Name your favorite music biography

[Wickerman]

I'm looking for good music biographies. Doesn't matter much who it is as long as the book itself captivated you.

Some bios I've read are great, others, seven some on legendary, larger than life characters have bored me to tears. I recently read Ronnie Wood's autobio and was surprised at how much fun it was to read. It wasn't literary, perhaps barely literate, but it was chock full of info and personal remembrance and that made it cool.

Know other stuff that was good?

Go easy on me here, too, 'kay, I am acutely aware that I am not a Lounge regular.

thanks!

[Zomby Woof]

1. The Real Frank Zappa Book

His autobiography. Funnier than hell, with lots of crusty opinions, and original insights on the music business - plus, lots of cool behind-the-scenes stories. Great illustrations too.

[Wickerman]

7. yeah, I can't believe I've never read that

thanks!

[graywarrior]

31. Same here.

[Capn Sunshine]

59. +1

almost like a Kesey novel

[abq e streeter]

2. Peter Guralnick's Last Train To Memphis and Ray Manzarek's Light My Fire

were fascinating and well written. Last Train is a bio of Elvis up till the age of 22; apparently there'll be another volume at some point. Anything by Guralnick is, in my opinion, worth reading, BTW. And Manzarek's autobiography of both himself as well as The Doors in general, is surprisingly well written, and really interesting if you, like me, find The Doors fascinating anyway. Robert Shelton's No Direction Home ( Dylan of course) is good, and Wouldn't It Be Nice, Brian Wilson's autobiograpy, is interesting, although I strongly suspect it was co-written , or more, by the infamous Dr. Landy, who is portrayed just a teensy bit too heroically to be believable, but still an interesting read for any Brian Wilson/Beachboys fan. Levon Helm's autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire was interesting, and although it's been a loooong time, I seem to remember Myra Friedman's Buried Alive, about Janis Joplin was also very well written and compelling.

[Wickerman]

6. nice reccs, thanks!

I've read other Manzarek work so that sounds like a nice add to the reading list. I've read No Direction Home and it was fantastic. Several on there sound great, I might start with Helm's.

thanks again

[kentauros]

3. The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach by Prof. Peter Schickele

It's got lots of pictures, too

[Wickerman]

4. Pictures are good!

I've heard its an exceptional read and thought about picking it up, even without much interest in the subject matter.

thanks!

[taterguy]

5. Tommy Womack's autobiographical The Cheese Chronicles is essential

It's about the trial and travails of punk rock band in Kentucky during the Reagan years.

[mitchum]

8. "Miles" by Miles Davis is an incredibly good autobiography...

he actually spends a long time talking about music. Imagine that...a musician actually talking about music.

Victor Bockris' "Transformer" is an incredibly well researched biography of Lou Reed.
However, avoid his Keith Richard biography. It's just a cut and paste job taken from old magazine articles. Very disappointing.

The Howlin' Wolf biography, "Moanin' at Midnight" by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman is also very well done. The authors are blues scholars, not blues mythologists.

[BurtWorm]

12. You just reminded me of Beneath the Underdog by Charles Mingus

What a book! I read in in high school, so maybe it's not quite as great as I remember it. But he was fascinating on the subject of being a person who's too black for white folk and too white for black folk growing up in LA the 1940s and becoming the great Charles Mingus. Very honest writing, I remember.

[mitchum]

21. It is as great as you remember...

what a fantastic book

[mitchum]

9. Woody is not very bright is he?

I read that autobiography and found it quite fun, but came to the conclusion that Wood is even dumber than I imagined him to be. He possesses absolutely no insight.
That's why he is soon to die
with very little money.

[Stardust]

30. Did I hear recently that Ron has left the Rolling Stones?

Sorry to sound so clueless, but politics has supplanted music as my passion. (But I did see the Stones live recently.) I just can't keep up with everything nowadays...

[mitchum]

37. Not yet officially, but I imagine that will be coming soon...

he recently went back to drinking in a BIG way
divorced his longtime wife Jo
is alienated from his children
and has taken up with a 20 year old Russian cocktail waitress with whom he has a stormy relationship

I predict he will be dead
with very little money
soon

He is an affable, but very stupid, man

[Jetboy]

46. It sounds like Ronnie is just like the Mike Myers parody of him

on SNL years ago. That really is sad.

[mitchum]

47. His joining the Rolling Stones was not good for the Rolling Stones...

or for him

[Jetboy]

53. I really love the Faces. Ronnie's playing was just right for that

band IMO. Who do you think the Stones should have gotten to replace Mick Taylor?

[mitchum]

54. The man who turned them down on two occasions...

Roy Buchanan.
He shared the most important qualities with Taylor; beautiful lyrical playing and a better fit as a player than as a bandleader left to his own devices.
He didn't really look right, but...

I agree with you about Woods playing being perfect for the Faces (and lots of the Rod Stewart solo cuts)

[Orsino]

10. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere

A history of The Who.

[SteppingRazor]

11. You read Mansion on the Hill?

Full title: The Mansion on the Hill: Dylan, Young, Geffen, Springsteen, and the Head-on Collision of Rock and Commerce

Pretty illuminating, as far as its specific subject matter.


On edit: And as far as autobiographies, Dylan's Chronicles is a good read. Slightly inscrutable, just like the man, and yet I ripped through it in a weekend.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

13. Neil Young's "Shakey," because...

...it's accurate and true, and Young cut off access to the "insider" author, Jimmy McDonough, after reading an initial draft.

That's why the book stops on a damn dime...you're reading it, and there's all of this great chronology, and it just...STOPS.

That's because Young opened up access to everyone in his inner circle, and when he actually saw how his life looked on paper, decided that he didn;t want to take it any further.

Yes, he's a gifted artist. Yes, he does the Bridge School stuff. Yes, he's a strong political voice for "our side."

He also had a few issues with getting high and screwing over his audiences, and walking away from relationships that he just didn't feel like dealing with.

The Stills-Young Band tour ended with Neil high-tailing it out of town and leaving a note for Stills that read (not an exact quote, but very close): "Dear Stephen, have you ever noticed how some things that begin suddenly also end that way? Eat a peach, Neil." So Stills finished the tour as a solo act.

The late Nicolette Larson got kicked to the curb as the result of her romance with Neil. That might have been one of the stories that got the book shut down, because the truth hurts. She was a sweetheart and he treated her like something you'd scrape off of your shoe. And he knew he was doing it, because that's how Neil has handled some of his relationships.

Spoiled, moody, arrogant..."I Am A Child" might be one of the most honestly autobiographical songs in the history of rock.

[av8rdave]

14. A couple...

Jerry Garcia: An American Life, by Blair Jackson

Lennon: The Definitive Biography, by Ray Coleman

I also just finished "Bumping into Geniuses," by Danny Goldberg. He was involved in the management end of the music business from a young age. The people he worked with and the acts he managed (including Led Zep and Nirvana) make for a fascinating story.

[tigereye]

15. Phil Lesh bio - great story about music, the Dead and counter-culture -

well-written, too. Loved it and I'm not even a Deadhead. Skip Hammer of the Gods- it's just gross IMHO.


How are ya?


And "I'm with the Band" by Pamela DesBarres - much more than a "groupie" story from a woman who exemplified the early 60s-70s scene-ster. Also more thoughtful than you would think.

She's a Rebel - is a good read about the history of women in rock and roll. Also excellent is the story of Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Carly Simon. (can't think of the name at the moment.) Lot's of good history, there.


I also have enjoyed jazz histories, and histories of punk years -such as "Our band could be your Life by Michael Azerrad, and England's Dreaming by Jon Savage (a bit didactic, but intriguing.)

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tigereye]

32. I'm doing pretty well, had a good summer, nice and cool and not too hot

put in a new furnace, so we won't freeze our butts off! Kid is doing well, and I really can't complain...


I think England's Dreaming is a pretty good analysis!

[mitchum]

20. I was so disappointed when "I'm With The Band" went back into print...

because I had made lots of money selling used copies for ridiculous amounts
when it was out of print.

[tigereye]

33. I have my old copy here somewhere - I liked it.

this is so funny! Wow, how much are we talking?

[mitchum]

38. It is a really enjoyable book...

DesBarres and I have a mutual frend and she had told him that the copyright would revert back to her soon allowing her to be able to find another publisher.
I knew that I had to strike while the iron was hot AKA when people were paying from $40 to $75 for beat up paperback copies

[tigereye]

39. wow, who would have thought they would pay that much!!

[mitchum]

40. Clinton Heylin's From the Velvets to the Voidoids also brought comparable prices...

before it went back into print a couple of years ago.
Grrrrr

[tigereye]

41. ooh, that sounds like a good one - I haven't heard of that one

then there's Psychotic Reactions and Carberateur? Dung... I suspect that one is rarely out of print.

[mitchum]

51. I heartily recommend it...

a really good history of the New York, Detroit, Cleveland and Akron scenes leading up to the "punk explosion" of the late 70s.
It's easy to find now that it is back in print. Damn it!

[latebloomer]

50. "Girls Like Us"

is the name of the Joni/Carly/Carole book. Pretty good.

[SecularMotion]

16. Hammer Of The Gods - Led Zeppelin

No One Here Gets Out Alive - Jim Morrison

Elvis - Albert Goldman

[Beer Snob-50]

17. billion dollar baby by bob greene

bob greene toured with alice cooper and wrote of his experiences. this was written in 1974 and i remember reading it during my high school years.

[mitchum]

19. It is a wonderful book, but good luck finding a copy for less than 2 or 3...

hundred bucks. Unfortunately, it is long out of print.
I think one of the things that makes it so refreshing is that it was written from the perspective of a self-admitted square.
It does not suffer from Sam Sheparditis or Stanley Boothitis ("We're as cool as the musicians we are chronicling! We really are!")

[Bennyboy]

22. Bill Graham: My life Inside Rock (and out)

The man was amazing. escaped the Holocaust. Invented the rock concert. Great stories in this book. All you ever need to know.

[Wickerman]

23. Did he write in early years or closer to his death?

sounds interesting, indeed.

[gmoney]

24. The recent-ish Rick Wakeman book is supposed to be excellent

I enjoyed the Dean Wareham "Black Postcards" book, although the first part is better than the last.

[Wickerman]

28. thanks

Huge G500 fan and liked Luna a lot. Somehow missed that Dean had a bio.

[gmoney]

29. Then you should really enjoy it...

He's almost the exact same age as me, so it was very interesting to hear his recollections of music growing up and the scene when he was in college, etc. as G500 was happening.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

25. John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman

The definitive biography. It came out last fall.

Eight hundred fifty pages. I read it in three days. He digs up new information (I didn't think there was any new info on John). He is also very balanced between the good and the bad. His prose style is very precise.

Grace Slick, Somebody to Love (autobiography). She has an earnest, always curious attitude that struck me as being very down to earth.

[Tikki]

26. "On The Road With The Ramones" Melnick & Meyer....

Even if you don't know who the Ramones were or even like their music this book is an absolutely
fascinating account of their 20+ years together and their lives on the road.


http://www.ontheroadwiththeramones.com/books/index.shtm


Tikki

[tigereye]

43. that one was a lot of fun to read- but it made me feel sorry for Joey

Johnny was such a mean bastard...

[MrScorpio]

27. Two biopics

The Doors and Immortal Beloved.

I always have time to watch either of those two.

[old mark]

34. "Wouldn't It Be Nice." Brian Wilson's autobiography.

Very hard to read emotionally - he had a largely terrible life and yet wrote - writes - some very happy and affirmative music.
He is a great musician and composer.

mark

[BlueJazz]

35. Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond

Tons of Pictures

http://www.amazon.com/Take-Five-Public-Private-Desmond/...

[kimmerspixelated]

36. Something new actually-GIRLS LIKE US!

It covers Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, and Carole King. It's very well done and really takes you back to the 60's and 70's and the gossip is wonderful! Very interesting. Read it!

[Patiod]

42. Walk Hard

I can't believe no one said this yet....

(edit: biopic, not book, but still....)

[velvet]

44. "X-Ray, The Unauthorised Autobiography" by Ray Davies

Been ages since I read it. This reviewer sums it up pretty well :

Sure, Ray Davies seems bitter, but if you'd had to put up with the kind of abuse that Ray and his band have for the last 30 years, you wouldn't be all smiles either. Squirming through the occasional melodramatic excesses of "X-Ray, The Unauthorized Autobiography," is a small price to pay to finally hear the Kinks' story from Davies' own mouth.

X-Ray is a memoir wrapped in a science fiction story not unlike the hokey rock operas Davies was writing in the mid-seventies. In it, The Corporation, which controls the world and has effaced all traces of individuality and personal freedom, sends a cub writer to get the life story of Davies, now a sad and hermetic old man. Their real intention, of course, is to destroy the former Kinks frontman, who, powerless and forgotten as he is, still possesses knowledge, memories, and dreams whose very existence pose a threat to the sterile New Order. As the young writer hears Ray's story, he comes to the unavoidable conclusion that The Corporation is evil, and in the end resolves to work against it.

This rather thin meta-story doesn't intrude much on Ray's reminiscences (which don't go very far beyond the late sixties, to the undoubted relief of Kinks fans everywhere), and ends up being a clever vehicle for Davies to speak in both the first and third person, making observations about his own personality that would be impossible in a straight autobiography. Still, the main thrill is having the normally reticent Davies spill the details on Kinks mysteries that have been the subject of speculation for years: his childhood, his nervous breakdown(s), the band's notorious management problems, and most of all, their years-long ban from America.

More: http://www.wfmu.org/~davem/docs/xray.html

[greendog]

45. "Where Dead Voices Gather" by Nick Tosches

...a biography of an obscure ( and hugely influential) singer from the '20's.

Tosches's new book Where Dead Voices Gather brings to a conclusion his long-term obsession with an obscure vocalist, Emmett Miller (1900-1962). He introduced him in Country, and the elusive Miller has remained the object of Tosches's persistent fascination ever since. The initial words he wrote about Miller dubbed him "one of the most intriguing and profoundly important men in the history of country music." In the years since, Tosches has extended Miller's importance beyond that genre alone. He elaborates in the present volume: "The very concept of him -- a white man in blackface, a hillbilly singer and a jazz singer both, a son of the Deep South and a roue of Broadway -- is at once unique, mythic, and a perfect representation of the schizophrenic heart of what this country, with a straight face, calls its culture." Since 1974, when Tosches first heard Miller's voice, he has doggedly pursued whatever fugitive scraps of evidence still exist that fill out the image of this nearly phantom figure.

http://www.popmatters.com/books/reviews/w/where-dead-vo...

I don't think the book is still in print but you should be able to find a used copy on Amazon or at a public library. Definitely worthwhile!

[mitchum]

48. That is a great book...as is any book by Tosches

[Zomby Woof]

49. Bound For Glory

Woody Guthrie's autobiography is a masterpiece. The childhood recollections are vivid and moving. No ghostwriter either - Woody was the real deal.

[mitchum]

52. Fantastic book...

it never even occurred to me
because, I guess, in my head,
it transcends the musician bio genre.

You are right; it is a masterpiece.

[dana_b]

55. S'cuse Me While I Kiss the Sky

by David Henderson. I just returned it to the library yesterday and asked my daughter to buy it for me for Christmas.

[asdjrocky]

56. The Love You Make

But I haven't read a lot of music biography. Of the few I've read, that's been my favorite.

[WinkyDink]

57. "Yes, I Can": Sammy Davis, Jr.

[Jamastiene]

58. The most fascinating one I ever read was Deborah Harry's

Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie. She actually co-authored it with Chris Stein and Victor Bockris. It's a great read. She goes into detail about her musical influences, early life, the civil rights movement, and, of course, the 1970s New York punk scene at CBGBs. I bought it when I was a kid back in the early 80s, but re-read it in the late 90s and was still fascinated.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

60. Kink by Dave Davies is good too.