself.Like every little girl, Yamma Brown wanted her father’s attention, but fame, drugs, jail, and the complicated women in James Brown’s life set the stage for an uncommon childhood. Cold Sweat is about how Yamma rose to meet every challenge. Though packed with celebrity appearances ranging from Michael Jackson to Al Sharpton, Cold Sweat is not just a celebrity book. It focuses on an everyday issue faced by millions of women—domestic violence—and in this book Yamma faces it in an honest and powerfully moving way. Dealing with a complex and famous father eventually took a backseat to coping with her own abusive and deceitful marriage. Cold Sweat is about how Yamma got caught in the same trap as her mother, doing things in her adult life that, as a child, she’d promised herself she’d never do. But at the same time, Yamma learned valuable lessons about life from her father. The struggles she went through, both as a child and as an adult, make for a gripping read and, in the end, a profound examination of the nature of celebrity, violence, and survival.Trade Review"Cold Sweat brought tears to my eyes as I read the powerful story of Yamma's journey. James Brown carried the gift of music that comes from God but also the burden of a life lived on the mountaintop. This book makes the price he paid all too clear." MC Hammer"This is a provocative, painful, and open book by Yamma Brown, whom I have known all her life as the daughter of a truly historic and incomparably influential figure. The world knew James Brown as a Godfather. Yamma knew him as a father. The good and the bad that she shared does not dim at the brightness of the greatness of James Brown." Rev. Al Sharpton"Yamma's riveting book sent chills down my spine, as I understand the experience of having to share a parent with the world. Her relationship with her father reveals insights into the depths of his spirit, and her profound perspective is a viewpoint unlike anyone else's." Maryum "May May" Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali"A heartwarming and authentic account of growing up the daughter of a true music legend. So well written and engaging that it should be required reading in all schools of music." Cathy Hughes, founder, Radio One"A raw and honest depiction of life behind the shadow of Yamma Brown's iconic father. This is a must read. I am truly honored to know Yamma and so proud of the bravery she's shown by sharing her story." Heather Hayes, daughter of Isaac Hayes

Read more less

Book SynopsisMaceo Parker’s signature style became the lynchpin of James Brown's band when he and his brother Melvin joined the Hardest Working Man in Show Business in 1964. That style helped define Brown’s brand of funk, and the phrase “Maceo, I want you to blow!” became part of the lexicon of black music. He took time off from James Brown to play with George Clinton’s P-funk collective and with Bootsy’s Rubber Band; he also formed his own band, Maceo and All the King’s Men, whose records are cult favorites among funk aficionados. Here Maceo tells his own warm and astonishing story, from his Southern upbringing to his career touring the world and playing to adoring fans. Maceo has long called his approach to the saxophone “2% jazz, 98% funky stuff.” Now, on the eve of Maceo’s 70th birthday, in prose as lively and funky as his saxophone playing, here is the definitive story of one of the funkiest musicians alive.Trade Review"An important addition to any library of black music biographies." -- DownBeat"A breezy, anecdotal memoir by the funky saxophonist who reveals himself to be an uncommonly decent man." -- Kirkus Reviews"A remarkably unassuming, even-tempered account from a true funk icon." --EntertainmentWeekly.com"Hipper than most 20-year-olds, [Parker] has more soul in his little finger than a roomful of Boyz II Men." Oakland Tribune"Parker talks with his sax, chatters away without a seeming care. It's a musical antidepressant, an antidote to dark days." San Diego Reader"Those familiar with Parker's work as a world-class saxophonist will enjoy getting to know him a little better. If you're not a fan, this will give you plenty of new music to dig into." Music Tomes

Read more less

Book SynopsisDancing Barefoot is the full and true story of Patti Smith, widely acknowledged as one of the most significant American artists of the rock ’n’ roll era, a performer whose audience and appeal reach far beyond the parameters of rock. An acclaimed poet, a respected artist, and a figurehead for many liberal political causes, Patti Smith soared from an ugly-duckling childhood in postwar New Jersey to become queen of the New York arts scene in the 1970s. This book traces the brilliant trajectory of her career, including the fifteen reclusive years she spent in Detroit in the 1980s and ’90s, as well as her triumphant return to New York. But it is primarily the story of a performer growing up in New York City in the early and mid-1970s.Dancing Barefoot is a measured, accurate, and enthusiastic account of Smith’s career. Guided by interviews with those who have known her—including Ivan Kral, Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, John Cale, and Jim Carroll—it relies most of all on Patti’s own words. This is Patti’s story, told as she might have seen it, had she been on the outside looking in.Trade Review"Dave Thompson knows how to tell a gripping, carefully researched story. This one is about a young woman from the swamps of New Jersey who became an artist's muse, then a rock star, then a wife and mother, then an award-winning author, and--most importantly--one of the major American poetic champions of her generation." -- Stephen Davis , author of Hammer of the Gods and Walk This Way"A commendable, enlightening portrait of a notoriously private person, a book that dovetails nicely with Smith's 2010 memoir Just Kids." Detroit Metro Times"Dancing Barefoot captures the energy of a time before punk rock hardened into a definition." Shepherd Express

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Who were a mass of contradictions. They brought intellect to rock but were the darlings of punks. They were the quintessential studio act yet were also the greatest live attraction in the world. They perfectly meshed on stage and displayed a complete lack of personal chemistry offstage.Along with great live shows and supreme audio experiences, the Who provided great copy. During the 1960s and ’70s, Pete Townshend, messianic about contemporary popular music and its central importance in the lives of young people, gave sprawling interviews in which he alternately celebrated and deplored what he saw in the “scene.” Several of these interviews have come to be considered classic documents of the age. Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle joined in. Even when the Who were non-operational or past their peak, their interviews continued to be compelling: changes in allegiances and social mores left the band members freer to talk about sex, drug-taking, business, and in-fighting.By collecting interviews with Who members from across fi ve decades, conducted by the greatest rock writers of their generation—Barry Miles, Jonathan Cott, Charles Shaar Murray, John Swenson, and Greil Marcus among them—The Who on The Who provides the full, fractious story of a fascinating band.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMore than seven years after his death, Michael Jackson continues to fascinate the world. Shana Mangatal was one of Jackson’s constant and true rocks of stability for nearly two decades. Their relationship was quiet and sweet and real—a closely guarded secret known only to a few trusted employees and friends. Shana is now coming forward to tell their love story. Sometimes strange, sometimes surprising, always fascinating, this is the story that Jackson fans have been waiting for.During her seven years working for Michael’s personal manager during the prolific period of the 1990s, Shana witnessed the scandals and the lawsuits, the release of groundbreaking albums and the subsequent world tours, the making of big-budget short films, and the addictions. It was through this business relationship that their trust and love for each other grew. Shana kept a meticulous diary throughout it all. Her story is rich with every little detail. Michael and Me entertains and inspires, but above all, Shana continues to treat Michael (and his legacy) with respect. This is not an exploitative tell-all but rather a book that shows the side of Michael people never knew. In it, Shana paints a more intimate picture of this beloved yet very misunderstood man.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisLou Reed made it his mission to rub people the wrong way, whether it was with the noise rock he produced with the Velvet Underground in the late 1960s or his polarizing work with Metallica that would prove to be his swan song. On a personal level, too, he seemed to take pleasure in insulting everyone who crossed his path. How did this Jewish boy from Long Island, an adolescent doo-wop singer, rise to the status of Godfather of Punk? And how did he maintain that status for decades?Dirty Blvd.—the first new biography of Reed since his death in 2013—digs deep to answer those questions. And along the way it shows us the tender side of his prickly personality.Born in Brooklyn, Reed was the son of an accountant and a former beauty queen, but he took the road less traveled, trading literary promise for an entry-level job as a budget-label songwriter and founding the Velvet Underground under the aegis of Andy Warhol. The cult of personality surrounding his transformation from downtown agent provocateur to Phantom of Rock and finally to patron saint of the avant-garde was legendary, but there was more to his artistic evolution than his abrasive public persona. The lives of many American rock stars have had no second act, but Reed’s did.Dirty Blvd. not only covers the highlights of Reed’s career but also explores lesser-known facets of his work, such as his first recordings with doo-wop group the Jades, his key literary influences and the impact of Judaism upon his work, and his engagement with the LGBT movement. Drawing from new interviews with many of his artistic collaborators, friends, and romantic partners, as well as from archival material, concert footage, and unreleased bootlegs of live performances, author Aidan Levy paints an intimate portrait of the notoriously uncompromising rock poet who wrote “Heroin,” “Sweet Jane,” “Walk on the Wild Side,” and “Street Hassle”—songs that transcended their genre and established Lou Reed as one of the most influential and enigmatic American artists of the past half-century.Trade Review"Reading Aidan Levy's Dirty Blvd. is like rolling down lower Broadway after a tickertape parade, a nocturne for Lou Reed piled high with twinkling treasures, dark skeins of insight, and drifts of American excess. It's a night of a thousand eyes, a book of deep focus, peering with the rapt intent of a biography and the empathy of a memoir. Born of Jewish parents who hoped to assimilate, Lou was a man who could not. From shock treatment he lunged into shock-rock, singing and living like a rat poet caught in a trap. Levy finds it all on this boulevard, searching for Lou's art with his own heart where it clearly still lives and breathes. And if, as Lou's life-mate said with his parting, we die a final death the last time someone utters our name, then Levy has done his part to keep that name forever on our lips. A startling, beautiful and defiant literary debut. Rock this book!" Stephen Molton, screenwriter, producer, professor and author, Brave Talk and Brothers in Arms: The Kennedys, the Castros, and the Politics of Murder , co-written with Gus Russo"Lou Reed was much more than 'Walk on the Wild Side' and glam rock. He was the voice of the disaffected and the disenchanted, the scourge of comfort and convention, the enfant terrible of literary rock, and, very often, one of the great tender-hearted poets of New York City. Aidan Levy shines a light into unexamined corners of this singular life and enlarges our sense of his subject's spiky unforgettable character." Peter Blauner, bestselling author, Slipping into Darkness and Slow Motion Riot"A valuable study of Reed, further cementing his totemic influence as the high priest of art rock." Kirkus Reviews"This skillfully written and respectful biography takes us through Reed's life and career . . . . Levy has produced an informative and insightful look at a rock star and songwriter whose work always cut a little deeper than that of his peers." Booklist"Levy does a splendid job debunking the myths surrounding the musician . . . . this study is about as close to a must-read book on Reed as one can get." Library Journal"In the first major biography of Reed since his 2013 death and subsequent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Levy throws a literary lasso on the many facets of his career." Houston Press

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Clash thought they could change the world. They never did, but they created some of the greatest rock music of all time in the attempt.Clash interviews were mesmerizing. Infused with the messianic spirit of punk, the Clash engaged with the press like no rock group before or since, treating interviews almost as addresses to the nation. Their pronouncements were welcomed but were hardly uncritically reported. The Clash’s back pages are voluminous, crackle with controversy, and constitute a snapshot of a uniquely thoughtful and fractious period in modern history. Included in this compendium are the Clash’s encounters with the most brilliant music writers of their time, including Lester Bangs, Nick Kent, Mikal Gilmore, Chris Salewicz, Charles Shaar Murray, Mick Farren, Kris Needs, and Lenny Kaye.Whether it be their audience with the (mainly) simpatico likes of punk fanzine Sniffin’ Glue, their testy encounters with the correspondents of pious UK weeklies like New Musical Express, Melody Maker, and Sounds, or their friendlier but no less eyebrow-raising conversations with US periodicals like Creem and Rolling Stone, the Clash consistently created copy that lived up to their sobriquet “The Only Band That Matters.”Trade Review" The Clash on The Clash returns to the heady days of '77, and confirms that the only English band that mattered made music, politics, and commerce matter like few others. Sean Egan's excellent collection of interviews ranges from the early days to the aftermath, from the dubious recollections of original guitarist Keith Levene to expanded versions of Egan's own 21st century interviews with the band members. Lester Bangs's 16,000-word love letter to the Clash is a real gem. Guttersnipes rejoice!" Randal Doane, author of Stealing All Transmissions: A Secret History of The Clash"A bright garland of well-selected interviews strung out across the saw-toothed time-line of one of the most truthfulas well as one of the most self-deceptivebands of all time. . . . What you have assembled here is the true and authentic voice of Radio Clash." Mike Laye, Clash photographer"Throughout, Egan's excellent annotations provide context and structure to the interviews and articles. Fans of music from the original punk rock era will enjoy this title." Library Journal

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt has been said that the records of singer and actress Julie London were purchased for their provocative, full-color cover photographs as frequently as they were for the music contained in their grooves. During the 1950s and ’60s, her piercing blue eyes, strawberry blonde hair, and shapely figure were used to sell the world an image of cool sexuality.The contrast between image and reality, the public and the private, is at the heart of Julie London’s story. Through years of research; extensive interviews with family, friends, and musical associates; and access to rarely seen or heard archival material, author Michael Owen reveals the impact of her image on the direction of her career and how it influenced the choices she made, including the ultimate decision to walk away from performing.Go Slow follows Julie London’s life and career through its many stages: her transformation from 1940s movie starlet to coolly defiant singer of the classic torch ballad “Cry Me a River” of the ’50s, and her journey from Las Vegas hotel entertainer during the rock ’n’ roll revolution of the ’60s to the no-nonsense nurse of the ’70s hit television series Emergency!Trade Review"Beautifully crafted and stunningly researched, this entertaining biography of Julie London reminds us why she matters, now and for always. It is a great read!" Michael Feinstein, singer" Go Slow offers us a long-awaited, highly detailed look at a neglected jazz and pop singer who has always been worthy of greater recognition and attention. The author provides lots of new information and historical context, while, to his credit, resisting the temptation to make outrageous claims for his subject. I learned a lot that I didn't know and it made me want to hear more." Will Friedwald, author of Stardust Melodies and Sinatra! The Song Is You"Michael Owen tells the unique story of a singular talent and reluctant celebrity with dispassionate appreciation, weaving personal life and professional history into the tale of a woman who was steadfast in her personal passions and career path without the ego and ambition that drives so many other singers and actors. Neither sycophant nor assassin, Owen deftly chronicles Julie London's life with both empathy and objectivity." Michael Cuscuna, record producer, writer, and discographer" Go Slow is a sensitive, informative biography, inviting the reader to discover Julie London's unique and solitary contribution to the history of American music. With an ear for tone and an eye for story, Michael Owen leads us seamlessly through a life fashioned for style, revealing an instinctive range where just enough sound can occupy a space, exploiting every lyrical nuance along the way. As Go Slow discloses, through years of struggle and turmoil, an irony was born that would further distill some of Julie's finest work as an interpreter of popular song. Esteemed jazz vocalists and musicians loved and respected her. A generous spirit to her family and friends, Julie London was one grand dame and there will never be anyone like her. Thanks to Michael Owen, we begin to understand why." Kevin Tighe, actor, Emergency!"An affectionate and complex portrait of London that will help rekindle an interest in her life and work." Kirkus Reviews"The book offers an intimate look at her memorable public career and the sharp contrasts of her private life." Discover Hollywood"Michael Owen has written an interesting book that fans of London or people interested in the popular culture of the 1950s will want to read." All About Jazz"Owen's fascinating, clear-eyed portrait examines her work and looks at her decision to walk away from show business in the '70s, as well as her apparent indifference to her career." The Arizona Republic

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisBuck Owens was the top-selling country act of the 1960s, with more than thirty top ten singles and fifteen consecutive #1 hits. Inventor of the Bakersfield Sound, he was hugely popular not only with country fans but with rock fans too. The Beatles covered his songs; Gram Parsons idolized him; the Grateful Dead loved him. At least six marriages, several TV shows, and a publishing and media empire followed. And a number of current country stars, ranging from Dwight Yoakam to Marty Stuart, cite him as a major influence.Yet never before has there been a book about Buck Owens. And the man that emerges from its pages is the polar opposite of the aw-shucks image he cultivated on Hee-Haw. A tight-fisted control freak with an outsized appetite for sex, Owens could be genial at one moment and ruthlessly cruel the next. Buck Owens chronicles his rise from poverty as the son of a tenant farmer to one of the nation’s best-loved entertainers, worth at least $100 million when he died. It also reveals for the first time the circumstances surrounding the death of his bandleader, Don Rich. It is authoritative, counting among its myriad sources seven Buckaroos, the cohost and producer of Hee Haw, a former president and vice president of Capitol Records, numerous country singers, relatives, wives, lovers, and employees. This biography paints an unprecedented portrait of not only country’s biggest star of the ’60s, but perhaps its biggest son of a bitch.Trade Review"While Sisk reveals amazing details like the time Owens convinced a sheriff to deputize two of his crew so they could carry guns, and lurid episodes like sharing women with his bandmates, many of these stories are brief and to the point. . . . This is great for hard-core fans. . . . Because Sisk provides a more honest portrait of a country legend, her book is essential for readers interested in cultural musicology." -- Library Journal"Hold on to your hats, country fans. This well-researched examination of the late 'Hee Haw' co-host and honky-tonk hit maker doesn't tiptoe around the minefields. If you're in the mood for an explosive, warts-and-all examination of Owens' life, loves and career, this wild, eye-opening ride will really blow off your barn doors." -- American Profile"The impeccable detail and research make [this book] very readable." -- Detroit Metro Times"Meticulously researched and well-written." -- Sing Out"Eileen Sisk's fascinating but unsympathetic bio shreds the veil of secrecy surrounding the brilliant though tormented Owens to reveal a master manipulator with a heart of stone." --John Lomax III, author and former manager of Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle"Buck was one of the kings of country music but also a complicated man. This biography tells why." --Michael Streissguth, author, Johnny Cash: The Biography"Sisk captures the real Buck. I knew him. I experienced the weird weaknesses. I witnessed the anger. [Sisk] is a tremendous writer. She has the guts, she has the 'perfect subject,' and she's overstocked with talent. Her book is dynamite--a masterpiece, a sure-fire winner." --Bill Mack, host of Country Crossroads"This biography should be required reading for any serious country music fan. Meticulously researched, it is the revealing saga of one of the genre's most flamboyant stars." --Patsi Bale Cox, author, The Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country's Big Boom

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt was 1967. Judy Huddleston’s parents had just gotten divorced, and she spent her last year of high school attending Doors concerts. Transformed from a perceptive child into a rebellious teenager bent on attracting boys and fueled by psychedelics, she had lost her sense of self. Then Jim Morrison came into her life. Love Him Madly chronicles Judy’s four-year relationship with the singer. Honest and funny, written in the idealistic but jaded voice of a teenager, this intensely intimate memoir is a cautionary tale about sex, codependence, and misplaced spirituality. It also provides a direct and unprecedented view of a late-1960s Los Angeles subculture, an emotional portrayal of a sexual relationship with a man whose demons haunted everyone he knew, and a vivid portrait of Jim Morrison as a complex human being. A balanced portrait of an unbalanced relationship, Love Him Madly is an intense, moving, and poetic journey through one teenage girl’s unforgettable fall from innocence.Trade Review"A poignant true story about a unique love affair, intimately told and wonderfully written, involving the legendary Jim Morrison." -- John Rechy , author of "City of Night""Judy Huddleston's dreamy, provocative memoir is about the emptiness and desperation so many of us feel when we're young. It's about that universal desire for meaning, for the world to be more whole and colorful than it ever manages to be, and how Huddleston wrapped all that desire and hope into this one, equally troubled and desperate man: Jim Morrison." -- Kerry Cohen , author of "Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity""Jim Morrison's life is well documented, but Love Him Madly delves into the profound personal cost of standing too close to such an incandescent and unpredictable flame. . . . Huddleston's urgent and compelling prose plunge the reader inside the maelstrom of late-1960s L.A. and that beautiful, self-destructive genius." -- Sue William Silverman , author of "Love Sick: One Woman's Journey through Sexual Addiction""Compelling reading. It was really difficult to put down this book as the story of fragile obsession unfolded." -- Pattie Boyd , author of "Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton & Me"

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe iconic life and career of the famed guitarist of the Rolling Stones is detailed in this compilation of interviews that spans the last 50 years. Featuring articles from GQ, Melody Maker, and Rolling Stone, as well as interviews that have never previously appeared in print, it charts Keith Richards’s journey from gauche, young pretender and swaggering epitome of the zeitgeist to beloved elder statesman of rock. Initially overshadowed by band mates Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, Richards gained popularity as half of the second-most important songwriting team of the 1960s, and in 1967 the drug bust at his house and his subsequent trial and imprisonment made him a household name. His interviews match his outlaw image: free of banality and euphemism, they revel in frank stories of drugs and debauchery. Yet they also reveal an unexpectedly warm, unpretentious, articulate, and honest man. This collection amply illustrates the magic and charm of Keith Richards.Trade ReviewAll of the infamous incidents are covered—Brian Jones’ drowning death, Richards’ 1967 drug bust and subsequent jail time, the violence at Altamont, and Richards’ public feuding with Mick Jagger, most notably after Mick's knighthood. But what also comes through is his still-burning admiration for the Chicago blues musicians who were his greatest influence and his wariness of fame. Great reading for Stones’ fans."—Booklist“[An] entertaining look at one of rock's most iconic figures.”—Publishers Weekly “Sean Egan has done a terrific job of bringing together some of the best ‘classic’ Keith Richards interviews with little-known, hard-to-find gems that reveal more about the ‘soul of the Stones.’ As an interviewee, Keith Richards has always been the most entertaining Rolling Stone to read—at once straightforward, informative, and eloquent—and this collection is a great way to revisit fifty years of Stoneage.” —Ian McPherson, timeisonourside.com

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFew American superstar stories are richer, wilder, or more excessive than Rick James’s. He played in a band with Neil Young, spent years in jail, produced his first album (which was then picked up by Motown) with money from shadowy sources, crossed rock and funk to come up with one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s, became one of the biggest pop star of the era, turned a young white woman named Teena Marie into an R&B superstar, displayed an outrageously sex and drug-filled lifestyle, was tried and found guilty of assaulting and imprisoning a young woman, went on to record new music that was compared to the Beatles’ White Album, and ended his life as a punch line for Dave Chappelle. And along the way, he scored a large number of major hits, sold tens of millions of albums and became intimate with dozens of big-name celebrities. Rick James attempted to tell his own story—in two different books—but left out many incidents that showed what he was really like. Nobody has written the full truth about his life. Now, based on court records, newspaper archives, and extensive interviews with dozens of family members, band members, friends, and lovers, here is the definitive biography of Motown’s most controversial superstar. Trade Review"An unapologetic, no-holds-barred biography of a flamboyant and controversial artist." Booklist Online"Benjaminson acts as a gifted stenographer laying the facts out for readers to come to their own conclusions without trying to push one verdict or the other." Passions of the Weiss"Rick James was one of the biggest musical stars of the 1980s, and his life was a roller-coaster of moods, musical styles, triumph, and failure. He was definitely a Super Freak, and this book will tell you why." Library Journal

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen Mississippi John Hurt (1892-1966) was ""rediscovered"" by blues revivalists in 1963, his musicianship and recordings transformed popular notions of prewar country blues. At seventy-one he moved to Washington, D.C., from Avalon, Mississippi, and became a live-wire connection to a powerful, authentic past. His intricate and lively style made him the most sought after musician among the many talents the revival brought to light.Mississippi John Hurt provides this legendary creator's life story for the first time. Biographer Philip Ratcliffe traces Hurt's roots to the moment his mother Mary Jane McCain and his father Isom Hurt were freed from slavery. Anecdotes from Hurt's childhood and teenage years include the destiny-making moment when his mother purchased his first guitar for $1.50 when he was only nine years old. Stories from his neighbors and friends, from both of his wives, and from his extended family round out the community picture of Avalon. U.S. census records, Hurt's first marriage record in 1916, images of his first autographed LP record, and excerpts from personal letters written in his own hand provide treasures for fans. Ratcliffe details Hurt's musical influences and the origins of his style and repertoire. The author also relates numerous stories from the time of his success, drawing on published sources and many hours of interviews with people who knew Hurt well, including the late Jerry Ricks, Pat Sky, Stefan Grossman and Max Ochs, Dick Spottswood, and the late Mike Stewart. In addition, some of the last photographs taken of the legendary musician are featured for the first time in Mississippi John Hurt.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen George Jones recorded ""He Stopped Loving Her Today"" more than thirty years ago, he was a walking disaster. Twin addictions to drugs and alcohol had him drinking Jim Beam by the case and snorting cocaine as long as he was awake. Before it was over, Jones would be bankrupt, homeless, and an unwilling patient at an Alabama mental institution. In the midst of all this chaos, legendary producer Billy Sherrill-the man who discovered Tammy Wynette and cowrote ""Stand by Your Man""-would somehow coax the performance of a lifetime out of the mercurial Jones. The result was a country masterpiece.He Stopped Loving Her Today, the story behind the making of the song often voted the best country song ever by both critics and fans, offers an overview of country music's origins and a search for the music's elusive Holy Grail: authenticity. The schizoid bottom line-even though country music is undeniably a branch of the make believe world of show biz, to fans and scholars alike, authenticity remains the ultimate measure of the music's power.

Read more less

Book SynopsisCarter and Ralph Stanley--the Stanley Brothers--are comparable to Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs as important members of the earliest generation of bluegrass musicians. In this first biography of the brothers, author David W. Johnson documents that Carter (1925-1966) and Ralph (b. 1927) were equally important contributors to the tradition of old-time country music. Together from 1946 to 1966, the Stanley Brothers began their careers performing in the schoolhouses of southwestern Virginia and expanded their popularity to the concert halls of Europe. In order to re-create this post-World War II journey through the changing landscape of American music, the author interviewed Ralph Stanley, the family of Carter Stanley, former members of the Clinch Mountain Boys, and dozens of musicians and friends who knew the Stanley Brothers as musicians and men. The late Mike Seeger allowed Johnson to use his invaluable 1966 interviews with the brothers. Notable old-time country and bluegrass musicians such as George Shuffler, Lester Woodie, Larry Sparks, and the late Wade Mainer shared their recollections of Carter and Ralph. Lonesome Melodies begins and ends in the mountains of southwestern Virginia. Carter and Ralph were born there and had an early publicity photograph taken at the Cumberland Gap. In December 1966, pallbearers walked up Smith Ridge to bring Carter to his final resting place. In the intervening years, the brothers performed thousands of in-person and radio shows, recorded hundreds of songs and tunes for half a dozen record labels, and tried to keep pace with changing times while remaining true to the spirit of old-time country music. As a result of their accomplishments, they have become a standard of musical authenticity.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWilbur C. Sweatman (1882-1961) is one of the most important, yet unheralded, African American musicians involved in the transition of ragtime into jazz in the early twentieth century. In That's Got 'Em!, Mark Berresford tracks this energetic pioneer over a seven-decade career. His talent transformed every genre of black music before the advent of rock and roll--""pickaninny"" bands, minstrelsy, circus sideshows, vaudeville (both black and white), night clubs, and cabarets. Sweatman was the first African American musician to be offered a long-term recording contract, and he dazzled listeners with jazz clarinet solos before the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's so-called ""first jazz records.""Sweatman toured the vaudeville circuit for over twenty years and presented African American music to white music lovers without resorting to the hitherto obligatory ""plantation"" costumes and blackface makeup. His bands were a fertile breeding ground of young jazz talent, featuring such future stars as Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, and Jimmie Lunceford. Sweatman subsequently played pioneering roles in radio and recording production. His high profile and sterling reputation in both the black and white entertainment communities made him a natural choice for administering the estate of Scott Joplin and other notable black performers and composers.That's Got 'Em! is the first full-length biography of this pivotal figure in black popular culture, providing a compelling account of his life and times.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen Elvis Presley first showed up at Sam Phillips's Memphis-based Sun Records studio, he was a shy teenager in search of a sound. Phillips invited a local guitarist named Scotty Moore to stand in. Scotty listened carefully to the young singer and immediately realized that Elvis had something special. Along with bass player Bill Black, the trio recorded an old blues number called ""That's All Right, Mama."" It turned out to be Elvis's first single and the defining record of his early style, with a trilling guitar hook that swirled country and blues together and minted a sound with unforgettable appeal. Its success launched a whirlwind of touring, radio appearances, and Elvis's first break into movies. Scotty was there every step of the way as both guitarist and manager, until Elvis's new manager, Colonel Tom Parker, pushed him out. Scotty and Elvis would not perform together again until the classic 1968 ""comeback"" television special. Scotty never saw Elvis after that.With both Bill Black and Elvis gone, Scotty Moore is the only one left to tell the story of how Elvis and Scotty transformed popular music and how Scotty created the sound that became a prototype for so many rock guitarists to follow. Thoroughly updated, this edition delivers guitarist Scotty Moore's story as never before

Read more less

Book SynopsisQuincy Jones (b. 1933) is one of the most prolific composers, arrangers, bandleaders, producers, and humanitarians in American music history and the recording and film industries. Among pop music fans he is perhaps most famous for producing Michael Jackson's album, Thriller. Clarence Bernard Henry focuses on the life, music, career, and legacy of Jones within the social, cultural, historical, and artistic context of American, African American, popular, and world music traditions.Jones's career has spanned over sixty years, generating a substantial body of work with over five hundred compositions and arrangements. The author focuses on this material as well as many of Jones's accomplishments: performing as a young trumpeter in the bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, becoming the first African American to hold an executive position in the competitive white-owned recording industry, breaking racial barriers as a composer in the Hollywood film and television industries, producing the best-selling album of all time, and receiving numerous Grammy Awards.The author also discusses many of Jones's compositions, arrangements, and recordings and his compositional study in France with legendary teacher Nadia Boulanger. In addition, details are provided about Jones's distinct ability as one of the most innovative composers and arrangers who incorporates many different styles of music, techniques, and creative ideas in his compositions, arrangements, and film scores. He collaborated with an array of musicians and groups such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Clifford Brown, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, USA for Africa, and many others. Clarence Bernard Henry shows how Jones has, throughout his career, wholeheartedly embraced philosophies of globalization and cultural diversity in his body of work, collaborations, humanitarian projects, and musical creativity.

Read more less

Book SynopsisDave Matthews Band celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2016 a milestone few bands achieve. How did the group build and retain an audience so devoted that they stuck with DMB through more than a quarter century? ÊDave Matthews Band FAQÊ answers this question and many more exploring the group's history in detail from a variety of angles. Natives of the college rock circuit of the southern Atlantic seaboard DMB became part of a close-knit group of similarly minded jam bands that spread across the USA during the 1990s. Thanks to a grassroots following that eagerly traded tapes of live DMB shows the band cultivated a dedicated fan base that crossed over into the mainstream. ÊDave Mathews Band FAQÊ traces this evolution documenting the culture of Charlottesville Virginia at the dawn of the '90s detailing the group's peers and examining their catalog both live and studio in detail. Collectively these chapters explain everything there is to know about the most popular jam band in history.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThomas Edward Harkin's ÊWoodstock FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Fabled GardenÊ cuts through the lofty rhetoric and mythology surrounding the legendary festival. Rather than waxing philosophical about whether or not the Woodstock Music & Art Fair was the defining moment of the 1960s as so many have done before Harkins places the focus on the music solo artists and bands who performed.ÞThirty-two acts took to the stage in Bethel New York that weekend and the book gives the performers and the music their due consideration. Who were they? Where did they come from? What songs did they play? What happened to them afterward? How did the festival impact their careers? Those are the questions explored in these pages. Further the book attempts to restore the chronological arc of the festival from concept to concert to its aftermath and enduring legacy.ÞDrawing on his experiences as a media scholar Harkins ponders how the album releases and Michael Wadleigh's Academy Award-winning 1970 film ÊWoodstockÊ helped shape the narrative of the festival and in the bargain distort people's memories of the actual event.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOffering a fresh perspective on one of the most prolific and well-loved catalogs of songs in the rock 'n' roll canon ÊFleetwood Mac FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Iconic Rock SurvivorsÊ digs deeper than your average music compendium and sidesteps the tediousness of most generalized band histories.ÞProfessional yet playful the book's most unique feature is its structure: a hybrid of historical breakdowns Q&As music criticism and best of lists chronicling the band's influence and legacy. No Fleetwood Mac book would be complete without addressing the sensationalism of ÊRumoursÊ or the mythic psychological breakdown of Peter Green. But ÊFleetwood Mac FAQÊ casts a wide net ä avoiding monotony for longtime fans by presenting new criticism and reporting and engaging with newcomers by addressing the most essential chapters in the band's story.ÞIncluded are interviews with former Fleetwood Mac members (guitarists Rick Vito and Billy Burnette) producers (Ken Caillat Richard Dashut John Shanks and Mike Vernon) studio crew members (Rich Feldman Ray Lindsey and Ken Perry) rock critics who've covered the group (Anthony DeCurtis) and others who've been privileged to join the band's inner circle. Sure the book touches on the band's notorious drug use romantic affairs and brutal in-fighting ä more importantly it also sheds fascinating new light on the band's innovative ever-evolving music.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNineteen seventy-seven. New York City. Dark. Dangerous. Thrilling. Punk Rock. Blondie. David Bowie. Drinking. Drugs. Happening at the speed of light.ÞSeventeen-year old Laura quaking within her skin while the bursting punk rock revolution explodes around her starts a band with her teenage friends called the Student Teachers. She's the drummer. They play legendary clubs ä CBGB Max's Kansas City Hurrah ä they rehearse madly write songs and tour the East Coast.ÞAll between final exams at school.ÞIn comes Jimmy Destri from Blondie. He thinks the Student Teachers are terrific! And then ä he falls in love with Laura. He pulls her into the glamorous life of Blondie and introduces her to David Bowie. Bowie takes an interest in Laura's band attends their rehearsals and sets them up to open for Iggy Pop at the Palladium on Halloween 1979. It's exhilarating! It's the beginning of amazing success in rock 'n' roll!ÞUntil it all comes to a stunning stop.ÞAfter playing a show at Town Hall in 1980 Laura is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Does it all fall apart?ÞLater at a dinner with Bowie he whispers something to Laura. And it helps her save her life.ÞIn prose that flows like music Laura Davis-Chanin presents a rich work of narrative nonfiction that is not only deeply personal but also revealing of the punk rock heyday in New York City. Infused with rare photographs this book is a journey through a unique ephemeral life experience.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA lively and engaging chronicle of the triumphant rise of Sharon Jones ä one of the most authentic purveyors of American soul music since James Brown ä ÊLong Slow Train: The Soul Music of Sharon Jones and the Dap-KingsÊ traces her roots from gospel to soul to funk and beyond.ÞAfter many years of struggling on the periphery of the music industry and being told by label executives and producers that she was too short too old too fat and too black to make it as a headlining performer Jones was finally discovered in 1996 by the Brooklyn-based revivalist label ÊDaptone RecordsÊ. The rest is ÊherstoryÊ. As the dynamic frontline singer for the stellar soul band the Dap-Kings Jones's career ascended rapidly establishing both the band and the label with a cult-like following for her special brand of gospel funk.ÞFrom 2002 until 2016 when Jones succumbed to pancreatic cancer she and her band toured globally and released a flock of singles and eight full-length albums. (During that time they were also tapped by Amy Winehouse's producer Mark Ronson to be the studio outfit for their Grammy Award-winning album ÊBack to BlackÊ.) In 2015 Jones was profiled in the popular documentary Miss Sharon Jones! directed by Barbara Kopple as the unstoppable soul queen continued to deliver explosive live concert performances even while undergoing medical treatment.ÞThis book offers a heartfelt appreciation for a bighearted star who beat the odds and did it all ÊherÊ way.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPianist Mike Garson was David Bowie's most frequent musician on record and onstage throughout Bowie's life. They played over a thousand shows together between 1972 and 2004 and Garson is featured on over 20 of Bowie's albums. ÊBowie's Piano ManÊ is the first-ever biography of Mike Garson written by Clifford Slapper a fellow pianist who also played for Bowie working closely with him on his last-ever television appearance. The book explores the special relationship between Garson and Bowie beginning with the extraordinary story of how Garson went overnight from playing in tiny jazz clubs to touring the world on arena rock tours with Bowie after one short phone call and audition.ÞA noted master of jazz classical and other genres Garson has composed thousands of original works and has taught countless students acting as mentor to many. ÊBowie's Piano ManÊ explores his roots and childhood in Brooklyn his ongoing strong presence in the jazz world and his collaborations with a huge range of other artists in addition to Bowie. Touring and recording with the Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails are given in-depth attention as is his approach to teaching and creating music. Explored in detail in particular is his commitment to improvisation as a form of composition a manifestation of his more general dedication to living in the moment and always moving forward ä a trait he shared with Bowie.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIf you ever needed proof that a magazine can have a love affair with a musician you're holding it in your hands. For ÊDownBeatÊ the preeminent publication of the jazz world Miles Dewey Davis was one of its most cherished subjects. Since it began covering the jazz scene in 1939 no other artist has been more diligently chronicled in its pages than Davis.ÞThe beauty of this collection is seeing the development of an artist over time. The reviews of his music go from quietly introducing a new talent to revering perhaps the greatest jazz artist of his generation. The feature articles begin with a very young very polite Davis lamenting I've worked so little. I could probably tell you where I was playing any night in the last three years. As he develops the interviews show Davis gaining confidence and stature showing swagger and becoming the over-the-top say-it-like-it-is showman that made every interview an event.ÞÊThe Miles Davis ReaderÊ compiles more than 200 news stories feature articles and reviews by some of the greatest writers in jazz into one volume. It delivers a patchwork of his words and music ä in the moment as they happened.ÞWith several lengthy features added along with a dozen new photographs this new edition is a beautiful series of snapshots a year-by-year ride through the many phases of Davis as an artist and as a man.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLed by the iconic frontman Robert Smith, the Cure remain one of the most beloved and influential bands in the history of alternative rock. Thanks in part to classic singles like "Just Like Heaven," "Boys Don't Cry," "Lovesong," "In Between Days," and many others, the Cure have sold millions of records worldwide and have performed in front of countless fans in every corner of the globe. Albums like Disintegration, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, and The Head on the Door are universally hailed as landmarks of the genre. For the first time, The Cure FAQ covers the band's forty-plus year career while offering fresh insight into each song in the Cure's vast canon. Each album is dissected and reviewed with candid commentary and extensive research. With their March 2019 entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame firmly establishing the Cure's place in the musical stratosphere, the timing for a career overview is perfect and The Cure FAQ delivers.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOther people locked themselves away and hid from their demons. Townes flung open his door and said, 'Come on in. So writes Harold Eggers, Townes Van Zandt's longtime road manager and producer, in My Years with Townes Van Zandt: Music, Genius, and Rage a gripping memoir revealing the inner core of an enigmatic troubadour, whose deeply poetic music was a source of inspiration and healing for millions but was for himself a torment struggling for dominance among myriad personal demons. Townes Van Zandt often stated that his main musical mission was to write the perfect song that would save someone's life. However, his life was a work in progress he was constantly struggling to shape and comprehend. Eggers says of his close friend and business partner that like the master song craftsman he was, he was never truly satisfied with the final product but always kept giving it one more shot, one extra tweak, one last effort. A vivid, first-hand account exploring the source of the singer's prodigious talent, widespread influence, and relentless path toward self-destruction, My Years with Townes Van Zandt presents the truth of that all-consuming artistic journey told by a close friend watching it unfold.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt's 1982 and the Ramones are in a gutter-bound spiral. Following a run of inconsistent albums and deep in the throes of internal tensions the legendary quartet is about to crash and burn.ÞEnter Richie Ramone.ÞThen a 26-year-old from New Jersey named Richard Reinhardt he's snapped up by the group to be their new drummer and instantly goes from the obscurity of the underground club scene to membership in the most famous punk-rock band of all time revitalizing the pioneering outfit with his powerful precise and blindingly fast beats ä composing classic cuts like the menacing anthem Somebody Put Something in My Drink and becoming the only Ramones percussionist to sing lead vocals for the group. With the Ramones he performs over five hundred shows at venues all around the world and records three storming studio albums ä before abruptly quitting the band and going deep underground. To most fans this crucial figure in the band's history has remained a mystery his tale untold.ÞUntil now.ÞÊI Know Better Now: My Life Before During and After the RamonesÊ is the firsthand four-on-the-floor account of a life in rock 'n' roll and in one of its most influential acts ä straight from the sticks of the man who kept the beat.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMusician, nightlife impresario, record label executive, photographer, and author, Michael Alago takes readers through this amazing journey that is his life. Alago grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in a large, spirited, and devoted Puerto Rican family. Through his early passion for music, art, theater, and photography, he soon found himself rubbing elbows with many downtown NYC scene makers, from Stiv Bators to Jean Michel Basquiat, Cherry Vanilla and Wayne County to Deborah Harry and Robert Mapplethorpe. As an underage teenager going to Max's Kansas City, CBGB, and various art galleries, Alago also began running The Dead Boys fan club. A few years later, he became the assistant music director for legendary nightclubs the Ritz and the Red Parrot. At age twenty-four, he began a storied career as an A&R executive at Elektra Records that started with signing Metallica in the summer of 1984, changing the entire landscape of rock 'n' roll and heavy metal. Alago continued to work in A&R for both Palm Pictures and Geffen Records. He was thrilled to executive-produce albums by Cyndi Lauper, Public Image Ltd, White Zombie, and Nina Simone. In the late 1980s, he was diagnosed with HIV, which manifested into full-blown AIDS ten years later. He survived to continue his music career, but in 2005, he left music to pursue his other love: photography. Alago went on to publish three bestselling books: Rough Gods, Brutal Truth, and Beautiful Imperfections with German-based publisher Bruno Gmünder. He has since overcome his longtime addiction to drugs and alcohol. In his clean and sober life, he has reconnected with his family, continues to be a working photographer as well as record producer, and only through the grace of his 12-Step program is he able to live this big, beautiful life. In 2017, a documentary directed by Drew Stone and produced by Michael Alex on Alago's wildly successful career in music was released in theaters and on Netflix, entitled Who the Fuck Is That Guy? The Fabulous Journey of Michael Alago.

Read more less

Book SynopsisInternational best-selling rock band Garbage presents its own autobiography, a gorgeous, full-color coffee-table book with text and images galore.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTangle of Matter & Ghost: Leonard Cohen’s Post-Secular Songbook of Mysticism(s) Jewish & beyond analyzes the lyrical poetry of Leonard Cohen through a post-secular lens. The volume fuses sophisticated theory and popular culture with critical analysis that is lacking in most of the rock n’ roll biographies about Leonard Cohen. How does this mystical maestro’s songbook emerge to illuminate questions of meaning making in a post-secular context when correlated with thinkers like Charles Taylor, Edward S. Casey, Jurgen Habermas, Slavoj Žižek, Jeffrey Kripal and Harold Bloom along with others. Cohen’s mysticism is also analyzed in relationship to Kabbalah, Hasidism and Rinzai Buddhism. Tangle of Matter & Ghost presents a unique inter-disciplinary approach to Jewish philosophy and literary studies with wide appeal for diverse audiences and readership.Trade Review“In the first extended encounter with Leonard Cohen’s complex and demanding legacy since Cohen’s death Aubrey Glazer profoundly attunes us to the prophetic, mystical, and Jewish registers of Cohen’s voice and music that are normally an octave too high for our ears. This book reflects a rare combination of erudition and poetic sensitivity needed for the task to guide us along a musical scale ranging from Isaac on the altar to Jesus on the cross to Joan of Arc on the stake; from the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides to a Hasidic Rebbe against the backdrop of Quebecois culture to the Zen master Roshi; and from the Zohar to Yiddish humour. Cohen’s passing leaves another crack in the world and Glazer’s study allows the light to come streaming through.” -- —James A. Diamond, Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Chair of Jewish Studies, University of Waterloo“This bold, imaginative book enables us to appreciate Leonard Cohen as a Jewish mystical humanist, a post-secular troubadour who wrestles intimately with his own tradition. Cohen emerges as a prophet who realizes our brokenness and inspires healing.” -- Daniel Matt, translator-editor of the Zohar-Pritzker edition“Weaving an intertextilic elixir of the sacred and the secular of both religious hermeneutics and contemporary cultural theory, Glazer’s formidable Tangle of Matter and Ghost is a pioneering study of how Cohen, as Canadian kabbalist buddhist, saint, mystic poet, a prophet with priestly lineage, helps us realize that the Shekhina is indeed dwelling inside and between every letter. Establishing an alchemic cirqumfrission, it compellingly cuts into all that is connected and cracked, rigorously detailing how and where the light gets in.” -- Adeena Karasick, Professor of Global Literature, St. John’s University, New York, award-winning author of seven books of poetry, including most recently, Amuse Bouche: Tasty Treats for the Mouth (Talonbooks, 2009)Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsPreface: Shaul MagidChapter 1: Prelude: New Skin for Post-Secular Philosophy of Circum/fessionChapter 2: On Exile As Redemption in (Canadian) Jewish MysticismChapter 3: From Darkness, A Love of All This: Seeking Sacred in Post-Secular SongChapter 4: Tangle of Matter & Ghost: Objective Spirit & Non-Dual RealityChapter 5: A Question of Pure Consciousness in the Priestly Blessing of LoveChapter 6: Amen to American AgnosticismChapter 7: Nothing as Whole as a Broken Middle MatzahChapter 8: Falling with Our Angels, So HumanChapter 9: “An Appetite for Something Like Religion”: Unbinding the Binding of Isaac, Jesus Christ & Joan of Arc through ZenChapter 10: Standing Where There Used to Be a Street: 9/11 Post-Secularism & Sacred SongChapter 11: Never Mind this Neuzeit, Here’s Kaddish: Between the Nameless & the NameChapter 12: Coda: A Philosophy of Post-Secular Song in Light of Piyyut as a Cultural LensPostface: Elliot R. Wolfson

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA compelling narrative woven out of interviews with who knew him, The Prodigal Rogerson, explains what happened to Rogerson against the backdrop of Los Angeles punk scene in its prime.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBorn in the summer of 1912, Woody Guthrie remains one of the most significant figures in American folk music to this day. While most Americans know his iconic anthem “This Land Is Your Land”, surprisingly few understand Guthrie’s place in the greater context of American radicalism and protest in the 1930s and beyond.In Searching for Woody Guthrie, Ron Briley embarks on a chronological exploration of Guthrie’s music in the vein of American radicalism and civil rights. Briley begins this journey with an overview of five key periods in Guthrie’s life and, in the chapters that follow, analyses his political ideas through primary and secondary source materials.While numerous biographies on Woody Guthrie exist - including Guthrie’s own 1943 autobiography - this book takes a different approach. Less biographical and more thematic in nature, Searching for Woody Guthrie centres around Guthrie’s faith in the common working people of America, bringing together People’s Daily World “Woody Sez” newspaper columns, Guthrie centennial secondary source texts, research in the Woody Guthrie Archives, and Briley’s own personal reflections to present a narrative that is at once personal to the author and relatable to America’s rural working class.Interlacing Guthrie’s music with his own geographic and economic background, Briley presents an original and eloquent chronology of Guthrie’s life and work in what amounts to a compelling new case for why that work, more than fifty years after Guthrie’s death, continues to leave its mark.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBorn 130 years ago in the heart of Mississippi, Charlie Patton (c. 1891–1934) is considered by many to be a father of the Delta blues. With his bullish baritone voice and his fluid slide guitar touch, Patton established songs like “Pony Blues,” “A Spoonful Blues,” and “High Water Everywhere” in the blues lexicon and, through his imitators, in American music. But over the decades, his contributions to blues music have been overshadowed in popularity by those of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and other mid-century bluesmen and women who’ve experienced a resurgence in their music. King of the Delta Blues Singers, originally published in 1988, began a small renaissance in Patton and blues research. And now, with the wide availability of Patton’s complete discography on CD and as digital downloads, this completely revised second edition continues the story of Charlie Patton’s legacy.Gayle Dean Wardlow and the late Stephen Calt (1946–2010) originally probed Patton’s career in the Mississippi Delta, his early performances and recordings, and his musical legacy that continues to influence today’s guitarists and performers, including such musicians as Jack White and Larkin Poe. For this second edition, Wardlow and Edward Komara refined the text and rewrote major sections, updating them with new scholarship on Patton and Delta blues. And finally, Komara has added a new afterword bringing Patton into the contemporary blues conversation and introducing numerous musical examples for the modern researcher and musician.The second edition of King of the Delta Blues Singers will further cement Patton’s legacy among important blues musicians, and it will be of interest to anyone absorbed in the beginnings of the Delta blues and music biographies.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBorn in 1916 at the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island, the teenaged Robert William Lane became obsessed with the singing and expressive yodeling of country music’s Jimmie Rodgers. By the 1940s, his obsession and subsequent focus on his own guitar playing, singing, and yodeling led him to achieve musical stardom as Tex Morton, master showman and influential progenitor of Australian country music. Tex Morton: From Australian Yodeler to International Showman offers the first full-length biography of this country music phenomenon from down under.“From the time he first left the security of his home and set out to discover the world, life was a continual journey for Tex Morton,” Smith writes in chapter 1. And it was: Beginning with Morton’s early life and chronicling his burgeoning career and ultimate stardom, Smith’s study showcases Morton’s multi-faceted creative endeavors over the years, from showman and sharpshooter to hypnotist and academic. His talents took him all over the world, from Australia and New Zealand and countries throughout Asia to the United States, Canada, and England. Smith’s carefully constructed narrative captures the nuance of a versatile yet driven, flawed yet talented figure who ultimately became both an influential country artist and an entertainer of international standing over the course of an almost fifty-year career.An important contribution to music history scholarship, this volume not only establishes Morton’s significance in the history of Australian country music, but it also draws deep connections between Morton’s Australasian influence and country music in the United States, exploring Morton’s legacy in the wider context of the genre worldwide. Complete with a comprehensive discography of Tex Morton’s works, Smith’s in-depth biography claims for Morton his rightful place as a major founding figure in the history of Australian country music.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the 1950s, as the leader of the Upsetters, the original backing band for rock pioneer Little Richard, Grady Gaines first exposed the music world to his unique brand of “honkin',” bombastic, attitude-drenched saxophone playing.In the years that followed, the Upsetters became the backing band for Sam Cooke and crisscrossed the country as the go-to-band for revue-style tours featuring James Brown, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Supremes, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, and Etta James.In I've Been Out There, the Houston blues and R&B legend Grady Gaines speaks candidly about his sixty-year music career and life on the road supporting some of the biggest names in blues, soul, and R&B. This annotated autobiographical account details Gaines's professional triumphs and personal sacrifices.The book contains anecdotes about life on the road and in the studio during a period when the entertainment industry was vastly different, affording readers a glimpse into the creative makeup of a man whose distinctive sax playing powered some of the most popular songs of the era, helped define the genre, and mesmerized countless audiences.

Read more less