rock biographies

Cafe Society
1

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. 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 tells anecdotes about other celebrities. It’s like A-level gossip.

2

Hmm - I have read a TON of books written by rock stars and the reasons why and the pleasure and pain I get from each varies widely.

For pure gossip, you can’t beat books like Al Kooper’s Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards - he provides dish about a variety of stars and situations - he was in a lot of key places at historic times. I never read Marilyn Manson’s book (Long Road to Hell?) but I hear it is similar to The Dirt in readability and story. Legs McNeil isn’t a rockstar, per se, but he was the original Punk, and while he didn’t write **Please Kill Me: An Uncensored Oral History of Punk **- he compiled and edited (along with Gillian McCain) statements from everybody involved into a smooth, easy-to-read, compelling flow - this book totally rocks and counts as the autobiography of a scene, a time and place. It’s brilliant.

So far, the two best books I have read by rock stars are:

  • **One Train Later by Andy Summers of The Police **- more of a memoir, it provides an overview of his life but is really a meditation on what it means to be a journeyman guitarist - a skilled craftsman at his trade - and end up catching lightning in a bottle. He brings the same thoughtful, layered approach to his writing as he does to his playing, and he was in a number of interesting situations before joining Sting and Stewart. The page on which he sketches out his favorite guitar and why it is his favorite feels honest - he is a player’s player.

  • **Chronicles, Volume One by Bob Dylan **- to be clear, I am not a big Dylan fan - I have come to respect and enjoy him after a long, slow dance, getting past his voice and picking out songs that appealed to me as a way into his canon. But reading this book - just whoa. The book is the autobiography of his voice as an artist - how he came to decide on the need for a voice, and how he came across the different ingredients that inform that voice. Since the thread is his artistic voice, he bounces around in time and perspective as needed to serve that thread, but there is enough clarity in his purpose that you can follow it. That structure and the ambition with with he executes his task is enough to hold this book out - but the writing is exceptional. Word choice, sentence construction - I mean, yeah, you would expect Dylan to know the craft to a certain extent due to writing lyrics, but this shows a deep dedication to the process. His intellect and self-awareness jump off the page because of the rendering of the words and the precision with which he goes about laying out the recipe for his voice. As you come to realize how explicitly self-conscious his choices were, you end up having that much more respect for the man - he didn’t stumble into anything; he constructed himself. Amazing.

3

I enjoyed both “My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac” by Mick Fleetwood and “Ronnie” by Ronnie Wood.

I was (and am) a huge fan of the Peter Green version of Fleetwood Mac and of the original Jeff Beck Group (Wood played bass) and the Faces (Wood was guitarist with the Faces before he joined the Rolling Stones). So, while most readers would probably buy Fleetwood’s book to get the scoop on the Lindsay Buckingham/Stevie Nicks incarnation of Mac, and would buy Wood’s book to find out about the Stones, my interest was in Peter Green, Jeff Beck, and the Faces.

In both instances it was the first third of each book that appealed to me the most, but I thought they were both good reads.

4

Wow - you are singing my song; my preferences are in sync with yours (I can’t recall, did you participate in either Jeff Beck thread I started recently? One on Truth and one on the recent Ronnie Scott’s performance DVD?). So you get good insights from Mick and Woody on Beck, Peter Green, etc.? I would totally get into that. And even though I claim to be a Beck guy, I haven’t read that one bio Crazy Fingers…have you read that?

5

Ray Davies of The Kinks, seminal Brit rock band of the 60s and 70s, managed to write his own Unauthorised Autobiography X-Ray by creating a situation in which the author (Ray Davies), as a flunky of a future corporation, goes to interview old rocker Ray Davies.

Pretty clever really.

6

Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend by Tony Fletcher is the best book on Keith. It gets hard to read at the end, though–his descent into oblivion is heartbreaking and harrowing.

Until Pete finishes his autobiography, a couple of Townshend bios worth checking out are Mark Wilkerson’s Who Are You: The Life Of Pete Townshend, the story told mostly in Pete’s own words, and Pete Townshend: A Minstrel’s Dilemma, which is rather dense and academic, but still a fascinating read.

Ian McLagan tells the story of The Small Faces and beyond in All the Rage: A Riotous Romp Through Rock & Roll History.

Crazy Fingersis worth reading if you’re a fan of El Becko.

7

You get great insight from Fleetwood on the chap he calls “The Green God,” as well as Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan.

Wood in the grand scheme of things had little more than a cup of coffee with Beck. He deals much more with how he and Rod Stewart ended up with Ian McLagen, Ronnie Lane, and Kenny Jones after Steve Marriott abandoned the Small Faces for Humble Pie, and left the other chaps with their faces buried in their small hands. But from 1969 to around 1972, the Faces were my favorite band in the world, before Stewart became a superstar. And Wood’s insight into those halcyon days was pure pleasure for me.

By the way, if you haven’t come across the box set “Five Guys Walk Into a Bar”, I can’t recommend it enough! From AllMusic:

Back then I DID consider the Faces the greatest rock & roll band ever. I still do!

8

“Scar Tissue” is a great bio of Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

9

**blondebear **- well, I guess I gotta get Crazy Fingers :wink:

**Labdad **- cool; I will check out Fleetwood’s book immediately and Woody’s book, too. I never invested a ton of time in the Faces and know I am worse off for it. A good muso buddy has 5 Guys… and loves it. He lives across the country but we have a standing agreement that next time we hang out it will get a full airing…

10

Holy crap! How did I miss that?? I’m ordering it immediately. Thanks!

Nobody can handle a B3 like Mac! I remember a great interview with him in 2004, when he was asked about being approached by the Grateful Dead to replace Keith Godchaux. He said he’d never really listened to anything by the Dead before, and his wife came home one afternoon to find Mac sitting in the living room in the depths of despair. When asked what was wrong, he said that he’s been approached to become a member of the Dead. It was a golden opportunity. He’d be set for life, probably earning hundreds of thousands each year - MUCH more than he’d ever made. So what’s the problem his wife asked. “Their music SUCKS!” says Mac! “It’s just noodling, and I like a ‘chune!’”

(hear him tell the story yourselfabout 18 minutes into the interview)

11

That’s a hilarious story - I gotta check that out!

12

Neil Peart has written several excellent books about parts of his life.

Masked Rider - About his bicycle tour through Africa.
Ghost Rider - About his motorcycle trek across Canada following the death of his daughter and wife.

13

Thanks for so many suggestions. My reading list just went way up. I love biographies.

First the bad - I was deeply disappointed in Chuck Panozzo’s The Grand Illusion – Love, Lies, and My Life with Styx. He spends the whole book writing poor me, I’m gay and in a rock band. Half way through I was thinking “get over it”. Nothing about the recording sessions, very little about the songs, but then again he didn’t write any of the songs. I was just hoping for more because I’m a fan of all those songs.

The mediocre - Clapton the Autobiography was good but could have been another 100 pages or more. He left out a lot about recordings and sessions I really like. He did detail the most hurtful events of his life.

The Good - Sting’s Broken Music is what you would expect. Meticulously written and goes deep into so many songs all the while giving you the background of where he came from. Plus, the first few pages explain the process of getting high with a wild root.

Don Felder’s Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles is a favorite of mine. Again, he goes deep into a lot of recording sessions, his guitar playing and his writing. It’ no wonder Henley and Felder wanted to keep this off the shelf. A great read.

14

I really enjoyed So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star by Jacob Slichter (drummer for Semisonic). It’s an interesting look at what it was like to be a moderately successful band in the popular music industry about ten years ago, and it’s a good read.

15

Agreed. Different from the books I cited because of their one-hit wonder status (“Closing Time”/ I know who I want to take me home…) and his own “how did I get here” status within the band - but it was a solid read; entirely worth it…

I enjoyed **Andrew Loog Oldham’s **book Stoned about his history managing the Rolling Stones. Lots of fun stuff starting with the early Brit rockabilly stars. And another fella, Joe Boyd, who was instrumental in working with a number of key 60’s acts like Dylan, Pink Floyd and Brit folkies has a good book out called White Bicycles…

16

Joe Jackson’s A Cure for Gravity: A Musical Pilgrimage is a fine telling of the early days, the rise to the top. If you like that this is about the best. If you want the gossip, the decadence, and the drugs he stops too soon.

I needed to add something new before I seconded Chronicles volume one.(Now with link!)

It really is that good. The best rock star autobiography by miles. A classic in American writing. Literature without being literary.

17

**'Xap **- I didn’t even know JJ *had *a book; ordered (and I ordered the Fleetwood and Beck books, too - thanks for running up my book bill you guys! ;))

and yeah, Chronicles is all that, *and *a bag of chips, *and *a Happy Meal toy.

18

Yeah, well, I had to order Al Kooper’s book especially since it’s “back in print, updated and revised.”

19

Phil Lesh’s (bassist-Grateful Dead) autobiography “Searching For The Sound” is heartfelt, touching, well written, and just an all around great read…

Phil tells all about the ups ad downs of a true American original, The Grateful Dead, with all thier disfunction, trials and ultimate triumph. He is one of the most well read, intelligent musicians alive, and I recommend his book to anyone who loves great music!!!

20

My reading list just got a lot longer. As for my contribution, I’m not sure if it holds up, but 20-some years ago I LOVED “No One Here Gets Out Alive” by Danny Sugerman about Jim Morrison and the Doors.