# What is a good Rock n Roll (auto)biography? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982 "2011-05-15T13:52:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/41 "2011-05-16T16:43:39Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **[The Beatles: A Biography](http://tinyurl.com/3oee9dp)** by Bob Spitz. Well written, and extensively researched. You will discover plenty of things you never knew, a notable feat since the group has been so well documented. I really enjoyed this book, too; and per **cjepson** , \*\*\*Please Kill Me \*\*\*is essential reading, alongside Azerrad’s _ **Our Band Could Be Your Life** _… ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/42 "2011-05-16T17:05:20Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Well, we need to remember that Levon Helm is a National Treasure and is universally beloved by his fellow musicians, while Robbie Robertson is a vain, shallow, egotistical pariah who is now shunned by the vast majority of those he once worked with. > > It isn’t just Levon Helm who has no use for Robbie Robertson… > > (That said, I watch The Last Waltz every few months and still think it is the finest live concert film of all time) Would you mind expanding on this a bit? I never followed The Band very closely and don’t know much about them. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/43 "2011-05-16T17:58:42Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > I really liked Levon Helms’ _This Wheel’s On Fire,_ but I must say it makes it hard to enjoy watching _The Last Waltz_… Levon really tears Robbie Robertson a new one. He essentially says that Robbie Robertson is the reason Richard Manuel is dead. The books paints Robertson as the bad guy, but it was more innuendo than facts. (IMO of course.) Helm’s complaints seemed to be 1. That RR grabbed the writing credits (hence the real money and income stream) when a lot of the songs were collaborative efforts. 2. That RR and the manager (Albert Grossman) decided to push RR as the Star, and limit the writing of the other members. 3. That the other members were bullied into signing away their partial writing credits for a lump sum. I think all three of those arguments can be challenged (if not totally refuted.) The Band were veteran musicians, I find it hard to accept that RR and Grossman could push them around against their will (especially on the last point… signing away their writing royalties.) I’d say that although the other members wrote a few good songs, that RR was the genius and the driving force. (At least for the 3 or 4 prime years of their careers.) If the other members didn’t want it to become the RR show, they didn’t have to let it be that way. And while every member of a group as brilliant as the Band obviously contributes to the construction of the songs, that doesn’t necessary make them co-composers. Which seemed to be what Helms was asserting much of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/44 "2011-05-16T18:11:10Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > The books paints Robertson as the bad guy, but it was more innuendo than facts. (IMO of course.) (Albert Grossman) decided to push RR as the Star, and limit the writing of the other members. I wanted to add: It’s been four years since I read the book, but I sorta recall that Helms seemed very schizoid on the topic of Albert Grossman. Most of the time AG is described as a great guy whom Helms really likes, but when it comes time to bash Robertson, then Grossman is conspiring with RR to screw the rest of the group. That was another reason I ultimately had trouble accepting Helms’ account. It seemed like he’d grab any sort of evidence to use against Robertson, even if it went against what he was saying elsewhere in the book. (Although like I said, it’s been awhile, and my memory might be bad.) ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/45 "2011-05-16T18:14:43Z")
It’s always interesting how two (or more) people can read the exact same book and draw completely opposite conclusions about it’s content. That said, Robbie Robertson was a great songwriter, and wrote some of The Band’s finest material, but as for his character as a person… ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/46 "2011-05-16T18:34:11Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > It’s always interesting how two (or more) people can read the exact same book and draw completely opposite conclusions about it’s content. The funny thing is that as I read it I was swept up in Helms’ narrative and was hating on Robertson, almost the entire way. I remember thinking that he seemed to want it both ways on Grossman, but it didn’t bother me much. Then after describing several years of hating Robertson for dominating the writing credits, Helms mentions that ultimately the other members agree to sign away all their writing credits. What? That broke the camel’s back, and I started thinking that Helms’ was not a reliable witness. And that’s when I concluded that Helms’ case was more innuendo that cold hard facts. But, for 9/10s of the book I took the same message as **cjepson**. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/47 "2011-05-16T19:08:53Z")
I’m a Rock bio junky and I’ve read and enjoyed many of the books already mentioned in this thread but I really have to say the most enjoyable has been that of Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go’s who has been tweeting here memoirs 140 characters at a time for more than a year now. She hasn’t even gotten to the 21st Century yet! Follow her autobiography @kvmemoir ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/48 "2011-05-16T23:50:29Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Please elaborate a bit on the Keith Emerson stuff. > > And what sort of music is Bruford playing these days? > mmm Bruford retired from drumming last year, but he was doing nothing but acoustic jazz toward the end of his playing career. Emerson’s reads like a confessional - to the point that he dedicates the book to his ex-wife, “the mother of my children”. She certainly had every reason to hate him, given his (perhaps typical) diddling of groupies, etc… The book is called _Pictures of an Exhibitionist_. I’m not saying you shouldn’t read it - just don’t expect to like KE more when you’re done. The biggest revelation for me was that the first time he did the “drag the old Hammond out and beat the hell out of it” was during an acid trip while he was with the Nice. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/49 "2011-05-17T00:06:00Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > The funny thing is that as I read it I was swept up in Helms’ narrative and was hating on Robertson, almost the entire way. > > I remember thinking that he seemed to want it both ways on Grossman, but it didn’t bother me much. Then after describing several years of hating Robertson for dominating the writing credits, Helms mentions that ultimately the other members agree to sign away all their writing credits. What? > > That broke the camel’s back, and I started thinking that Helms’ was not a reliable witness. And that’s when I concluded that Helms’ case was more innuendo that cold hard facts. > > But, for 9/10s of the book I took the same message as **cjepson**. In full disclosure, I should add that I briefly met Levon (he had a music club in the French Quarter) several years back, and even though I only talked to him for a moment or two, he was such a genuine, down-to-Earth guy that I can’t help but think highly of him, and obviously his drumming/musical talent is world-class… There are others, notably the late, great Bill Graham who felt that Robbie Robertson is a pompous prick, so it’s not just Levon Helm and the other former members of The Band that are disgusted with Robertson. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/50 "2011-05-17T01:41:20Z")
Y’all are trying to get me to spend more money. Random notes: I’ve read ‘Shakey’, the Neil Young work, and loved it. I am also a huge Band fan, and The Last Waltz is one of my favorite movies, period. Favorite Band member? Levon. I didn’t know Helm had written a book, and I had no idea of the bad blood between him and Robertson (who I didn’t know, of course, was thought to be a jerk-off). If anything, Rick Danko seemed a bit dick-ish to me. So, according to Helm, what is the connection between Roberson and Manuel’s death? Crap, now I gotta buy this one, too. mmm ETA: Damn, This Wheel’s on Fire is not available for Kindle. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/51 "2011-05-17T01:47:23Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > There are others, notably the late, great Bill Graham who felt that Robbie Robertson is a pompous prick, so it’s not just Levon Helm and the other former members of The Band that are disgusted with Robertson. I don’t know any of principles. But Robertson has collaborated with Scorsese for 16 years. He’s worked with Clapton for decades. So apparently some people can tolerate him. I’ve got no real insight into the matter. The Dave Davies book was okay. Casual bi-sexuality. The Dylan book was written in lovely fashion. The Patti Boyd book was interesting. A good source on the Clapton/Harrison friendship. I read a Donovan autobiography not long ago. Don’t remember much except that he taught the Beatles to fingerpick. It was okay. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/52 "2011-05-17T01:48:16Z")
_Life_ is definitely my favorite rock bio. Keith comes across as so goddamn _likeable.__Please Kill Me_ is another favorite. An interesting one is _A Cure For Gravity,_ by Joe Jackson. It’s interesting in that it’s not a bio of his career, but of his early days, chronicling how, exactly he became “Joe Jackson” (which isn’t even his real name.) It can get a bit flowery in the language, and he does wallow some in the “oh, poor me, I was such a loser” thing, but he’s a pretty engaging writer, and a good storyteller. My favorite parts were when he talked about his relationship with Graham Maby, who is probably my favorite bass player in the world. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/53 "2011-05-17T02:49:07Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > The Patti Boyd book was interesting. A good source on the Clapton/Harrison friendship. The parts I remember best from that book were about architecture, especially Friar Park. Some won’t consider it “rock”, but Janis Ian’s autobiography _Society’s Child_ is a great read, and her life story is just amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/54 "2011-05-17T05:33:14Z")
I can’t believe Rob Gordon’s all time favorite book, _Cash_ by Johnny Cash hasn’t been mentioned yet. It’s a much better read than his earlier \*The Man in Black \*. His comments about the demons that haunted his friends Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison make me wish those two had written autobiographies before they died. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/55 "2011-05-17T06:19:43Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I can’t believe Rob Gordon’s all time favorite book, _Cash_ by Johnny Cash hasn’t been mentioned yet. It’s a much better read than his earlier \*The Man in Black \*. His comments about the demons that haunted his friends Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison make me wish those two had written autobiographies before they died. Yes, but you have the get the quote right: > [@](#): > > Hey, I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I’m certainly not the dumbest. I mean, I’ve read books like “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” and “Love in the Time of Cholera”, and I think I’ve understood them. They’re about girls, right? Just kidding. But I have to say my all-time favorite book is **Johnny Cash’s autobiography “Cash” by Johnny Cash**. It’s the rhythm of the last sentence, with the triple repetition of the word “cash”, that makes it work. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982/56 "2011-05-17T15:14:46Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > So, according to Helm, what is the connection between Roberson and Manuel’s death? IIRC, the idea was that Robertson’s hogging of the writing credits kept Manuel from having a comfortable income. Manuel was not too stable psychologically; Helm figured maybe if he hadn’t had to keep touring to support himself, he might have been able to keep his personal demons or whatever at bay. By the way – a few other rock bios I’ve enjoyed: _Alias David Bowie_ _Last Gang in Town_ (Clash) _Before I Get Old_ (Who) _Transformer_ (Lou Reed) _Hammer of the Gods_ (Zeppelin) _Many Years from Now_ (McCartney) _I Me Mine_ (Harrison) _The Nearest Faraway Place_ (Beach Boys) _Long Time Gone_ (David Crosby) _Love, Janis_ (by Janis Joplin’s sister) I also second _No One Here Gets Out Alive_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-rock-n-roll-auto-biography/581982.md?page=2)