favorite music books

[gnombient]

What are your favorite music-related books?  Could be history, biography, theory, instrumental study/technique, etc., not necessarily limited to a specific genre. 

[GodShifter]

To this day, the best rock biography I've read is Al Kooper's Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards.

Keep in mind, I'm no real fan of Al Kooper nor particularly apeshit over anything he's worked on/produced, but they guy has great stories to tell about working with Dylan, Stephen Stills, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Tubes, etc. He lived very much the wild rock n' roll lifestyle and recounts it all with great humor and candor.

[The Shocker]

Martin Popoff's The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal – Volume 1: The Seventies and Southern Rock Review.

[Isabellacat]

Even tho it's exaggerated and inaccurate, it really is entertaining. Trashing hotel rooms, devil worship, heroin use, the Shark incident, and number one albums.

[grimniggzy]

Even tho it's exaggerated and inaccurate, it really is entertaining. Trashing hotel rooms, devil worship, heroin use, the Shark incident, and number one albums.

sounds up my alley

[The Shocker]

Good call Izzie.  I read that back in college & it was a fun read.

[Isabellacat]

That book is awesome. Don't want to spoil it but they were total crazy asses,John Bonham especially.

[MadJohnShaft]

Just finished this, excellent:




http://www.amazon.com/Life-Times-Little-Richard-Authorised/dp/0711997616/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325342861&sr=1-1

[mertz]

Has anyone read any of the books about the Eagles?

[goldwater]

really loved popoff's "ye old metal books". he wrote 5 of them covering 67' to 78', then just stopped.was hoping he'd go to at least the mid 80's. but from what i gathered from his website, i think he gave up.

[black]

"Has anyone read any of the books about the Eagles?"

Which one? If you are referring to the Don Felder one, then yes.

[GodShifter]

How is that one, black?

[mertz]

"Has anyone read any of the books about the Eagles?"

Which one? If you are referring to the Don Felder one, then yes.

yes...the Don Felder book does come to mind...how was it?

[black]

Like many of these band bios written by just one member, you have to figure in butthurt as well as one-sidedness. This book if rife with both. I enjoyed the "insider" peeks, and Don Felder's childhood is interesting. The guy developed his chops and rep early on. Had some rough times with marriage, kids and cash, but hit the jackpot with the Eagles.
The bulk of the book however seems to be a lot of him whining about how unfair he was treated by "The Gods" (frey and Henly). Felder has a point, but rather than getting a decent manager or even standing up to these cats with his beefs, he chooses to be kind of a pussy/stoner about it and cash his checks (which were/are quite hefty). It's interesting to read about the inner workings and politics of a giant band like this, and "Fingers" Felder gives up a lot of the goods, albeit with a crybaby slant (imo). I say that unless you're a big Eagles fan, check this out from the library, get it on a Kindle (where the price is much lower than a hard copy), buy it used or borrow from a friend.


I have a confession to make; I read way too many of these musician bios. Some are really fun, but most are barely above National Enquirer/People magazine drek. None the less, I will not be daunted! And being a Kindle and Kindle Fire owner, it's so easy to get these tomes.

[GodShifter]

Rock bios are, easily, my favorite things to read. Yeah, they aren't "true" literature, but I don't care. I enjoy them. They are the only thing that keeps my attention outside of great true crime or outdoors adventure/peril.

I'm a casual Eagles fan, but I've always admired Felder's songwriting talents the most of almost anyone in the band. He came up with a lot of the great riffs that are hallmarks of the Eagles set. His solo album, Airborne, and the stuff he contributed to the Heavy Metal soundtrack are pretty good, too.

[black]

"Rock bios are, easily, my favorite things to read. Yeah, they aren't "true" literature, but I don't care. I enjoy them..."

Couldn't have said it better (longer, perhaps, better? no!), GodShifter. You made my admission less shameful!

[mertz]

Thanks guys...I'm gonna give it a read. Should be fairly cheap on my iPad. I'm an Eagles/James Gang fan.

[The Shocker]

Rock bios are, easily, my favorite things to read. Yeah, they aren't "true" literature, but I don't care. I enjoy them. They are the only thing that keeps my attention outside of great true crime or outdoors adventure/peril.

I'm a casual Eagles fan, but I've always admired Felder's songwriting talents the most of almost anyone in the band. He came up with a lot of the great riffs that are hallmarks of the Eagles set. His solo album, Airborne, and the stuff he contributed to the Heavy Metal soundtrack are pretty good, too.

I want to like a lot more of them than I do.  I find so many of them lacking in some way.  The truly great ones are awesome though.

[GodShifter]

Like many of these band bios written by just one member, you have to figure in butthurt as well as one-sidedness. This book if rife with both. I enjoyed the "insider" peeks, and Don Felder's childhood is interesting. The guy developed his chops and rep early on. Had some rough times with marriage, kids and cash, but hit the jackpot with the Eagles.
The bulk of the book however seems to be a lot of him whining about how unfair he was treated by "The Gods" (frey and Henly). Felder has a point, but rather than getting a decent manager or even standing up to these cats with his beefs, he chooses to be kind of a pussy/stoner about it and cash his checks (which were/are quite hefty). It's interesting to read about the inner workings and politics of a giant band like this, and "Fingers" Felder gives up a lot of the goods, albeit with a crybaby slant (imo). I say that unless you're a big Eagles fan, check this out from the library, get it on a Kindle (where the price is much lower than a hard copy), buy it used or borrow from a friend.


I have a confession to make; I read way too many of these musician bios. Some are really fun, but most are barely above National Enquirer/People magazine drek. None the less, I will not be daunted! And being a Kindle and Kindle Fire owner, it's so easy to get these tomes.

I'm reading the Felder thing at the moment, but haven't gotten to the part where he has joined the Eagles yet. So far, I'm really enjoying it. It's well written and the narrative is pretty compelling, IMO.

[rayinreverse]

Cash by Johnny Cash
Life: Keith Richards
The Dirt:Motley Crue
A Biography of Led Zeppelin-When Giants Walked the Earth
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Rock

[diasdegalvan]

I've only read a few music related books but one I really liked was AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll.

[L. Ron]

I've only read a few music related books but one I really liked was AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll.

If you haven't read it yet, get the Mark Evans autobiography. It's a must-read for any AC/DC fan, especially cool for the Bon Scott stories and the insights into AC/DC's creative/songwriting/recording process.

[diasdegalvan]

If you haven't read it yet, get the Mark Evans autobiography. It's a must-read for any AC/DC fan, especially cool for the Bon Scott stories and the insights into AC/DC's creative/songwriting/recording process.

Thanks I loved reading about the Bon (not much of a Brian Johnson era fan) years so I definitely have to get that book.

[mortlock]

[GodShifter]

Like many of these band bios written by just one member, you have to figure in butthurt as well as one-sidedness. This book if rife with both. I enjoyed the "insider" peeks, and Don Felder's childhood is interesting. The guy developed his chops and rep early on. Had some rough times with marriage, kids and cash, but hit the jackpot with the Eagles.
The bulk of the book however seems to be a lot of him whining about how unfair he was treated by "The Gods" (frey and Henly). Felder has a point, but rather than getting a decent manager or even standing up to these cats with his beefs, he chooses to be kind of a pussy/stoner about it and cash his checks (which were/are quite hefty). It's interesting to read about the inner workings and politics of a giant band like this, and "Fingers" Felder gives up a lot of the goods, albeit with a crybaby slant (imo). I say that unless you're a big Eagles fan, check this out from the library, get it on a Kindle (where the price is much lower than a hard copy), buy it used or borrow from a friend.

I very much agree with your assessment here, black. I just finished the book tonight and while I enjoyed a lot of it, Felder becomes pretty hard to take by the end of it. By the last 20 or so pages, I was literally rolling my eyes at some of his whining about his perceived ill treatment by Henley and Frey ("The Gods"). <-- He uses that phrase so much in the book that after a time it's like, "enough!".

I love rock biographies and this one was interesting, as you said, about the inner workings of a huge corporation that is the Eagles. They're not a band, but more of a business entity for sure. No way I can take their music seriously anymore (at least not anything past The Long Run). But, back to the book, it's pretty obvious that Felder has a major ax to grind against Henley and Frey and he makes that abundantly clear in the book. Never the less, the dude is rich & set for life, so it's hard to feel too sorry for him. Besides, he could always quit at any juncture when he was unhappy in the band, but preferred the paychecks to his integrity, so boo hoo.