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Rock Biographies

Thirty Bills UnpaidThirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
edited April 2012 in Other Music
Was reading the RHCP thread and 'Scar Tissue' (the book) came up. I loved that book. I have read a ton of rock biographies- some great... some not so great.

I just picked up 'This is a Call' (Dave Grohl). Haven't read it, but looking forward to it.

Curious to know which books some of the fan base has read and which ones they liked or disliked?

I'll mention one that I think reigns supreme: Heavier Than Heaven (Kurt Cobain).
"My brain's a good brain!"
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  • he.who.forgetshe.who.forgets Posts: 4,593
    I havent read many, but Clapton's is good
    We were but stones your light made us stars
  • HorosHoros Posts: 4,518
    I've read a bunch on the classic bands(The Beatles, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin) can't remember titles but enjoyed them all. As long as you are interested in the subject you can't go too wrong with biographies. Recently read 'Everybody Loves Our Town' and that was a good read.
    #FHP
  • AlbertaGirl70_AlbertaGirl70_ Posts: 1,738
    Love love rock bios! Recents have been 3 GNR books 2 Mötley Crüe (what can I say I'm an 80's girl) and PJ 20 cover to cover word for word.....twice :lol::lol:
    I will walk w/my hands bound
    I will walk w/my face blood
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    Memories back when she was smooth and strong
    and waiting for the world to come along...

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  • youngsteryoungster Boston Posts: 6,576
    Read Slash's book a couple years ago which was pretty good. Kinda get why he hates Axl....cause Axl was a douchebag. Take that back, IS a douchebag.
    He who forgets will be destined to remember.

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  • curlygirly9curlygirly9 Vancouver, WA Posts: 1,872
    a million Bowie biographies, a Courtney Love biography, No one here gets out alive, about Jim Morrisson, PJ of course, and Kurt Cobain. I'm sure there's more. You're probably right, Heavier Than Heaven was pretty good.
    Rose Garden Arena - Nov 02, 2000, Key Arena - Oct 22, 2001, Key Arena - Dec 08, 2002, Key Arena - Dec 09, 2002, Clark County Amphitheater - Sep 26, 2009
  • Thirty Bills UnpaidThirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    Hammer of the Gods (Zeppelin) was pretty darn good. Read Stairway to Heaven as well, but Hammer was the better choice for the Zeppelin story.
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    he.who.forgets wrote:
    I havent read many, but Clapton's is good
    Love that one. One of my favorite biographies. I'm still wondering how he's still alive.

    "John Lennon: The Life" by Philip Norman is a pretty good (long) read. Along the Seattle route, "Grunge is Dead" by Greg Prato is a good read.
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  • perfectlefts14perfectlefts14 Posts: 2,040
    Kieth Richards Life is a great book, gives real insight into the Stones history. As said above, No One Gets Out Alive is a great book about Jim Morrison. Life On Planet Rock is also a good read, and of course Pearl Jam Twenty and 5 against 1.
    Tell the captain
    'This boats not safe
    And we're drowning.'
  • goldrushgoldrush everybody knows this is nowhere Posts: 7,549
    Some that I've enjoyed recently:

    Dave Grohl 'This is a Call'
    Keith Richards 'Life'
    Neil Young 'Shakey'
    R.E.M. 'Fiction'
    “Do not postpone happiness”
    (Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)

    “Put yer good money on the sunrise”
    (Tim Rogers)
  • LoulouLoulou Adelaide Posts: 6,247
    I guess some don't count as 'biographies' but oh well:

    Not Dead and Not For Sale- Scott Weiland's biography was good, love to find out more about the lyrics behind his songs.
    Poppy Z. Brite's book on Courtney Love
    Marilyn Manson's biography was actually quite interesting even though I'm not a huge fan or anything.
    Five Against One
    None too Fragile
    High on Arrival- Mack Phillips I know not technically a rock biography but she does talk a lot of the rock groups she grew up, shocking but interesting
    “ "Thank you Palestrina. It’s a wonderful evening, it’s great to be here and I wanna dedicate you a super sexy song." " (last words of Mark Sandman of Morphine)


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  • your move nowyour move now Posts: 1,165
    Newch91 wrote:
    he.who.forgets wrote:
    I havent read many, but Clapton's is good
    Love that one. One of my favorite biographies. I'm still wondering how he's still alive.

    "John Lennon: The Life" by Philip Norman is a pretty good (long) read. Along the Seattle route, "Grunge is Dead" by Greg Prato is a good read.

    before reading keith richards I wondered how he was still alive - afterwards am convinced the guy is either secretly dead or immortal
    I don't mean to offend anyone, a lot of what I say should be taken with a grain of salt... that said for most of you I'm a stranger on a computer on the other side of the world, don't give me that sort of power!
  • SatansFutonSatansFuton Posts: 5,399
    Best rock biography I ever read was "Touching From A Distance: Ian Curtis And Joy Division" by Ian's widow Deborah. It's much better than the film based on it ("Control") as the book is much more honest, and the film was made by a friend/fan who was more interested in perpetuating the myth of Ian Curtis than portraying him as a human being. I find the truth about him, flaws and all, much more interesting than the fiction.

    touching-from-distance-ian-curtis-joy-division-deborah-paperback-cover-art.jpg

    touching-from-a-distance.jpg?w=185&h=300
    "See a broad to get dat booty yak 'em, leg 'er down, a smack 'em yak 'em!"
  • Indifference71Indifference71 Chicago Posts: 14,845
    Newch91 wrote:
    he.who.forgets wrote:
    I havent read many, but Clapton's is good
    Love that one. One of my favorite biographies. I'm still wondering how he's still alive.


    That was an awesome biogrpahy....I couldn't put that book down. I read it in like 3 days. Like you said, how Clapton is still alive is a complete mystery to me. The abuse his body took back in the day is insane.
  • Who PrincessWho Princess out here in the fields Posts: 7,305
    Lots of good Who books. I'd probably start with Richard Barnes Maximum R&B. Barnes has been a friend of the band from the earliest days and has lots of good stuff on their beginnings. Also Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958-1978 by Andy Neill and Matt Kent, which takes you up to Keith Moon's death. Neill and Kent have said they're working on a new book that will cover 1978 to the present.

    I don't usually like memoirs but I'll be reading this one:

    whositetile_640.jpg

    Pete's been at this a long time and used to post excerpts on his blog. Originally it was only going to go up to the 60s but I don't know if that's still true.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    Indifference71 wrote:
    Newch91 wrote:
    he.who.forgets wrote:
    I havent read many, but Clapton's is good
    Love that one. One of my favorite biographies. I'm still wondering how he's still alive.


    That was an awesome biogrpahy....I couldn't put that book down. I read it in like 3 days. Like you said, how Clapton is still alive is a complete mystery to me. The abuse his body took back in the day is insane.
    Same with me. I could not put the book down, except to eat and sleep. I read it my junior year of high school and read it during class. Didn't know who his actual parents were when he was growing up, drug addict, alcoholic, 5 ulsers where he could have easily died, and his son dying. What a life.
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  • peacegirlpeacegirl Posts: 835
    I've read quite a few and like most of them...Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, Courtney Love, Pearl Jam, Slash, The Doors/Jim Morrison, ...if its someone or a band you're interested in they are usually pretty good. One of my favorites would have to be No One Here Gets Out Alive about Jim Morrison. I think I've read it twice :lol:

    I have Duff McKagan's (GNR) on hold from my library right now. Am looking forward to reading that one
  • stargirl69stargirl69 Posts: 6,387
    I have read a heap of music biographies but the ones that really stood out for me were,Led Zeppelin:Hammer of the Gods,Aerosmith:Walk This Way,Keith Richards:Life and Motley Crue:Dirt.
    I can't stand Motley Crue but a friend gave me their copy, insisting I read it.I couldn't put it down,those guys were such twisted fucks.
    “There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen”
  • Newch91Newch91 Posts: 17,560
    I forgot to mention I loved Led Zeppelin: Hammer of the Gods. I read that every year in high school and I think I've read 10 times.
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    "Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
  • KathiKathi Posts: 1,828
    SatansFuton wrote:
    Best rock biography I ever read was "Touching From A Distance: Ian Curtis And Joy Division" by Ian's widow Deborah. It's much better than the film based on it ("Control") as the book is much more honest, and the film was made by a friend/fan who was more interested in perpetuating the myth of Ian Curtis than portraying him as a human being. I find the truth about him, flaws and all, much more interesting than the fiction.

    touching-from-distance-ian-curtis-joy-division-deborah-paperback-cover-art.jpg

    touching-from-a-distance.jpg?w=185&h=300

    I'll have to check this one out, thanks!

    The last one I read was This Is A Call - very good, and it tells you a lot about the scene he grew up in.
  • Constant Recoil...Constant Recoil... Posts: 1,276
    I just recently started reading them...as in I'v only read 3. Steven Tylers book "Does the noise in my head bother you" is wild. It sounds like he is talking to you. Also I have read PJ20 and 5against1. Borrowing "The Heroin Diaries" from a friend soon, they said it was good. Thanks to this thread looks like I now have a whole list :)
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    Nick Mason's book on Pink Floyd was a winner....as was "Chapter and Verse.." the story of Genesis. I also enjoyed "Shakey" and "Hammer of the Gods." Pamela Des Barres' first book, "I'm with the Band" was also a good read.
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • merkinballmerkinball Posts: 2,262
    Shakey was great.

    Dylan's Chronicles is a good read, as is Behind the Shades (on Dylan).

    Probably my favorite autobiography is Bill Graham Presents, by Bill Graham. Great look at a unique person (and time).
    "You're no help," he told the lime. This was unfair. It was only a lime; there was nothing special about it at all. It was doing the best it could.

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  • Thirty Bills UnpaidThirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    merkinball wrote:
    Shakey was great.

    Dylan's Chronicles is a good read, as is Behind the Shades (on Dylan).

    Probably my favorite autobiography is Bill Graham Presents, by Bill Graham. Great look at a unique person (and time).

    Never dug Shakey- as much as i like Neil, the writing seemed very dry to me.

    I Am Ozzy was an entertaining read. He's a legitimate nutbar.
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • frazbafrazba Posts: 601
    Are you sitting comfortably?

    Good, I'll begin...

    Turned On - Rollins
    Redemption Song - Joe Strummer
    Dear Boy - Keith Moon
    No Irish, no blacks, no dogs - Johnny Rotten/Lydon
    Lost in the Woods - Syd Barrett and The Pink Floyd
    Keith Richards - Life
    Musgrave of the Marshes - John Peel
    A life in Music - John Peel
    Englands Dreaming - Jon Savage (not a biography/autobiography, but a brilliant book on the early UK punk scene)
    No-one here gets out alive - Jim Morrison
    Light My Fire - Ray Manzarek
    Take it like a Man - Boy George
    Bad Seed - Nick Cave
    Some People are Crazy - John Martyn
    Lowside of the Road - Tom Waits
    Shakey - NY

    are all brilliant books, I've listed the subject of the book rather than the author 'cos I can't remember who wrote them. There are more but my memory is a bit dodgy. I didn't enjoy the Kurt one (the one Charles Cross wrote) at all. I enjoyed Hammer of the Gods but I'd regard it as fiction rather than an accurate account of Led Zep's career.
  • pirlo21pirlo21 Posts: 534
    I really enjoyed this one on Shannon Hoon & Blind Melon:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Devil-One-Shoul ... 852&sr=8-1
    Cymru Am Byth

    PJ albums, at the moment!! -
    1,Vs 2,Vitalogy 3,No Code 4,Yield 5,Ten 6,Backspacer, 7Pearl Jam 8,Binaural 9,Riot Act.
  • Thirty Bills UnpaidThirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    pirlo21 wrote:
    I really enjoyed this one on Shannon Hoon & Blind Melon:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Devil-One-Shoul ... 852&sr=8-1

    Going to be buying this one- never even knew it was out there!
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • frazbafrazba Posts: 601
    How could I forget 'Wilco:Learning How to Die' by Greg Kot, great book on an amazing band.
  • pandorapandora Posts: 21,855
    I liked Janis 1974 Documentary 8-)
  • randallanddarcyrandallanddarcy Posts: 813
    Here's some good ones. Just off the top of my head. PJ haven't really had a good one. Some of this list is unauthorized biogs, some are written with approval but no direct artist input, and some are authorized:

    "How Black was Our Sabbath"-Black Sabbath-written by a couple of their road crew.
    "I Am Ozzy"-Ozzy
    "Run To The Hills"-Iron Maiden
    "Scar Tissue"-Anthony Kiedis
    "Mr. Big"-Don Arden (Sharon Osbourne's dad and legendary agent/promoter/manager/label owner/gangster)
    "Life"-Keef
    "Hammer of the Gods"-Zep
    "Stairway to Heaven"-Zep
    "Off the Rails"-Rudy Sarzo (played on Ozzy's Blizzard... and Diary... tours with Randy Rhoads)
    "Shakey"-Neil Young
    "Zero to Sixty"-Neil Young (this is a weighty Uncle Neil geekoid one. It was a bit too detailed for me).
    "Slash"-Slash
    "When Giants Walked the Earth"-Led Zep
    "The Spider With the Platinum Hair"-Mick Ronson (Bowie's original guitarist with the Spiders From Mars)
    "Open Up and Bleed"-Iggy Pop
    "Grunge is Dead"-various
    "Everybody Loves Our Town"-various
    "No-one Here Gets Out Alive"-The Doors/Morrison
    "Wonderland Avenue"-Danny Sugarman (A MUST READ)
    "Room Full of Mirrors"-Jimi Hendrix
    "Heavier Than Heaven"-Nirvana
    "The Dirt"-Motley Crue
    "Gods, Gangsters and Honour"-various (written by a music lawyer-some crackin' stories)
    "Moon the Loon" "AKA "Full Moon"-Keith Moon, written by his PA, 'Dougal'. This might be out now under a different name. My friend's copy is from 1983 or summat and has this title, but I think it's been retitled since. It's a fucking must-read!)
    "A Long Strange Trip"-Grateful Dead (brilliant read, and I don't even like the Grateful Dead)

    I've yet to check out Tony Iommi's one and Johnny Ramone's one, but I will!
    My Pearl Jam shows: 1 in 1995, 2 in 1998, 20 in 2003, 13 in 2006, 3 in 2007, 8 in 2008, 5 in 2009, 4 in 2010, 5 in 2012. EV: 8 in 2011, 1 in 2012. Brad: 1 in 1998, 1 in 2002.
  • frazbafrazba Posts: 601
    randallanddarcy wrote:
    "Wonderland Avenue"-Danny Sugarman (A MUST READ)


    Absolutely agree, an amazing book, mostly about Sugarmans relationship with Jim Morrison and drugs but takes in Iggy as well if I remember correctly.
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