One of my favorite genres of literature is the music biography/autobiography. I appreciate the music more once I know something of the backstory.
One work in particular I keep coming back to is George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door by Graeme Thomson. Instead of harping on his subject’s talent and importance as so many music journalists do, Thomson opts for a more candid appraisal. He appreciates Harrison’s best work but finds that his output after 1975 was - at best - “patchy.” The career triumphs are covered, but so too are the failures and shortcomings. And yet it never feels like a takedown or an exposé - more like an attempt at intellectual honesty.
Many of you no doubt have music biography/autobiography recommendations of your own. Share them with us!
ETA: “Life” doesn’t deal much with the back stories behind the music, though. For the Stones, for that I would recommend an e-book whose name I’ll pass on in in moment.
Bob Spitz’s book “The Beatles” is really good at explaining the chance occurrences, getting to know people in the background, and pinpointing business decisions (contract terms, personal motivations…) that gave rise to the final musical products we all know and love. The way I describes it now might sound a bit boring, but trust me — it isn’t.
Ian MacDonald’s “Revolution in the Head” (about every Beatles song) is good for many reasons. I like how he identified songs by others that probably influenced the Beatles compositions — many of them quite obscure these days, but Ian gives good evidence (he’s precise about which weeks the songs would have been on the radio, and about exactly which musical details were likely influential).
“The Dirt” about Motley Crue was very entertaining. Even if you know nothing about them or their music, it’s still a fascinating glimpse into the LA 80s hair metal scene. Adapted into a pretty hilarious movie.
A couple that I read and enjoyed.
“Just Kids” by Patti Smith
“Reckless: My Life as a Pretender” by Chrissie Hynde
The Smith book is more about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, but it is quite good.
The Hynde book is also good, but it seems that she is very selective about which parts of her life are included in the book. It is not a “tell all,” but a “tell the parts that I’m comfortable talking about.”
I’m listening to Joe’s Garage right now. I don’t know why I didn’t collect every Zappa album in existence when I was younger. I guess I thought he was too cool for me.
