Step back in time to early 1970s British pop and then fast forward through punk, rockabilly, New Wave and even some country music. You are living the wacky life of a British music reporter and it’s Too Late to Stop Now! It is no surprise now to discover that EltonContinue Reading
The Sex Pistols were a phenomenon that popped up about the same time as disco began in the mid to late 1970s. There truly couldn’t be two more opposite styles. For angry young people upset about inflation and no jobs, punk was the perfect way to release their frustration thatContinue Reading
The subtitle for The Number Ones is Twenty Chart-topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. It sounds like hyperbole—but it’s not. Get ready to give your favorite music streaming service a workout as you revisit old favorite songs and find new ones. The book covers music from 1960Continue Reading
Welcome to the jungle! And the jungle is LOUD! The first female roadie, for bands like The Who and AC/DC, writes her memoir. Of course, it’s chock full of sex, drugs and rock and roll. But, also, it shows her courageous battle for equity at a time when women wereContinue Reading
As a person gets older, they begin to reflect on decision points where their life could have moved in a completely new direction. Ice-T, and his former companion in crime, Spike, must be at that point. In Split Decision, they look at each of those points and try to seeContinue Reading
From Dawn to Dusk of the 1960s, Hollywood Eden details the stories of famous California beach bands like Jan and Dean and The Mamas and the Papas. It includes their optimistic beginnings through their worst moments. Not exactly California Dreamin’ by the end. Hollywood Eden is a well-researched look backContinue Reading
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is clearly in the same sub-genre of fictional 1970s music biography as Daisy and the Six. But this book layers on more of the era’s potent political activism and violent tendencies. Unfortunately, many of the issues are still relevant today. The characters withinContinue Reading
I adored Carole King’s Tapestry album throughout my pre-teen years. As a piano student, I finally had something that I could play, and even sing with, that was also playing on the radio. But I neither knew, nor truly cared, about the singer/songwriter who produced the album. However, I snatchedContinue Reading
You’re History takes a unique perspective to music criticism. Finally, the lyrics alone are not the point. “The most captivating music is slippery, telegraphing a secret meaning while asserting its intentions at face value. Music is not always about depth and timber: sometimes the song is best served by aContinue Reading
If you are old enough to remember when vinyl records were the only choice to buy music, you, like me, will love the behind-the-scenes rock music production stories included in the excellent Sonic Boom. In 1958, Jack Warner started Warner Bros Records to cash in on the profits that theContinue Reading
Bob Gruen has hobnobbed with anyone who is anyone in rock and roll. Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, The Who, The Ramones and Elton John. Even John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Bob has photographed them all but also hung around them backstage. This gives the autobiography a unique perspective from theContinue Reading
Dolly Parton is an Unlikely Angel and a prolific songwriter. She has written literally thousands of songs. In fact, she vows, “I write everyday. I will do that till the day I die, whether anybody buys them or hears those songs till after I’m dead. I’m dead serious about myContinue Reading
Who doesn’t know Willie Nelson? From his iconic long braids to his Farm Aid concerts, Willie has long been in the public eye. But what other things about Willie’s history are most people aware of? Not many. For that, there is Willie Nelson: A Graphic History. Willie was born inContinue Reading
“January 10. Got up. Went to Twickenham. Rehearsed until lunchtime. Left The Beatles. Went home.”—George Harrison’s diary of the first split up of The Beatles in 1969 from And in the End, a book about the band’s breakup. Was it really Yoko who split up The Beatles? Well, she certainlyContinue Reading
A Cult Musician is someone that has an eclectic artist point-of-view or who likes to perform in new or multiple genres of music. The fifty musicians explored go from Yoko Ono to Bobbie Gentry to Sun Ra. The one thing they have in common is great, sometimes greatly overlooked, musicality.Continue Reading
So what’s so important about 1973 to rock? A lot of bands and cultural icons began that year. From the first Dick Clark New Year’s Rockin’ Eve to the first albums of diverse acts like Bruce Springsteen, Queen, the New York Dolls, and Aerosmith, music had plenty to celebrate whileContinue Reading