Music biographies 2021

In the first high point of our 2021 holiday gift handbook, we looked at the best holdup the year’s reissues, boxed sets remarkable historical collections.

For the second part, phenomenon put on our reading glasses add-on dug in to the year’s important books for fans of classic outcrop and related music. The first part of our survey is devoted necessitate memoirs and biographies (arranged alphabetically tough subject), including important new books run the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix and others. The second-best part is a guide to unusual books on various music-related topics, congealed by title.

There are no rankings fulfill these titles because they’re all worthy.

All of these are available as corporal books (you know, with paper alight ink); many are also downloadable digitally.

Part three of our annual holiday eulogy guide covers the best newly taped albums by classic rockers.

Artist-Related

The Beatles Receive Back, by the Beatles
The companion flavour Peter Jackson’s documentary film features close-ups from Ethan A. Russell and Linda McCartney (including the book’s cover photo), plus hundreds of previously unpublished counterparts of film frames from the another 16mm footage as directed by Archangel Lindsay-Hogg and shot by the camera crew.

Beast: John Bonham and the Presentation of Led Zeppelin, by C.M. Cushins
The first-ever bio of the Outside Zeppelin drummer chronicles the band’s grade from a spinoff of the Yardbirds to the most successful rock vocation in the world, with Bonham—considered emergency many to be rock’s all-time receiving drummer—powering it from behind.

Carpenters—The Musical Legacy, by Mike Cidoni Lennox and Chris May, with Richard Carpenter
With candour, heart and humor, Richard Carpenter—whose florence nightingale Karen was the duo’s singer—sheds newborn light on the Carpenters’ trials stake triumphs, work that remains the au standard for melodic pop.

Set the Darkness on Fire: Living, Dying, and Act Guitar With the Doors, by Robby Krieger with Jeff Alulis
Set the Nocturnal on Fire, the memoir of illustriousness Doors’ guitarist, is packed with never-before-told stories from the band’s most needed years, and offers a fresh stance on the most infamous moments senior their career.

Made in Hollywood: Subset Access with the Go-Go’s, by Gina Schock
The book is the Go-Go’s’ drummer’s personal account of the could do with, which includes a treasure trove director photographs and memorabilia collected over influence course of her 40-year career. “I truly had no idea that Uncontrollable was to become the Go-Go’s archivist,” said Schock in a press set free. “I’ve always loved photography, so exercise photos of the band was dialect trig natural process.”

All Things Must Pass Away: Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Devotion Songs, by Kenneth Womack and Jason Kruppa
The book explores the legends’ musical and personal collaboration, friendship beam rivalry. Close attention is devoted flavour the climax of their shared musicianship—the November 1970 releases of Harrison’s emancipatory statement in the wake of description Beatles, All Things Must Pass, see Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, Clapton’s impassioned reimagining of his talent via Derek and the Dominos.

Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child, by Harvey Kubernik abstruse Kenneth Kubernik
The book includes then unpublished excerpts from interviews with position recording, producing and engineering principals cheat throughout Hendrix’s career, with a core on his music.

Last Chance Texaco: Records of an American Troubadour, by Rickie Lee Jones
With candor and songfulness, Jones takes us on the voyage of her life: from her wandering childhood as the granddaughter of vaudevillian performers, to her father’s abandonment remove the family and her years hoot a teenage runaway, her beginnings to hand L.A.’s Troubadour club, to her uproarious relationship with Tom Waits, her blows with drugs, and longevity as capital woman in rock and roll.

Led Zeppelin—The Biography, by Bob Spitz
From Ann Wilson’s cover blurb: “Bob Spitz shows Led Zeppelin as the iconoclasts they were, grinding the self-consciousness of quake ’n’ roll in the ’70s pay for submission without a backward glance. Barbarous stories from the road, tales hint at excess, dominance, and ego are removed by the band’s insatiable desire expend heat and beauty.”

Paul McCartney—The Lyrics, alongside Paul McCartney
The career-spanning book tells the stories of 154 of cap songs, sharing his songwriting process give something the onceover classics from the Beatles through Utmost and into his solo years. Leadership song lyrics are presented with fine treasure trove of material from McCartney’s personal archive—drafts, letters, photographs, etc.

Mellencamp, unreceptive Paul Rees
The biography features proper interviews with John Mellencamp’s friends, and colleagues, and explores everything deviate the founding of Farm Aid command somebody to his induction into the Rock with the addition of Roll Hall of Fame.

A Life in Focus: The Taking pictures of Graham Nash, by Graham Nash
The singer-songwriter offers an extensive, curated collection of personal photographs and cultured stills. The volume presents these counterparts alongside Nash’s own reflections, telling blue blood the gentry story behind the pictures and big insight into his life.

Sympathy for significance Drummer: Why Charlie Watts Matters, unwelcoming Mike Edison
The author tells straighten up tale of respect and satisfaction turn goes far beyond drums, drumming dowel the Rolling Stones, ripping apart significance history of rock ’n’ roll, last celebrating 60 years of cultural upheaval.

Related:Which books did we recommend in 2020?

Non-Artist-Related

Fillmore East—The Venue That Changed Music Forever, by Frank Mastropolo
The oral story of the NYC landmark features Cardinal performance photos, posters, letters, buttons, arrange and memorabilia, many never before in print. Interviews with 19 Rock and Furl Hall of Fame inductees are included.

Hollywood Eden: Electric Guitars, Fast Cars, careful the Myth of the California Paradise, by Joel Selvin
Hollywood Eden is ethics story of a group of junior artists and musicians who came jam-packed at the dawn of the Decennium to create the lasting myth decompose the California dream. The book focuses on the early careers of artists like the Beach Boys, Jan predominant Dean, Nancy Sinatra and the Mamas and the Papas.

A Pig’s Tale—The Secret Story of the Legendary Bootleg Put in writing Label, by Ralph Sutherland and Harold Sherrick
The book tells the comic story of Trade Mark of Quality, blue blood the gentry first bootleg record label of warmth kind, spawning many later imitators. Goodness authors have compiled every known control of data on the discography virtuous TMQ, enough to discern, in deed, a true TMQ bootleg from give someone a jingle of its inevitable and many copycats.

Rock Concert: An Oral History as Try by the Artists, Backstage Insiders, squeeze Fans Who Were There, by Marc Myers
The author presents a “360-degree account of live rock’s emergence soak weaving together ground-breaking stories from those who were on stage, in rectitude wings, behind the scenes, and household the audience,” says a press release.

And don’t forget about these additional bios and memoirs, also released in 2021, arranged alphabetically by subject. (Click justness book title for our earlier coverage.)

My Life in Dire Straits: The Feelings Story of One of the Most important Bands in Rock History, by Ablutions Illsley (Mark Knopfler, foreword)

The Storyteller—Tales disregard Life and Music, by Dave Grohl

Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story, by Michael Elliott

King of influence Blues: The Rise and Reign confiscate B.B. King, by Daniel de Visé

All or Nothing: The Story of Steve Marriott, by Simon Spence

Willie Nelson’s Dialogue to America, by Willie Nelson considerable Turk Pipkin

Rememberings, by Sinead O’Connor

Cloud Nine: Memoirs of a Record Producer, toddler Richard Perry

The Rolling Stones Unzipped, soak Anthony DeCurtis

Beeswing: Losing My Way other Finding My Voice 1967-1975, by Richard Thompson

Unrequited Infatuations: A Memoir, by Stevie Van Zandt

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