Best music biographies

[GhostOfTomJoad 9323]

Just started reading "Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements" by Bob Mehr and I'm blown away. It's got me to thinking about great biographies.

For autobiographies I think the gold standards are "Life" by Keith Richards and "Born to Run" by Springsteen. Two of the best I've ever read. Peter Ames Carlin's bio "Bruce" is also very well done & sheds more light behind the mechanics of the E Street Band along with the nuts & bolts of some of the albums, tours, etc.

U2 by U2 was given to me as a gift. It's more of a great big picture book with words in the margins & really doesn't work all that well. 

What are your go to bios? I'd love to find some good books the icons like Sinatra & Dean Martin. Is Dylan's autobio worth picking up? I seem to recall a review that described it as a rambling fever dream of words. 

[South Austin 52448]

Philip Norman's book on John Lennon was excellent.  It was a bit eye opening for such a huge Lennon fan, as it showed how much of an asshole he could be. 

[Chad Fuck 17659]

I would've said "Life" by Keith Richards.

Although not technically a biography, "You Never Give Me Your Money" follows the Beatles post-breakup and how they related to one another.  It's a fascinating character study.  

[Chad Fuck 17659]

In one of these threads, someone had mentioned good Fleetwood Mac books, but I can't find the references now.  Anyone know a good Fleetwood Mac bio?

 

[Nole-4-Life 802]

Don Felder's book about the Eagles was good, as was the one about Motley Crue.

[qwertyu1234 496]

Written by someone who toured with Nico for about the last decade of her life, pretty brief and very well written. 

 

[Bogeywon 2519]

4 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

I would've said "Life" by Keith Richards.

Although not technically a biography, "You Never Give Me Your Money" follows the Beatles post-breakup and how they related to one another.  It's a fascinating character study.  

if you love the beatles you will love this book. read it on your recommendation from the other site that shall not be named

[AnotherUTFan 9729]

4 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

I would've said "Life" by Keith Richards.

 

I thought this book was fantastic for the 1st half while talking about the early days and early tours, then got boring as fuck through the 2nd half as they obviously needed more pages and filled them with stupid stories about finding a dog on tour and Russia and Paul McCartney visiting in Jamaica.

Willie's book "It's a Long Story" and the Top Petty "Unauthorized" "Petty: The Biography" are both fantastic. The Thelonious Monk book "Straight, No Chaser" is another classic off the top of my head.

There's a Jerry Lee Luis autobiography out there I hear is fascinating, but I haven't gotten to it. Stories about him and Chuck Berry sharing a tour bus across the UK, fighting the whole way and whatnot. I  need to dig it up.

 

 

[Chad Fuck 17659]

I can only imagine the conversations between those two great egos.  Imovable object, meet irresistible force.

[Chad Fuck 17659]

BTW, AUTF's criticism of Life is well taken.  I just chalked it up to most people doing more interesting stuff when they're young, hungry and stupid than when they're old, fat and lazy.  But it could also have been filling pages.  

Edited April 30, 2018 by Chad Fuck

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13570]

Don't Suck, Don't Die

Kristin Hersh's memoir of Vic Chesnutt

 

 

[GhostOfTomJoad 9323]

5 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

BTW, AUTF's criticism of Life is well taken.  I just chalked it up to most people doing more interesting stuff when they're young, hungry and stupid than when they're old, fat and lazy.  But it could also have been filling pages.  

This is very valid. It begins like a house afire and does peter a bit at the end. I'm still amazed that Mick hasn't published his own autobiography yet. Unless he's just counting on outliving Keef and making an extra $10mm in publishing fees.

I'm not a huge Beatles fan but am intrigued by You Never Give Me Your Money. I can see how many divergent stories are there to be told.

 

[miguelito 11254]

I just finished Beethoven by John Suchet.  It didn't get into the music a whole lot - it kind of assumes the reader is already familiar with it.  Rather, it goes into what was going on in Beethoven's life while he was writing his music.  Turns out Ludwig was kind of an asshole, and plagued by severe liver problems in addition to his deafness.

[Paul Wesley 3278]

10 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

In one of these threads, someone had mentioned good Fleetwood Mac books, but I can't find the references now.  Anyone know a good Fleetwood Mac bio?

 

Ken Caillat's "Making of Rumours" is worth a read.  It's definitely not a comprehensive bio on the band, but a snapshot of the year or so they spent making that one album.   Caillat (father of Colby) was one of the two engineers.  It's partly about his own impressions of the band's relationships during the period, and partly the stories behind tracking each song.

Interested to check out that Beatles book.

[BurntOrangeCrush 1011]

13 hours ago, Nole-4-Life said:

Don Felder's book about the Eagles was good, as was the one about Motley Crue.

The book about Motley Crue (The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band) was disturbing as hell. It was a great read and entertaining but those are some fucked up dudes.

[Nole-4-Life 802]

7 hours ago, BurntOrangeCrush said:

The book about Motley Crue (The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band) was disturbing as hell. It was a great read and entertaining but those are some fucked up dudes.

Well they would pool their money to buy a burrito to stick their dicks in to cover the smell of strange pussy so their girlfriends wouldn't know....so there's that.

[stc 1460]

This Wheel's on Fire by Levon Helm is a pretty interesting read if you're into The Band. 

[CooterBrown 18003]

This is a fun read.