# Favortie Books about music/musicians



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

There are two types of stores, and 2 only, that I could easily spend hours in--a music store and a book store. Books are another big interest of mine. SO I was wondering--not counting method books or songbooks (music and/or tab included)--What are some of your favorite books about music--I'm referring to books about musicians, musical styles/history, musical instruments--that sort of thing. Here's my list--in no particular order-

-Grace Like a River by Christopher Parkening-the autobiography of my favorite classical guitarist--including his non-guitar life and faith--a great read and it comes with a CD sampler of his album of the same name.

-Bach, Beethoven and the Boys by David W. Barber-a hilarious look at music history.
also by Barber-If it Ain't Baroque (a followup to B,B & the B's), Musician's Dictionary (the same sense of humour applied to musical terms, and Getting a Handel on Messiah (about what it sounds like it's about)

-Guitar An American Life by Tim Brookes-the story of a man whose guitar breaks so he combines a 50th birthday present from his wife (a new guitar) with writing a book about the history of guitar-primarily in the US. He has a custom guitar made and he describes that process intertwined with the history bits. It's quite fascinating.

-Les Paul-An American Original by Mary Alice Shaughnessy-an unvarnished, but admiring bio of Les Paul. Well fleshed out and acknowledging Les Paul's selective and retroactive memory--a fun read as well.

-Gibson Guitars, Ted McCarty's Golden Era by Gil Hembree--a fascinating look at Ted McCarty, his life and how he turned Gibson around and the wonderful guitars introduced during his tenure as President of Gibson.

-And many of Tony Bacon's books, although he does re-use a lot of guitar pictures and other materials--so maybe focus on "Totally Guitar" (with Dave Hunter) for a good, comphrehensive overview and then his books on your area of guitar interest.

Anybody else care to share? I'm always open to new book suggestions (even though I've got quite a few waiting to be read and a few on the go.


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## skydigger (Oct 20, 2007)

I've read quite a few biographies of musicians. By far I enjoyed Anthony Keidis' autobiography Scar Tissue.

It's hard to believe that guy is still alive.


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## Guest (Dec 28, 2007)

Most of Rollin's books are interesting, some even good. _Get In The Van_ was great for it's Black Flag stories and _The First Five_ really captured his spoken word rants well.

I enjoyed Peart's _Ghost Rider_ and _Traveling Music_. The former was a really personal glimpse into his life and the latter has great Rush and music business stories in it.

Tony Levin's _Beyond the Bass Clef_ had interesting stories but poor prose.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

iaresee said:


> I enjoyed Peart's _Ghost Rider_ and _Traveling Music_. The former was a really personal glimpse into his life and the latter has great Rush and music business stories in it.


Roadshow is really excellent as well and we finally get the story of what happened with Lifeson in Florida. If you like his style his first one about his bicycle tour around Africa is very good too. It's Called the Masked Rider

I've also read Zappa's book which was great till he got all political near the end.

Hammer of the Gods about Zepplin
No one here gets out alive ( the Doors)
Kiss and Tell
Dirt (Motley Crue)
I'm with the Band (different side of things by a former groupie)
Shakey (Neil Youngs Authorized biography)
There's more, but the names are escaping me.
They all have some great stories to tell and it's a wonder the ones who survived did.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

I just got _Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: An Unauthorized Biography_ for Xmas. Haven't read it yet but looking forward to it. I also got the Jimi Hendrix Biography. Should be interesting as well. I have read the Kurt Cobain biography - interesting and sad. Too bad he got hooked on dope and ultimately killed himself. Still have to pick up the Clapton biography as well as the Dave Grohl biography. I'm a big reader. Always reading something. Right now I'm hooked on biographies of musicians.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Thanks for more suggestions.
I have a few on hold at the library, when they're available, and if they're good, I'll let you know.


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## Wheeman (Dec 4, 2007)

Not so much a book, but a radio program. The Ongoing History of New Music done by Alan Cross is my favorite radio program.

Ongoing History of New Music.

I think its syndicated across Canada but thats the local radio station that has it. That site has streaming episodes and transcripts. I've learned some cool stuff from this guy.


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## Guest (Jan 4, 2008)

Walk this Way. Aerosmith biog.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...bob dylan: chronicles vol 1, hands down. pure magic.

-dh


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Trash - New York Dolls
Heroin Diaries - Nikki Sixx
The Dirt - Motely Crue
Man In Black - Johnny Cash (not the new Cash book, older one)
Walk This Way - Aerosmith
Scar Tissue - Chilli Peppers dude

I recently got the Slash and Nikki Sixx books. I have read a ton of bio type books, and the Nikki Sixx Heroin Diaries is one of my favourite. The Slash one is good too.

I lend the Dirt to everyone I know. EVen if they have no interest in Motely Crue, they absolutely love the book. So I would have to recommend it.


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

Here's a few that come to mind,
Michael Bloomfield-If You Love These Blues
Midnight Riders-Story of The Allman Brothers
Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey
Strange Brew-Eric Clapton & The British Blues Boom
The PRS Guitar Book
.....all great reads.


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## bluecoyote (May 18, 2007)

Currently I am reading Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer by Chris Salewicz. In this biography of punk icon Joe Strummer, music writer Salewicz focuses on the heady days of the punk explosion and Strummer's long hiatus after leaving the Clash. A totally captivating book about a very interesting artist.


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## Duster (Dec 28, 2007)

+1 to "Guitar: An American Life". It's a great history of the guitar, how it came to America, and how it's become so many different things to different people. One of the better non-fiction books I've read in a good long while.

When I get home I should have a package in the mail containing a book called "Practicing". The subtitle is something like "a musician's return to music". It's supposed to be about a professional classical guitarist returning to the instrument years after quitting the business, and the kind of satisfaction he finds in, well, practicing. Looking forward to it!

--- D


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## Mahogany Martin (Mar 2, 2006)

Shakey (Neil Young) was quite interesting and so was Midnight Riders (Allman Bros).
Clapton - Edge of darkness is good too. I read his new autobiography before Christmas and it was ok.
Oddly enough, about a week before Christmas, I started reading Oscar Peterson Musical Biography by Alex Barris (I heard of him passing away on Dec23rd while reading the book). Very good book.
One book that I really enjoyed is Fleetwood - My life and adventures in Fleetwood Mac.
Joni Mitchell - Shadows and light is quite good too.
Nigel Kennedy - Always playing is another good one.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

What a fantastic list of books so far!!

Bill Wyman's _"Blues Odyssey"_ is great. I visited many of the places in Memphis and Mississippi that he wrote about.

I have several other books about Blues history and Blues
artists, but you have to be a real enthusiast to want to read them.

I'm about 30% of my way through _"Still Takin Care of Business...The Randy Bachman Story"_ I'm enjoying it. 

Dave


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2008)

I just finished "Alice Cooper Golf Monster". Very interesting read if you golf. Lots of stories of his life from a kid to present day.


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## NB-SK (Jul 28, 2007)

skydigger said:


> I've read quite a few biographies of musicians. By far I enjoyed Anthony Keidis' autobiography Scar Tissue.
> 
> It's hard to believe that guy is still alive.


I was not impressed. On one page he would claim to have a new outlook in life, try to convince the reader that he was a soulful person...but then you'd turned a page or two and it didn't seem anymore like he felt any remorse for what he had done while on drugs, in fact, it almost sounded as if he was bragging about it all. He flip-flopped like that throughout the book. It was really tiresome. Let's just say I threw it against the wall a couple of times, promising myself never to finish the book...but I'm the kind of guy who'll give a book or a movie a second, third, and fourth chance, no matter how bad it may be. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, to consider that maybe, just maybe, he was trying to express the duality of addiction by using two different voices, one remorseful and one reminiscent, but I'm not convinced that's the correct interpretation.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

I thought I would resurrect this one as I just purchased two Music related books. One is called "the Music Lesson" by Victor Wooten. It's a very interesting and somewhat spiritual approach to learning music and feelin the groove. Short read with some nice music related parables.

Also I'm excited about "Conversations with Tom Petty" He's always been one of my favs and The guy that I'd pick when asked "Who would you like to most jam with" He just seems like a regular guy. We'll see!


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

NB-SK said:


> I was not impressed. On one page he would claim to have a new outlook in life, try to convince the reader that he was a soulful person...but then you'd turned a page or two and it didn't seem anymore like he felt any remorse for what he had done while on drugs, in fact, it almost sounded as if he was bragging about it all. He flip-flopped like that throughout the book. It was really tiresome. Let's just say I threw it against the wall a couple of times, promising myself never to finish the book...but I'm the kind of guy who'll give a book or a movie a second, third, and fourth chance, no matter how bad it may be. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, to consider that maybe, just maybe, he was trying to express the duality of addiction by using two different voices, one remorseful and one reminiscent, but I'm not convinced that's the correct interpretation.


Oh I can't believe this is the last post in this one! I purchased this book and CANNOT get into it at all! I'm a Chili's fan, but Keidis is just leaving me cold.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Does Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach count? 

I generally can't stand the way those musician bio-type books are written, same with those talking head biopics (you know the ones, they interview Eric Clapton sitting in a lawn chair where you get 3 sentences about player X who absolutely revolutionised music...). They're usually so gushy and fanboy-ish. I think it comes from journalists thinking they're actually writers a lot of the time. Maybe I've just read the crap ones though.

I have (had, just realised I can't find it) an interesting book by Pablo Casals. It rambled a bit (a lot) but was an interesting insight into a real master craftsman.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

devnulljp said:


> Does Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach count?


Why not?
the thread says music/musicians--so anything on Bach would count, any composer, musician, singer, style, instrument, etc, etc would count.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

Shapiro, Harry: Slowhand - The Story Of Eric Clapton- 

Taraborrelli, J. Randall. - Sinatra: The Man Behind the Myth- wow

Johnny Rotten: - No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs- really honest and revealing

Joe Nick Patoski- Stevie Ray Vaughan : Caught in the Crossfire 

Albert Goldman- the lives of john lennon- another good read, interesting stuff

and 2 more that have been mentioned-

no one here gets out alive- a classic and essential reading
shakey- best neil young book ive read

another that really was weird was the john kay autobiography- Magic Carpet Ride
lots of revelations- his whole story was a surprise to me. good read too


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

devnulljp said:


> Does Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach count?
> 
> I generally can't stand the way those musician bio-type books are written, same with those talking head biopics (you know the ones, they interview Eric Clapton sitting in a lawn chair where you get 3 sentences about player X who absolutely revolutionised music...). They're usually so gushy and fanboy-ish. I think it comes from journalists thinking they're actually writers a lot of the time. Maybe I've just read the crap ones though.
> 
> I have (had, just realised I can't find it) an interesting book by Pablo Casals. It rambled a bit (a lot) but was an interesting insight into a real master craftsman.


i hear you-
i read a lot, anything from greek classics to the bible to the technical manuals of ww2 planes, tanks and subs.
in my house cheap musician biographies coexist happily with malthus, bacon, hesse, lamb, dostoevsky and hustler.
a little milton, a little porn- its all relative:smile:


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

I just remembered, Bob Geldof's autobiography Is That It? is a great read.
I never liked the Boomtown Rats, but I think he's a stellar fella, and the book is entertaining and educational as well.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

devnulljp said:


> I generally can't stand the way those musician bio-type books are written, same with those talking head biopics (you know the ones, they interview Eric Clapton sitting in a lawn chair where you get 3 sentences about player X who absolutely revolutionised music...). They're usually so gushy and fanboy-ish. I think it comes from journalists thinking they're actually writers a lot of the time. Maybe I've just read the crap ones though.


Nah alot of them are like that, but just a fun allbeit not too deep read. Some people watch TV.


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## lyric girl (Sep 4, 2008)

Starbuck said:


> Oh I can't believe this is the last post in this one! I purchased this book and CANNOT get into it at all! I'm a Chili's fan, but Keidis is just leaving me cold.


I borrowed it from the library and I couldn't get into it either. I took love the band and especially Anthony Keidis, but couldn't get into it.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

I am reading the Clapton autobigraphy right now, it's good but sort of depressing reading. I've been a Clapton fan since I was about 10 years old when I first heard Sunshine of Your Love on a jukebox when I was on a family ski trip in the Laurentians. I own just about everything he has ever recorded but I never really got caught up in the gossipy fan stuff. I know he's had a few problems over the years but man, it's hard to believe someone who seemingly had it all could have been so troubled and unhappy through so much of his life. He sure bares his soul in this book anyways.

Pete


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Starbuck said:


> Nah alot of them are like that, but just a fun allbeit not too deep read. Some people watch TV.


...although I really enjoyed Woody Allen's Sweet 'n' Low Down pseudo biopic of a dysfunctional gypsy jazz player with Sean Penn. If you haven't seen it, and if you like that style of music and black comedy to boot, it's highly recommended. But now I've derailed it away from books to films sorry. 

Anyone read Oliver Sacks' _Musicophilia_ or Daniel Levitin's _This Is Your Brain On Music_?
I've heard them both talk about their work, and it sounds fascinating. They're both in my (unfortunately very long) list of books to read if I ever get the time...


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

Sneaky said:


> I am reading the Clapton autobigraphy right now, it's good but sort of depressing reading. I've been a Clapton fan since I was about 10 years old when I first heard Sunshine of Your Love on a jukebox when I was on a family ski trip in the Laurentians. I own just about everything he has ever recorded but I never really got caught up in the gossipy fan stuff. I know he's had a few problems over the years but man, it's hard to believe someone who seemingly had it all could have been so troubled and unhappy through so much of his life. He sure bares his soul in this book anyways.
> 
> Pete


Hey Pete,

If you have not read it yet, might I recommend "Strange Brew-Eric Clapton & The Britsh Blues Boom". A great read about Eric and all his contempories. A must read if you are a Clapton fan or music coming out of the U.K. at that time.


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

mario said:


> Hey Pete,
> 
> If you have not read it yet, might I recommend "Strange Brew-Eric Clapton & The Britsh Blues Boom". A great read about Eric and all his contempories. A must read if you are a Clapton fan or music coming out of the U.K. at that time.


That's a great one! Lots of trivia in there. Who played what, where and with whom. That one led me to some great recorded music.

The Clapton biography was good as was the book on Cream. Here's a few that I have enjoyed:

Led Zeppelin - The Story of a Band and Their Music - Keith Shadwick

The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy - Robb Lawrence ( the first volume, the second one is due out early October)

Beauty of the Burst - Yasuhiko Iwanade ( not so much read as just drooled on)

50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul - Tony Bacon

The one I am currently reading is the first volume of Sonic Boom - The Impact of Led Zeppelin written by Frank Reddon, who happens to live in Fort Erie. It's the first of three volumes.


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

Really liked...
Can't Be Satisfied.....the life and times of Muddy Waters,.....Robert Gordon 
One Train Later...Andy Summers
Miles....The Autobiography.....Miles Davis with Quincy Troop
The Producer, John Hammond and the Soul of American Music...Dunstan Prial

and for Canadian content......
Before The Goldrush..Nicholas Jennings
On A Cold Road....Dave Bidini


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

faracaster said:


> Really liked...
> Can't Be Satisfied.....the life and times of Muddy Waters,.....Robert Gordon
> Miles....The Autobiography.....Miles Davis with Quincy Troop


Good calls. I'll be putting those in my to read list...thanks. 
I really thought Boogie Man: The Adventures Of John Lee Hooker would have been a good read but pitched it after a couple of chapters as drivel. Same with the film That's my story. Still haven't watched it all the way through. It's embarrassingly bad.


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## notme (Mar 23, 2006)

I'm always looking for book suggestions, so I will be refering to this thread when I make my next chapters order.

So far my favorite has been Dylan's "Chronicles Vol 1".
I liked "The Producer, John Hammond and the Soul of American Music"
I just finished "This Is Your Brain On Music", and it had a fantastic start, but became too repetitive and eventually boring.
Lately I've been reading books on recording and my present one is "Mastering Audio" by Bob Katz. So far I like it; very informative for anyone doing recording, but I'm not far enough along to make a judgement. Right now I'm at a part where he's expressing his distain for the "loudness wars" in the recording industry.

Anyway here is SOS's review of the book:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct03/articles/bobkatz.htm

I've heard great things about George Martin's "Recording the Beatles", will eventually read that.


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## Cadence (Nov 20, 2007)

zontar said:


> Guitar An American Life by Tim Brookes-the story of a man whose guitar breaks so he combines a 50th birthday present from his wife (a new guitar) with writing a book about the history of guitar-primarily in the US. He has a custom guitar made and he describes that process intertwined with the history bits. It's quite fascinating.


I'll third this one. I remember a unit in "music or rock n' roll history" in school. After reading this book, it was pitiful in retrospect. Sure, we learned about the music, but we didn't learn about the societal conditions at the time and the two are so HUGELY intertwined; the one reflecting the other. This books explains WHY music in North America (mostly the US) evolved the way it did.

Cadence


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## 1PUTTS (Sep 8, 2007)

Paul said:


> Travels with My Amp - Greg Goddovitz, the definitive book on life in Canadian Rock and Roll. My brother in law is mentioned multiple times.
> 
> On a Cold Road - Dave Bidini - 1/2 Rheos's diary, 1/2 Canadian Rock History. An enjoyable read.


I'm a sucker for stories about Canadian Rock - these are two of my favourites. Both very insightful and entertaining!


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

A real cool book is "CREEM". It contains a ton of past articles and interviews thru the magazine's history. I was a huge fan of the magazine back in the 70s'...it was a heck of a lot better than that toilet paper called "Rolling Stone". Creem was written by actual journalists that loved Rock n' Roll. Just a fantastic read and I recommend it highly.


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

mario said:


> A real cool book is "CREEM". It contains a ton of past articles and interviews thru the magazine's history. I was a huge fan of the magazine back in the 70s'...it was a heck of a lot better than that toilet paper called "Rolling Stone". Creem was written by actual journalists that loved Rock n' Roll. Just a fantastic read and I recommend it highly.


Yeah Mario I've got that too. It is a bit of a giggle along with being well written.
I haven't finished it yet so didn't put it on my list.

Pete


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

faracaster said:


> Yeah Mario I've got that too. It is a bit of a giggle along with being well written.
> I haven't finished it yet so didn't put it on my list.
> 
> Pete


It has a ton of "giggles"( you gotta love the Grace Slick pic in the "Creem Profile")! Back in the day, Creem was based out of Detroit, Michigan so it wrote a lot about Iggy Pop, Ted Nugent, MC5 etc...I sure discovered a lot of cool music in my teens (a long time ago) thru that mag.


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## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

skydigger said:


> I've read quite a few biographies of musicians. By far I enjoyed Anthony Keidis' autobiography Scar Tissue.
> 
> It's hard to believe that guy is still alive.


+1, Great book.


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## djdeacon (Jul 8, 2008)

It's probably hard to find now, but my favourite book about a band on the road is "Diary of a Rock'n'roll Star" by Ian Hunter. 

The best bio of a musican I've read recently is "Dream Boogie", the book about Sam Cooke, by Peter Guralnick. So many other early rock acts have cameos in that book, it's interesting even if you're not into Sam Cooke.


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## Duster (Dec 28, 2007)

devnulljp said:


> Anyone read Oliver Sacks' _Musicophilia_ or Daniel Levitin's _This Is Your Brain On Music_?
> I've heard them both talk about their work, and it sounds fascinating. They're both in my (unfortunately very long) list of books to read if I ever get the time...


I have Musicophilia on the shelf, and I expect it to be just like Sacks' other books, most of which I've read. He tells fascinating stories about strange brain-damage cases he's encountered over the years. I understand this one is about music-related brain abnormalities, which should be particularly cool. He's a great writer who discusses medical and scientific issues in a way that shows he sees past the diseases and conditions, to the actual people inhabiting the brains he studies. Much respect for the Sacks.

This is Your Brain on Music was also good. It was less scientific, as it's written by a musician / sound person as opposed to a doctor. I found it very thought provoking and it moved me in a strange way. The thesis is that our brains, for some reason, have evolved to understand and make music. We're the only animals, apparently, who's brains can do this, and regardless of culture or geographic location, every human civilization has some kind of music. For me, it drove the point home that music is an innate natural capability that we are all born with, and music comes from all of us in some way. My favourite concept in the book is that the "civilized" Western world is one of the few places to have the concept of "professional" musicians. In most less civilized cultures, music is made by everyone, naturally, regardless of skill level - the idea that "I'm not good enough" to make music for others is a very unnatural one for the human race... That idea is very profound.

--- D


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

*Bump*

Just read Slash's book about GNR. I dunno, I think maybe that someone who has been so drug addled would have trouble remember things with such clarity.. Interesting read (If you like GNR) I'm not necessarily calling BS, but maybe just a vehicle to vent on the Axl situation?


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

Paul said:


> Two words: Ghost writer.


Oh yeah to be sure, but then again THAT guy wouldn't have been there right?


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

Miles Davis' autobiography "Miles" is a great read. Downright hilarious at times.

Shawn :smile:


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

Stratin2traynor said:


> I just got _Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man: An Unauthorized Biography_ for Xmas. Haven't read it yet but looking forward to it. I also got the Jimi Hendrix Biography. Should be interesting as well. I have read the Kurt Cobain biography - interesting and sad. Too bad he got hooked on dope and ultimately killed himself. Still have to pick up the Clapton biography as well as the Dave Grohl biography. I'm a big reader. Always reading something. Right now I'm hooked on biographies of musicians.


I highly recommend the clapton bio

I just finished Slash's bio as well - amusing but not killer


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Walk This Way - Aerosmith
Man In Black - Johhny Cash (first Bio, came well before Cash)
The Dirt - Motley Crue
The Heroin Diaries - Nikki SIxx (not for everyone, but a fascinating read)
Trash - New York Dolls
Scar Tissue - Chilli Peppers singer (can't spell his name)

Rock and a Hard Place - Andrew Mueller - this one is not specifically a music book, but is great. Mueller was a rock critic for a lot of British magazines. He's also a correspondant though and went to some crazy places in some crazy times of conflict. A lot of times interviewing bands while there. You have to find it used, but it's a great book.

Regarding Slash's book, that was written with Antony Bozza who is a very reputable writer and has worked on some fantastic books.


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## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

Shakey is pretty good, very detailed... What I've read of Scar tissue was great too


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Don't know if it's been mentioned yet as I haven't had time to read the whole post, but the Neil Young bio "Neil and Me" by Scott Young (his dad - a reputable sports writer and novelist) was a great book.


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

Starbuck said:


> Oh yeah to be sure, but then again THAT guy wouldn't have been there right?


I'm currently reading "I 'm gonna watch you bleed"....a history of GNR....many accounts noted in Slash's bio line up with this book......My boss gave it to me to read....which I decided to take him up on as soon as I was sure it wasn't' written by Axl......


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

lbrown1 said:


> I'm currently reading "I 'm gonna watch you bleed"....a history of GNR....many accounts noted in Slash's bio line up with this book......My boss gave it to me to read....which I decided to take him up on as soon as I was sure it wasn't' written by Axl......


LOL! Yeah no kidding. Although I was waiting the whole time for it to get around to what an alleged dick Axl is. "Axl is such a genius songwriter" (BUT)... I''ll have a look out for that other one.


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## bscott (Mar 3, 2008)

Over on another forum there is "Clapton's Guitar circulating the world. Just put your name on the list and when your name comes up it is sent to you. When you are finished sign the book and then send it to the next person.
That book is an interesting read about how one person gets a guiatr built for Clapton.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

bscott said:


> Over on another forum there is "Clapton's Guitar circulating the world. Just put your name on the list and when your name comes up it is sent to you. When you are finished sign the book and then send it to the next person.
> That book is an interesting read about how one person gets a guiatr built for Clapton.


I read that one. Its good, but its really more about the guitar maker (Wayne Henderson) than Clapton - I guess they just used Claptons name to sell more books. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who hasn't read it, but I found the ending a bit strange. You can read a small excerpt of the book here, by clicking on the picture of the book:

http://www.amazon.ca/Claptons-Guitar-Watching-Henderson-Instrument/dp/0743266358


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

My wife got me the Tim Brookes book others have mentioned a few years back, and its a good one. She also bought me the two Daniel Levitin books more recently "This is your brain..." and "The world in 6 songs". He likes to drop a lot of names, but once in a while he makes some good points. I found them both a little light.

I like Dave Bidini's books, and can recommend both "On a Cold Road" and "Around the World in 56-1/2 gigs". I found both hard to put down.

A real sleeper of a book I picked up about 2 years ago is this one from Memphis musician Don Nix, writer of the classic Freddie King / Jeff Beck tune "Goin' Down": http://www.amazon.com/Road-Stories-Recipes-Don-Nix/dp/0028646215 What a weird combination. Half of it is road stories from his days with Stax/Volt, Leon Russell, the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, and a whack of other musical adventures, many of which just make you smile thinking about them. The other half of the book is recipes provided by all your favourite blues and southern rock musicians; the kind of fare they'd make for themselves in the hotel room, or as soon as they finally got back home and were sick of hotel food.

Of course "Soulsville" by Rob Bowman, the history of Stax/Volt is a wonderful social/musical history of the 60's and 70's, and highly recommended.

A personal favourite is "Essays Before a Sonata" by my hero, composer Charles Ives. Ives was a real curmudgeon but a genius in a bubble. Before there was Frank Zappa and Prince doing things on their own terms in their own little magical worlds, there was Charles Ives. This guy single-handedly pre-dated almost every development in American 20th century music that didn't involve electronics. He also supported a wide array of composers and paid for both their publishing and the publishing of music journals, at the same time as he hired musicians to perform his own works, and raised a family of five in Manhattan style. How'd he do it? He founded Mutual of New York Insurance Company. That's right, one of the top half dozen American musical minds of the 20th century had a day job as an insurance salesman. One of my favourite quotes of his from the book "Why can't you stand up and take a dissonance like a man?".

Another book I kinda like is "Hollywood Rock" by Marshall Crenshaw. It is an encyclopedia of all the feature-length films that attempt to portray pop music, be it the Sex Pistols, Bill Haley, or Mexican wrestling films with surf music.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

Rob Bowman is one of the best music writers ever period. His liner notes to The Band remasters are excellent reading in themselves. He's got a bit that was excerpted on a music site devoted to Gram Parsons that I can't get through without laughing my ass off. He retells the story of how Gram's manager Phil Kaufman stole Gram's corpse  after his funeral. The body was to be flown to New Orleans as per his families wishes for a proper burial. Kaufman believed that Gram had wished to be cremated in the Joshua Tree desert. By the time the authorities caught up with him, they were greeted by the surreal sight of Kaufman and co. solemnly observing their dearly departed friend's casket smoldering in the desert sun. Kaufman could not be charged for stealing the body as per California law, but he could be and was arrested for stealing and burning the coffin. LOL The best part of all this is that clearly he loved this man and the people around him, and was able to convey this even through the most outrageous passages.

Shawn :food-smiley-004:


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