What is a good Rock n Roll (auto)biography?

[Jaledin]

Dr. John’s autobiography (Under a Hoodoo Moon is excellent. I know he plays a bunch of different music, but I think of him as a rock and roll guy. If Keith can sing “The Nearness of You,” then Dr. John gets a rock and roll pass as well, I say.

[Kilvert_s_Pagan]

I too liked Zappa’s. Kieth Emerson’s made me cringe - he was brutally honest, and as a result I lost a lot of respect for him. The one I’ve liked the most in many year is Bill Bruford’s.. The man lived his career backwards, starting out in supergroup Yes and then intentionally going more and more “niche” in pursuit of playing the music that most appealed to him. I very much admire the guy now.

[MPB_in_Salt_Lake]

@Jaledin

Dr. John’s autobiography (Under a Hoodoo Moon is excellent. I know he plays a bunch of different music, but I think of him as a rock and roll guy. If Keith can sing “The Nearness of You,” then Dr. John gets a rock and roll pass as well, I say.

I just saw Dr. John perform a few days ago down in New Orleans, and while he sounded great, he really looked frail and not in great health.

The rumor is that he is facing some very serious health issues, and whatever the actual situation is, I hope he is going to be able to make a recovery.

[WordMan]

@Thudlow_Boink

Previous thread: rock biographies

Thanks Thudlow - great minds, Shakester

[Mean_Mr.Mustard]

@Kilvert_s_Pagan

I too liked Zappa’s. Kieth Emerson’s made me cringe - he was brutally honest, and as a result I lost a lot of respect for him. The one I’ve liked the most in many year is Bill Bruford’s.. The man lived his career backwards, starting out in supergroup Yes and then intentionally going more and more “niche” in pursuit of playing the music that most appealed to him. I very much admire the guy now.

Please elaborate a bit on the Keith Emerson stuff.

And what sort of music is Bruford playing these days?
mmm

[BaneSidhe]

@Diogenes_the_Cynic

Has anyone read Neil Peart’s book that he wrote about the prolonged motorcycle journey he took after losing both his daughter and his wife in the space of a year? Is it any good? I guess it’s not really a convetional rock memoir, but I’m curious about it.

“Ghost Rider” is a pretty good book. It’s part travelogue, part personal evaluation and so much more. I’d give it a whirl.

[drastic_quench]

@MPB_in_Salt_Lake

I just saw Dr. John perform a few days ago down in New Orleans, and while he sounded great, he really looked frail and not in great health.

The rumor is that he is facing some very serious health issues, and whatever the actual situation is, I hope he is going to be able to make a recovery.

You just saw Dr. John in New Orleans?

Well, I guess you could say you saw him in the right place…

puts on sunglasses

clears throat

but it must have been the wrong time.

[aceplace57]

Bad Moon Rising: The Unauthorized History of Creedence Clearwater Revival by Hank Bordowitz.

Great book about the band and it’s nasty breakup.

*For the Record 7: Up around the Bend: The Oral History Of Creedence Clearwater Revival * Craig Werner

[Mean_Mr.Mustard]

I have already loaded the Keith Richards and Dylan bios into my Kindle, but this:

Bad Moon Rising: The Unauthorized History of Creedence Clearwater Revival by Hank Bordowitz.

…sounds like another contender.
mmm

[WordMan]

@Mean_Mr.Mustard

I have already loaded the Keith Richards and Dylan bios into my Kindle, but this:

Here was a prior thread where I reviewed Keith’s book.

[Crotalus]

I agree that the Richards and Summers books are very good. Shakey, by Jimmy McDonough, is a good biography of Neil Young.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

When Giants Walked The Earth: A Biography Of Led Zeppelin is a really good book. Much better than that Hammer Of The Gods one.

[groovie]

Chuck Berry and BB King both have very good autobiography(s), highly recommended if your taste in music extends anywhere towards them.
Neil Peart has some good books too.

[WordMan]

@groovie

Chuck Berry and BB King both have very good autobiography(s), highly recommended if your taste in music extends anywhere towards them.
Neil Peart has some good books too.

Chuck’s is, um, well, a bit short on detail. It’s a Disney version - sacrificing detail and insight to make sure that the overall themes of Chuck’s legend get burnished. There is an important, historical biography required of Berry, given his seminal importance as a musician, guitarist, rock innovator, crossover success at the dawn of the teenager as a target population, AND given all of the…complications…he has had in his life - but his autobiography is not that book.

[RealityChuck]

The Beatles: A Biography 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.

[Ms_Boods]

@Southern_Yankee

I’m reading “X-Ray” (the unauthorized autobiography) of Ray Davies right now. I’m a big Kinks fan so I’m enjoying it thoroughly, although the style may not be to everyone’s taste. One nugget I found fascinating as someone who grew up on on classic rock: at one show in 1964, 3 of the acts were The Kinks, The Highlanders (aka The Who), and The Beatles. What a show that must have been!

ETA: I also just bought “Kink” the autobiography of Dave Davies. I can’t wait to read that next to see the other side of the story…

If you’d like the trifecta, look for Pete Quaife’s Veritas, Vol 1. It’s not an autobiography, but a fictional account of a guy growing up in north London during the '50s and joining a band in the early '60s, based on Quaife’s experiences in joining up with the Kinks.

[Southern_Yankee]

@Ms_Boods

If you’d like the trifecta, look for Pete Quaife’s Veritas, Vol 1. It’s not an autobiography, but a fictional account of a guy growing up in north London during the '50s and joining a band in the early '60s, based on Quaife’s experiences in joining up with the Kinks.

Thanks, I’ll look for it!

[groovie]

@WordMan

Chuck’s is, um, well, a bit short on detail. It’s a Disney version - sacrificing detail and insight to make sure that the overall themes of Chuck’s legend get burnished. There is an important, historical biography required of Berry, given his seminal importance as a musician, guitarist, rock innovator, crossover success at the dawn of the teenager as a target population, AND given all of the…complications…he has had in his life - but his autobiography is not that book.

I was thinking more how he wrote - he has quite the turn of phrase, but you’re right it was Chuck writing for Chuck first and foremost.

[cjepson]

@silenus

Mick Fleetwood’s autobiography is pretty good, as is Grace Slick’s.

I have to say I didn’t care for the Grace Slick one that much. Too much of it was just her spouting off about various topics.

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.

If you like the Grateful Dead, Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh is really good.

Please Kill Me is a riveting first-person account of punk.

[MPB_in_Salt_Lake]

@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.

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)