# Music biographies - your recommendations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths, music\ **Created:** [July 1, 2021, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414 "2021-07-01T10:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/1 "2021-07-01T10:35:53Z")
One of my favorite genres of literature is the music biography/autobiography. I appreciate the music more once I know something of the [backstory](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849). One work in particular I keep coming back to is [_George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door_](https://www.amazon.com/George-Harrison-Behind-Locked-Door/dp/1468313932) 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! ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/2 "2021-07-01T10:58:38Z")
> **[Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a …](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/2048852.Backstage_Passes_Backstabbing_Bastards)** > > Al Kooper began his professional career in 1958 at the … ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/3 "2021-07-01T11:36:24Z")
“Life,” Keith Richards’ autobiography, is a good read. He got SOME help with it, but Keef is a genuinely quality writer, fun and insightful. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/4 "2021-07-01T11:40:17Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/5 "2021-07-01T11:48:46Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/6 "2021-07-01T11:50:04Z")
Here’s that Stones e-book. There goes your weekend! 🙂 > **[The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track: Margotin,...](https://www.amazon.com/Rolling-Stones-All-Songs-Behind/dp/0316317748)** > > The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track \[Margotin, Philippe, Guesdon, Jean-Michel\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/7 "2021-07-01T12:22:15Z")
Most of the rock ones are pretty ordinary. The Monk and Miles ones are good though. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/8 "2021-07-01T12:25:32Z")
Yes, and Santoro’s biography of Mingus: “Myself when I am Real” ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/9 "2021-07-01T12:45:02Z")
“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. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/10 "2021-07-01T12:47:09Z")
I can highly recommend _The Real Frank Zappa Book_. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/11 "2021-07-01T12:48:39Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/12 "2021-07-01T14:15:05Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I can highly recommend _The Real Frank Zappa Book_ . 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. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/13 "2021-07-01T16:05:09Z")
Here’s an older thread that might be of interest: > [@rock biographies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-biographies/502434): > > Hello, I have recently ventured into the genre of rock biographies. Specifically, right now I’m looking for a good biography on Ozzy Osbourne, partly inspired [by this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=523575). I’m thinking there has to be a number of great anecdotes about his wild days. I thought for sure that the chapter about Ozzy was the best part about the Dirt. So, dopers. What are some of your favorite rock biographies? And what do you like about reading them? Personally, I love the parts where the rock star in questions… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-biographies-your-recommendations/945414/14 "2021-07-01T21:32:02Z")
Just want to put in a plug for audiobooks (especially celebrity autobiographies), read by the authors themselves. The best of these are comedians (no surprise, you can’t beat Tina Fey joking about Tina Fey). But a few musicians are great at it. Like Patti Smith, [who’s read all her books, and a few others to boot.](https://www.audible.com/search?searchNarrator=Patti+Smith)