# Good Rock Biographies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348 "2008-04-29T13:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/1 "2008-04-29T13:59:56Z")
I recently read [5 Against 1](http://www.amazon.com/Five-against-One-Kim-Neely/dp/0140276424/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209476178&sr=8-2) (Pearl Jam/Vedder), and in the recent past read [Scar Tissue](http://www.amazon.com/Scar-Tissue-Anthony-Kiedis/dp/1401307450/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209477421&sr=1-1) (Anthony Kiedis). Read Jim Morrison’s [bio](http://www.amazon.com/One-Here-Gets-Out-Alive/dp/B000LP670G/ref=pd_sim_b_title_4) years ago. While my interests are more rock/alternative, I am happy to branch out for a good bio. Any recommendations on biographies of musicians? ---
**Author:** ![percussion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@percussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percussion)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/2 "2008-04-29T14:05:34Z")
Aerosmiths autobiography “Walk this Way” is really really awesome you can find it here [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/Walk-This-Way-Autobiography-Aerosmith/dp/0060515805) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/3 "2008-04-29T14:15:00Z")
Ray Coleman’s [Lennon: The Definitive Biography](http://www.amazon.com/Lennon-Definitive-Biography-Ray-Coleman/dp/0060986085) is a fine work. Deborah Spungen’s And I Don’t Want to Live This Life is the story of her daugher Nancy and has information on the Sex Pistols. It was recently rereleased with a new introduction by the author. Very good read. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/4 "2008-04-29T14:51:58Z")
Not a “from birth to star” type of biography, and more about life on the road, Dougal Butler’s “Full Moon” about Keith Moon is very entertaining. Butler was Moon’s personal assistant (now there’s a job that wouldn’t pay enough !). Moon went through more lives than a dozen cats - some pretty crazy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/5 "2008-04-29T15:30:04Z")
Crystal Zevon’s [I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon](http://www.czerniec.com/2008/04/01/warren-zevon-book.html) is very difficult to read at times; Zevon was an alcoholic, and a really ugly drunk. But his story is moving and fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/6 "2008-04-29T15:33:01Z")
I loved (when I was 16) [Hammer of the Gods](http://www.amazon.com/Hammer-Gods-Led-Zeppelin-Saga/dp/0061473081/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209483120&sr=8-1) about Zeppelin… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/7 "2008-04-29T15:47:38Z")
Carl Magnus Palm wrote [Bright Lights, Dark Shadows](http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Lights-Dark-Shadows-Story/dp/0711991944), the definitive tome about ABBA. And an updated edition is being issued next month! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/8 "2008-04-29T17:28:18Z")
I am swamped at work, so don’t have a lot of time to elaborate, but here goes: - \*\*Clapton \*\* - meh; but others have like it - \*\*The Beatles \*\* by Bob Spitz - EXCELLENT - \*\*One Train Later \*\* by Andy Summers of the \*\*Police \*\* - EXCELLENT - \*\*Broken Music \*\* by Sting - if Sting was an egotistical narcissist who also happened to be really smart and a good writer, it might read like this. Oh, wait… - **No one Here Gets out Alive** , by Sugarman about the Doors - well, if you like your heroes to be revealed to be truly disturbed, not good people… - \*\*Hammer of the Gods \*\* about Zeppelin - well, it’s a hoot, but the band really distance themselves from it. - **Come As you Are** - or whatever the name of Azerrad’s book on Nirvana was - very well written - I haven’t read the other bio, Heavier than Heaven… - oh, and I agree about \*\*Walk this Way \*\* - I really enjoyed it…I got a first edition signed by the whole band! I have read plenty of others, but that is what comes to mind. I would strongly recommend other books about music happenings though: - **Please Kill Me** by McNeil and McCain - amazingly page-turning history of the emergence of punk - \*\*Our Band Could be Your Life \*\* by Azerrad - 13 or so brief bios of important indie bands from Black Flag to The Replacements, Husker Du, etc. - essential reading for folks who like indie/alternative today… Gotta run… ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/9 "2008-04-29T17:33:16Z")
**The Long Road out of Hell** about Marylin Manson is very fun and interesting to read and I am not a fan of his music but I find him interesting. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/10 "2008-04-29T17:50:29Z")
Oh - and \*\*The Mansion on the Hill \*\* is a great book on the transition from rock as an outsider music to becoming Big Business. Lots of focus on Dylan, the Beatles, Springsteen, the Eagles. Very, very insightful. Same with \*\*Hit Men \*\* by Dannen (?) - but that is more focused on the folks who run the record labels. Fascinating… ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/11 "2008-04-29T17:51:11Z")
Anybody read _Shakey_, the Neil Young biography? Is it any good? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/12 "2008-04-29T18:19:04Z")
**Dark Star: The Roy Orbison Story** is a pretty good biography. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/13 "2008-04-29T21:59:59Z")
I found Ronnie Spector’s biography, **Be My Baby** , to be interesting, if a little obviously ghostwritten. Even if you’re not interested in girl groups, she interacted with a lot of major figures of the '60s and '70s. Of course, her marriage to Phil Spector was also soap opera-crazy. I’ll second Michael Azerrad’s **Our Band Could Be Your Life**. Simon Reynolds has written some terrific stuff as well: **Rip It Up and Start Again** (post-punk) and **Energy Flash** (rave and dance culture). I’m about to start George Harrison’s **I Me Mine** , so I’ll let you know how that goes. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/14 "2008-04-29T22:09:42Z")
> [@](#): > > I found Ronnie Spector’s biography, Be My Baby, to be interesting, if a little obviously ghostwritten. Even if you’re not interested in girl groups, she interacted with a lot of major figures of the '60s and '70s. Of course, her marriage to Phil Spector was also soap opera-crazy. Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector by Mick Brown focused far too much on the later events of his life, but it was a pretty good read. Any recommendations on bios that are about his production techniques? Seconded on One Train Later by Andy Summers of the Police. He’s a great writer. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/15 "2008-04-29T22:09:47Z")
[QUOTE=Lunar Saltlick] Anybody read _Shakey_, the Neil Young biography? Is it any good? [/QUOTE] I did, and I enjoyed it. I had to reread it, and plan to reread it again. IMHO it is strictly for fairly fervent Neil fans (which I am. 🆒 ) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/16 "2008-04-29T22:10:14Z")
A few years ago I read **A Twist of Lennon** , by John’s ex Cynthia(?) Twist. Entertaining stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/17 "2008-04-29T22:30:39Z")
Thomas Kitts, _Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else_. I’m on the acknowledgements page 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![chuks54](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@chuks54](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chuks54)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/18 "2008-04-29T22:39:45Z")
\*\*Strange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison \*\* by Patricia Kennealy is a really good read. Especially if you’ve read **No One Here Gets Out Alive** or seen the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/19 "2008-04-29T23:05:31Z")
[QUOTE=Tahssa] **The Long Road out of Hell** about Marylin Manson is very fun and interesting to read and I am not a fan of his music but I find him interesting. [/QUOTE] I didn’t read the whole thing, or even start from the beginning, but this book has a whole chapter describing Manson groupies including the tale of a very short, deaf girl who agreed to strip naked and stand in a pool of urine while the band pelted her with bologna slices. Needless to say, I did not go back to the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348/20 "2008-04-30T02:17:49Z")
I highly recommend [Stevie Ray Vaughan : Caught in the Crossfire](http://www.amazon.com/Stevie-Ray-Vaughan-Caught-Crossfire/dp/0316160695/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209520996&sr=1-4), but then, I read it shortly after its original publication, and the impact of his death was still with me. And the impact of this passage I will never forget: > [@](#): > > It was 12:40 AM when pilot Jeffrey William Browne guided the helicopter skyward from the Alpine Valley golf course, its landing lights flashing through the soup. Seconds later, Browne sharply banked the machine into the backside of a three-hundred-foot-high hill. There was no explosion. No fire. No cries for help. No one heard a thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-rock-biographies/447348.md?page=2)