18 Jul
by Bruce Warren, Program Director for XPN
So little time, so many memorable, critically and culturally important books about rock ‘n’ roll to read. What are some of your favorites? And who are some of your most memorable writers?
One of the world’s most renowned music critics, and a writer who has had significant impact on the rock culture is Greil Marcus. Several books of his like Mystery Train
and Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island
are quintessential for any fan of music. Peter Guralnick is another important non-fiction author and critic. He’s written books worth repeated readings, like listening to your favorite records over and over, including Sweet Soul Music
, and his books about Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis
and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley
. Nick Tosches has written three of my favorite books: Hellfire: The Jerry Lee Lewis Story
, Unsung Heroes of Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Birth of Rock in the Wild Years Before Elvis
, and Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams
(about Dean Martin).
One of my all-time favorites books is by Fred Goodman called The Mansion on the Hill: Dylan, Young, Geffen, Springsteen, and the Head-on Collision of Rock and Commerce
. Goodman has an excellent knowledge of the music and the business and his insightful analysis gives us a unique perspective about how the counter-culture of the 60’s became a multi-million dollar industry. And even though I prefer a more formal style of rock writing and criticism, every once in a while, there’s nothing like a good, juicy rock-bio like the classic Led Zep bio, Hammer of the Gods
.
Let us know some of your most memorable “rock reads”.
Here’s some more for you to discover along your journey:
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (An Evergreen book)
– The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil & Gillian McCain
Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis, Jr.
– Sammy Davis, Jr.
England’s Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond
– Jon Savage
The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made
– Dave Marsh
The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll
– Charlie Gillett
Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe
– Chuck Eddy
It Came From Memphis
– Robert Gordon
Chronicles: Volume One
– Bob Dylan
Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke
– Peter Guralnick
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon
– Crystal Zevon
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
My favorite non-fiction rock books (that you didn’t mention already)
Rock Snob Criticism
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life - Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton
Sex, Drugs & Carburetor Dung - Lester Bangs
History
We’ve Got the Neutron Bomb - Marc Spitz
Our Band Could Be Your Life - Michael Azerrad
Can’t Stop Won’t Stop - Jeff Chang
Rip It Up & Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 - Simon Reynolds
Juicier Than a Watermelon
Crazy from the Heat - David Lee Roth memoirs
The Dirt - Motley Crue autobiography
I’m with the Band - Pamela Des Barres
Faithfull - Marianne Faithfull
Heroes & Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys - Steven Gaines
Just plain fun
July 18th, 2007 at 12:07 amRetro Hell - staff of zine Ben is Dead
Fargo Rock City - Chuck Klosterman
Bubblegum Is the Naked Truth - Kim Cooper & David Smay
Hollywood Rock - Marshall Crenshaw
Some of my favorite music reads, although I’m not sure you can call any of them books about rock and roll, are:
Jaco: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius
Miles: The Autobiography
The Real Frank Zappa Book
Indeed, these are books that I return to over and over, at least in small chunks.
The Mansion on the Hill sounds like a future read for sure, and right now, in little chinks again, here’s a shout-out for Wisdom For A Young Musician.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:55 amTo the non-fiction, I’d add:
Rob Sheffield, Love is a Mix Tape
Barney Hoskyns, Across the Great Divide: The Band and America
But I’ve also discovered a lot of music through fiction. Sometimes rock’n’roll is the subject matter, like in Nick Hornby’s brilliant “High Fidelity” which makes this grown woman feel like a 14 year old boy making lists of favorite songs. Sometimes it’s the novel’s protagonist who is a fan. This seems to be the special provenance of mystery writers, and both Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson come to mind immediately, but I “discovered” Lou Reed’s “Berlin” through a novel by Martha Grimes. And sometimes, detectives and the music industry coalesce, like in Paul Charles’ mysteries whose titles are the names of pop songs (”I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass,” “Fountain of Sorrow”), whose chapter headings bear quotes from favorite songs, and whose detective, Inspector Christy Kennedy, is a music fan.
July 18th, 2007 at 11:10 amI have to imagine Bruce will do a separate day for fiction rock books. Besides High Fidelity, Great Jones Street by Don DeLillo springs to mind.
July 18th, 2007 at 11:25 amMy most vivid musical moment was a Jimi Hendrix concert in March of 1968. It was held at the Arena in West Phila.; it was the first time an act from the “sixties underground” played a large hall in Phila. Prior to that, “underground” acts were solely at the original Electric Factory or The Trauma. It was beyond anything I could have imagined, and the show gave credence to the comment years later by Pete Townsend that “Hendrix changed the direction of rock n’ roll more than the Beatles”.
July 18th, 2007 at 12:34 pmWhat is equally vivid about the evening was that as the crowd was leaving, an announcement came over that earlier that evening
Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not seek re-election. This gave an additional shot of euphoria to the already mesmerized crowd, as the announcement was construed as an admission by the chief architect of the Vietnam War that he had make a mistake and an end to our involvement might be near. As we know, this was not to be, as the most electable anti-war candidate (Robert Kennedy) was assasinated several months later ultimately leading to the despotic Richard Nixon gaining the White House and expanding the war even further. This should serve as a reminder that Bush’s poor approval ratings do not guarantee that our involvement in Iraq will soon end. We have to work to make that happen.
I neglected to include the very important author component in my list of fav books. Miles autobiography was enhanced for the better, without losing the essence of that formidable personality, by Quincy Troupe’s co-bill. The Real FZ book is undoubtedly almost all FZ. In fact, in Barry Miles recent bio of FZ, he imparts the impression that there is quite a bit of, shall we say, highly edited content in this book about FZ that is, like the man says, the REAL FZbook.
The book that has stayed with me the most, not surprisingly if you know me, is the Bill Milkowski bio of Jaco, “The World’s Greatest Bass Player”. I’ve enjoyed many of his articles in magazines, and he really takes you there without obscuring the story with the “enhancement” that might occur if the subject was doing the writing. I believe he is a great reporter of the progressive sides of music. And Jaco, well, Jaco is one of my very prime musical heroes. I certainly believe that he was, and is, as he strived to be, the Hendrix of the bass. He figures in one of my great all time live experiences, but that is for elsewhere.
Let me also mention that a great role for writing about music, especially when it comes to the glories of vinyl, is the Liner Note. The name that always comes to mind when I think of great liner note writers is Leonard Feather. He was instrumental in my expanding awareness into jazz and jazz fusion. So,again, I’m not sure if he belongs here, but he is important to me. And the Liner Note is certainly worthy of consideration here. Check the boards for this thread. If it’s not started yet, I will do so.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:12 pm