Composers Musicians category: 3267 books

Anthony Kiedis is the vocalist cum lyricist of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers which produced hit albums like 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' and 'One Hot Minute'. The singer, regarded as a major figure in alternative rock had a difficult time growing up.   He met Hillel...

In many ways, music became a sanctuary for Hendrix. He was a fan of blues music and taught himself to play guitar. At the age of 14, Hendrix saw Elvis Presley perform. He got his first electric guitar the following year and eventually played with two bands—the Rocking Kings and the Tomcats. In 1959,...

John Fahey is to the solo acoustic guitar what Jimi Hendrix was to the electric: the man whom all subsequent musicians had to listen to. Fahey made more than 40 albums between 1959 and his death in 2001, most of them featuring only his solo steel-string guitar. He fused elements of folk, blues, and...

Paul Simon: An American Tune is the first full-scale survey of the career of one of the most honored musicians and songwriters in American history. Starting out as a teeny-bopper rocker in the late 1950s, Paul Simon went on to form the most influential pop duo of the 1960s—Simon & Garfunkel—and...

The 20th century produced only a handful of musicians who could be called geniuses – people who would have achieved timeless fame no matter when they were born. Miles Davis is one of those individuals. He primarily played the trumpet, though he was an accomplished multi-instrumentalist. His signature...

In four years the teenage members of the Runaways did what no other group of female rock musicians before them could: they released four albums for a major label and toured the world. The Runaways busted down doors for every girl band that followed. Joan Jett, Sandy West, Cherrie Currie, lead guitarist...

The intimate story of one of the great American bands of our time, creators of the controversial masterpiece Yankee Hotel Foxtrot When alt-country heroes-turned-rock-iconoclasts Wilco handed in their fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, to the band’s label, Reprise, a division of Warner Brothers,...

How Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, Survived Herself–and Became the Indie Rock Queen. Chan Marshall’s stark lyrics, minimal arrangements,and wounded, smoky vocals, were an instant indie hit in the nineties–but her mental instability nearly derailed her career. How this sensitive but headstrong...

Dick Dale is an American musicianknown as The King of the Surf Guitar. His 1961 song, "Let's Go Trippin'", is considered the first surf rock song in history. A year later, Dale released his debut album, "Surfer's Choice", which led to appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show"....

Behind the scenes in the life of a musician—an exuberant, entertaining memoir from jazz guitarist, singer, and raconteur John Pizzarelli John Pizzarelli, the son of jazz guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli, is a connoisseur of American song who grew up among the legends of jazz. From teenage explorations...

"In the summer of 1937 George Gershwin died suddenly from a brain tumour at the age of 38. His tragically early death stunned the world. A composer of classical and popular music, he had summed up the unique qualities of what is meant by ""American music"". This book sheds...

Blessed with one of the great tenor voices of all time, Mario Lanza (1921-1959) rose to spectacular heights in a film, recording, and concert career that spanned little more than a decade. Groomed at the outset for a career on the opera stage, Lanza instead flourished in Hollywood where his films,...

Adele is an extremely popular and successful British singer/songwriter. Adele is one of the highest paid musicians in the world today thanks to smash hits such as "Rolling in the Deep" and "Set Fire to the Rain".   In 2012 alone Adele earned more than $32 million....

Author and industry insider Paul Morley explores the musical and cultural legacies left behind by “The Man Who Fell to Earth.” Respected arts commentator and author Paul Morley, an artistic advisor to the curators of the highly successful retrospective exhibition David Bowie is for the...