Rock Biographies

[Rob H]

I've read a few. Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis, Star Man by Michael Francis, a bunch of Doors/Morrison bios and Crosstown Traffic.

I'm about to start on The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee. Following this, I'll probably try to get my hands on Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith.

Are there any others that you'd like to recommend?

[Sanagi]

A Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey. Although it could use an update.

[berk]

I think I've mentioned all these on the Music board, but the two that really caught me up in the reading of them that perhaps some readers might not be faliliar with are Nico:Icon (about Nico, obviously) and Without You (about Badfinger). Can't recall the authors of either one right now and can't see them on the shelf nearby, but I was totally engrossed by the two of them. Mind you, I read them because I was already a fan of the subjects, so you might have to take my recommendation with a grain of salt. Having saif that, though, I think that both books are so good as sheer "human- interest" (what a phrase!) stories that anybody who likes stories will find them good reads.

[berk]

BTW - has anyone ever read any of these sort of pocketbooks or something I;e seen her and there that purport to analyse various famous albums track by track? I've seen one for Pink Floyd's Piper and I think a couple of the classic Stones albums ...

[Sanagi]

BTW - has anyone ever read any of these sort of pocketbooks or something I;e seen her and there that purport to analyse various famous albums track by track? I've seen one for Pink Floyd's Piper and I think a couple of the classic Stones albums ...

No... But here's a good series of analyses of Beatles songs.

[Jonathan Bogart]

BTW - has anyone ever read any of these sort of pocketbooks or something I;e seen her and there that purport to analyse various famous albums track by track? I've seen one for Pink Floyd's Piper and I think a couple of the classic Stones albums ...

I've flipped through ones for London Calling and Nevermind. They're basically nice repositories of the sort of factoids that anyone who spends much time reading music journalism has a storehouse of. Not much deep analysis on any level, from what I could see.

[Jonathan Bogart]

And to the topic ... the only music biographies I have are of jazz performers. I prefer to only read biographies of dead people; it's the only way objectivity and completeness get a fighting chance.

I have a lot of books about rock, or even about the cultural significance of certain performers, genres, and songs; but no biographies.

Oh, wait. I do have the first volume of Dylan's autobiography. But he approaches his own life like an imaginative, fiction-friendly critic, and it ends up being much more about the cultural significance of rock & roll (and of Bob Dylan) than a recounting of his life and times.

[Gary_B]

I read The Real Frank Zappa Book which is an autobiography. It is a very entertaining read and is filled with all kinds of great stories from the 60's and 70's.

[Tobias March]

I read Lonn Friend's book "Life on Planet Rock". It mostly features stories about his career as a rock journalist for RIP magazine from the late 80's to the 90's and his brief foray into trying to work as a rock developer for a music company.

Good fun, lots of great anecdotes of the 'yeah so I was getting drunk with Tori Amos when...' variety.

[howyadoin]

I've read a few. Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis, Star Man by Michael Francis, a bunch of Doors/Morrison bios and Crosstown Traffic.

I'm about to start on The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee. Following this, I'll probably try to get my hands on Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith.

Are there any others that you'd like to recommend?

What'd you think of Scar Tissue? I thought it was a pretty compelling red, but by the end of it, I felt like scrubbing myself clean with a wire brush. In a similar vein (hah!), you might wanna check out Steve Earle's bio, Hardcore Troubadour.

Venturing a little afield of this stuff (but bringing it back to comics) is Bill Sienkiewicz's Hendrix bio, Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix. Brilliant stuff.

[Ilash]

I have a lot of books about rock, or even about the cultural significance of certain performers, genres, and songs; but no biographies.

Do you mind listing some of these books because I am also actually more interested in this sort of thing (Revolution in the Head and Lester Bangs' books, for example) over rock biographies.

I have read two rock biographies though. The Stones by Philip Norman, which is okay but, aside for some great sections dealing with Altamont and Brian Jones' death, it was somewhat superficial. I also read recently Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, his authorized biography, which was actually a really interesting read. There isn't nearly as much Lennon/ McCartney revisionism as people have made out and most of that comes from the author rather than from Paul's interviews. Paul actually gives PLENTY of props to John and it's pretty clear that he admires the hell out of him. And as far as song authorship goes, it does seem like there are only two or three major disagreements. The book also pays plenty of attention to the music than anything else, which is just as how I prefer it and there are plenty of insights into McCartney's creative process and his relationship with music. On the other hand, it's not all that well written but at least it is readable enough.

Definitely gotta pick up Dylan's Chronicles book though.

[Matthew E]

Warren Zevon's biography is coming out... next month, I think. And when it does, I'll be there like Jack the bear from Delaware.

[Subotai]

Shakey, Neil Young's bio, is top-shelf.

[Subotai]

And not exactly rock, but Johnny Cash's autobiography, Cash, is terrific. I guess like a lot of guys I read it after watching High Fidelity.

[berk]

oh, and Please Kill Me, an "oral history of punk rock" is a great read as well. It concentrates mostly on the American stuff, though. I'd like to read something similar about the British scene, if there is one.