Music Books
Page 1 of 4 - 238 results
The Autobiography of Gucci Mane
Mane, Gucci
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $7.59
For the first time Gucci Mane tells his extraordinary story in his own words. It is “as wild, unpredictable, and fascinating as the man himself” (Complex).The platinum-selling recording artist began writing his remarkable autobiography in a federal maximum security prison. Released in 2016, he emerged radically transformed. He was sober, smiling, focused, and positive—a far cry from the Gucci Mane of years past.A critically acclaimed classic, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane “provides incredible insight into one of the most influential rappers of the last decade, detailing a volatile and fascinating life...By the end, every reader will have a greater understanding of Gucci Mane, the man and the musician” (Pitchfork).
Petty: The Biography
Zanes, Warren
(Paperback)
List Price: $17.99 Our Price: $5.99
No one other than Warren Zanes, rocker and writer and friend, could author a book about Tom Petty that is as honest and evocative of Petty's music and the remarkable rock and roll history he and his band helped to write.Born in Gainesville, Florida, with more than a little hillbilly in his blood, Tom Petty was a Southern shit kicker, a kid without a whole lot of promise. Rock and roll made it otherwise. From meeting Elvis, to seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, to producing Del Shannon, backing Bob Dylan, putting together a band with George Harrison, Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne, making records with Johnny Cash, and sending well more than a dozen of his own celebrated recordings high onto the charts, Tom Petty's story has all the drama of a rock and roll epic. Now in his mid-sixties, still making records and still touring, Petty, known for his reclusive style, has shared with Warren Zanes his insights and arguments, his regrets and lasting ambitions, and the details of his life on and off the stage.This is a book for those who know and love the songs, from "American Girl" and "Refugee" to "Free Fallin'" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance," and for those who want to see the classic rock and roll era embodied in one man's remarkable story. Dark and mysterious, Petty manages to come back, again and again, showing us what the music can do and where it can take us.
Music Icons (Paint By Sticker)
Workman Publishing Company
(Softcover)
List Price: $14.95 Our Price: $7.35
Paint by Sticker is the most exciting new idea in activity books, both for grown-ups and kids. A compelling activity for crafters and artists, doodlers and colorers of all ages, each Paint by Sticker book includes everything you need to create twelve vibrant, full-color "paintings." The original images are rendered in low-poly, a computer graphics style using geometric polygon shapes to create a 3D effect. As in paint-by-number, each template is divided into dozens of spaces, each with a number that corresponds to a particular sticker. Find the sticker, peel it, and place it in the right space. Add the next, and the next, and the next - it’s an activity that’s utterly absorbing, both in the pleasure of peeling and sticking and the growing satisfaction of watching a “painting” come to life, emerging from a flat black-and-white illustration to a dazzling image with color, body, and spirit.Paint by Sticker: Music Icons brings us face-to-face with Elvis, The Beatles, Beyoncé, David Bowie, Cher, Prince, Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain, Madonna, Nina Simone, Dolly Parton, and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
Chang, Jeff
(Paperback)
List Price: $19.00 Our Price: $8.69
Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop has been a generation-defining global movement. In a post-civil rights era rapidly transformed by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop gave voiceless youths a chance to address these seismic changes, and became a job-making engine and the Esperanto of youth rebellion. Hip-hop crystallized a multiracial generation's worldview, and forever transformed politics and culture. But the epic story of how that happened has never been fully told . . . until now.
Fail Until You Don't: Fight Grind Repeat
Bones, Bobby
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.99 Our Price: $8.39
The number one New York Times best-selling author of Bare Bones, host of the marquee morning program The Bobby Bones Show, comedian, and dedicated philanthropist delivers an inspirational and humorous collection of stories about his biggest misses in life and how he turned them into lessons and wins.Bobby Bones is the youngest inductee ever into the National Radio Hall of Fame, alongside legends Dick Clark, Larry King, and Howard Stern. As "the most powerful man in country music" (Forbes), he has reached the peak of his profession and achieved his childhood dreams. Each weekday morning, more than five million fans tune in to his radio show.But as Bobby reveals, a lot of what made him able to achieve his goals were mistakes, awkward moments, and embarrassing situations - lemons that he turned into lemonade through hard work and humility. In this eye-opening book, he’ll include ideas and motivations for finding success even when seemingly surrounded by impossible odds or tough failures. He also includes anecdotes from some of his famous friends who open up about their own missteps.Bobby’s mantra is: Fight. Grind. Repeat. A man who refuses to give up, he sees failure as something to learn from - and the recollections in this funny, smart book, full of Bobby’s brand of self-effacing humor, show how he’s become such a beloved goofball.
The Beatles Lyrics: The Stories Behind the Music, Including the Handwritten Drafts of More Than 100 Classic Beatles Songs
Davies, Hunter
(Paperback)
List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $8.69
The definitive book of Beatles songs, shown as first written by their own hands and put into authoritative context, for the 50th anniversary of the Beatles coming to America. For the Beatles, writing songs was a process that could happen anytime -- songs we all know by heart often began as a scribble on the back of an envelope or on hotel stationery. These original documents have ended up scattered across the world at museums and universities and with collectors and friends. Many have never been published before. More than 100 songs and lyrics are reproduced in THE BEATLES LYRICS, providing Hunter Davies a unique platform to tell the story of the music. The intimacy of these reproductions -- there are sections crossed out and rewritten, and words tossed into the final recordings that were never written down -- ensures that THE BEATLES LYRICS will be a treasure for musicians, scholars, and fans everywhere.
Slash
Slash
(Softcover)
List Price: $15.99 Our Price: $7.95
From one of the greatest rock guitarists of our era comes a memoir that redefines sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. For the first time ever, Slash tells the tale that has yet to be told from the inside: how the legendary band Guns N' Roses came together, how they wrote the music that defined an era, how they survived insane, never-ending tours, how they survived themselves, and, ultimately, how it all fell apart. Slash is a window into the world of the notoriously private guitarist and a front seat on the roller-coaster ride that was one of history's greatest rock 'n' roll machines, always on the edge of self-destruction, even at the pinnacle of its success. Slash is everything Slash is: funny, honest, ingenious, inspiring, jaw-dropping . . . and, in a word, excessive.
How to Listen to Great Music
Greenberg, Robert
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $7.35
From one of the most trusted names in continuing education - the knowledge you need to unlock "the most abstract and sublime of all the arts." Whether you're listening in a concert hall or on your iPod, concert music has the power to move you. The right knowledge can deepen the ability of this music to edify, enlighten, and stir the soul. In How to Listen to Great Music, Professor Robert Greenberg, a composer and music historian, presents a comprehensive, accessible guide to how music has mirrored Western history, that will transform the experience of listening for novice and long-time listeners alike. You will learn how to listen for key elements in different genres of music - from madrigals to minuets and from sonatas to symphonies - along with the enthralling history of great music from ancient Greece to the 20th century. You'll get answers to such questions as Why was Beethoven so important? How did the Enlightenment change music? And what's so great about opera anyway? How to Listen to Great Music will let you finally hear what you've been missing
The Vintage Guide to Classical Music
Swafford, Jan
(Softcover)
List Price: $21.00 Our Price: $8.69
The most readable and comprehensive guide to enjoying over five hundred years of classical music -- from Gregorian chants, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, John Cage, and beyond. The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is a lively -- and opinionated -- musical history and an insider's key to the personalities, epochs, and genres of the Western classical tradition. Among its features: -- chronologically arranged essays on nearly 100 composers, from Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300-1377) to Aaron Copland (1900-1990), that combine biography with detailed analyses of the major works while assessing their role in the social, cultural, and political climate of their times; -- informative sidebars that clarify broader topics such as melody, polyphony, atonality, and the impact of the early-music movement; -- a glossary of musical terms, from a cappella to woodwinds; -- a step-by-step guide to building a great classical music library. Written with wit and a clarity that both musical experts and beginners can appreciate, The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is an invaluable source-book for music lovers everywhere.
This Business of Concert Promotion and Touring: A Practical Guide to Creating, Selling, Organizing, and Staging Concerts
Barnet, Richard D.
(Hardcover)
List Price: $25.99 Our Price: $9.79
Concerts are part art, part party - and a big part business. This Business of Concert Promotion and Touring is the first to focus on that all-important business aspect, from creating a show, to selling a show, to organizing the show, to staging the show. Working with venues, personnel, booking, promoting, marketing, publicity, public relations, financial management, and much more are covered in this indispensable one-volume resource. And the ideas and techniques explained here can be used for every type of concert promotion, including college shows, artist showcases, club gigs, as well as major events handled by local promoters, nationwide promoters, and worldwide promoters. Concert promoters and tour managers at every level need to know This Business of Concert Promotion and Touring.
Guitar: The World's Most Seductive Instrument
Schiller, David
(Hardcover)
List Price: $35.00 Our Price: $15.09
An obsessive, full-color book presented in an irresistible slipcase, Guitar features 200 instruments in stunning detail. Here are icons, like Prince’s Yellow Cloud, Willie Nelson’s “Trigger,” Muddy Water’s Thunderbird, and “Rocky,” lovingly hand-painted by its owner, George Harrison. Historic instruments—Fender’s Broadcaster, Les Paul’s “Log,” the Gibson Nick Lucas Special, the very first artist model. Hand-carved archtops, pinnacles of the luthier’s art, from John D’Angelico to Ken Parker. Stunning acoustics from a new wave of women builders, like Rosie Heydenrych of England, who’s known to use 5,000-year-old wood retrieved from a peat bog. And quirky one-of-a-kind guitars, like Linda Manzer’s Pikasso II—four necks, 42 strings, and a thousand pounds of pressure.Marrying pure visual pleasure with layers of information, Guitar is a glorious gift for every guitar-lover
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell
Manson, Marilyn
(Softcover)
List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $7.95
Shock rocker Marilyn Manson has emerged as one of today's most controversial celebrity icons. Now readers can venture beyond the image to the true story of Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson, and find out about his relentless crusade as the self-proclaimed "Antichrist Superstar."
Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga
Davis, Stephen
(Softcover)
List Price: $14.95 Our Price: $7.35
The members of Led Zeppelin are major deities in the pantheon of rock gods. The first and heaviest of the heavy metal monsters, they violently shook the foundations of rock music and took no prisoners on the road. Their tours were legendary, their lives were exalted - and in an era well known for sex and drugs, the mighty Zeppelin set an unattainable standard of excess and mythos for any band that tried to follow them. They were power, they were fantasy, they were black magic. No band ever flew as high as Led Zeppelin or suffered so disastrous a fall. And only some of them lived to tell the tale. Hammer of the Gods is the New York Times bestselling epic saga of the hard reign of Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham - a spellbinding, electrifying, no-holds-barred classic of rock 'n' roll history that has now been updated to include the continuing adventures of the band.
18 and Life on Skid Row
Bach, Sebastian
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.99 Our Price: $5.99
18 And Life on Skid Row tells the story of a boy who spent his childhood moving from Freeport, Bahamas to California and finally to Canada and who at the age of eight discovered the gift that would change his life. Throughout his career, Sebastian Bach has sold over twenty million records both as the lead singer of Skid Row and as a solo artist. In his memoir, Bach recounts lurid tales of excess and debauchery as he toured the world with Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Soundgarden, Pantera, Nine Inch Nails and Guns N’ Roses. Filled with backstage photos from his own personal collection, 18 And Life on Skid Row is the story of hitting it big at a young age, and of a band that broke up in its prime. It is the story of a man who achieved his wildest dreams, only to lose his family, and then his home. It is a story of perseverance, of wine, women and song and a man who has made his life on the road and always will. 18 And Life On Skid Row is not your ordinary rock memoir, because Sebastian Bach is not your ordinary rock star.
The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature
Levitin, Daniel J.
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $7.35
The author of the New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music reveals music's role in the evolution of human culture-and "will leave you awestruck" (The New York Times) Daniel J. Levitin's astounding debut bestseller, This Is Your Brain on Music, enthralled and delighted readers as it transformed our understanding of how music gets in our heads and stays there. Now in his second New York Times bestseller, his genius for combining science and art reveals how music shaped humanity across cultures and throughout history. Dr. Levitin identifies six fundamental song functions or types-friendship, joy, comfort, religion, knowledge, and love-then shows how each in its own way has enabled the social bonding necessary for human culture and society to evolve. He shows, in effect, how these "six songs" work in our brains to preserve the emotional history of our lives and species. Dr. Levitin combines cutting-edge scientific research from his music cognition lab at McGill University and work in an array of related fields; his own sometimes hilarious experiences in the music business; and illuminating interviews with musicians such as Sting and David Byrne, as well as conductors, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists. The World in Six Songs is, ultimately, a revolution in our understanding of how human nature evolved-right up to the iPod.
Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom
Guralnick, Peter
(Paperback)
List Price: $19.00 Our Price: $8.69
Here, in a narrative that captures all the tumult and liberating energy of a nation in transition, is the story of the legendary performers - Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, James Brown, Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Al Green among them - who merged gospel and rhythm and blues to create Southern soul music.
History of Western Music (HarperCollins College Outline)
Miller, Hugh M.
(Softcover)
List Price: $15.95 Our Price: $7.79
This book is part of an all-new, in-depth series, featuring titles in all areas of study, including Humanities, Social Science, business, Engineering, Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science. Featuring the most up-to-date information, each book is written by educators in the field, for students as well as the general reader. Without sacrificing quality, these outlines summarize the material in a format that assures easy comprehension. SC, 308 pages.
The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll
Port, Ian S.
(Paperback)
List Price: $18.00 Our Price: $6.49
“A hot-rod joy ride through mid-20th-century American history” (The New York Times Book Review), this one-of-a-kind narrative masterfully recreates the rivalry between the two men who innovated the electric guitar’s amplified sound - Leo Fender and Les Paul - and their intense competition to convince rock stars like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton to play the instruments they built.In the years after World War II, music was evolving from big-band jazz into rock ’n’ roll - and these louder styles demanded revolutionary instruments. When Leo Fender’s tiny firm marketed the first solid-body electric guitar, the Esquire, musicians immediately saw its appeal. Not to be out-maneuvered, Gibson, the largest guitar manufacturer, raced to build a competitive product. The company designed an “axe” that would make Fender’s Esquire look cheap and convinced Les Paul - whose endorsement Leo Fender had sought - to put his name on it. Thus was born the guitar world’s most heated rivalry: Gibson versus Fender, Les versus Leo.While Fender was a quiet, half-blind, self-taught radio repairman, Paul was a brilliant but headstrong pop star and guitarist who spent years toying with new musical technologies. Their contest turned into an arms race as the most inventive musicians of the 1950s and 1960s - including bluesman Muddy Waters, rocker Buddy Holly, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton - adopted one maker’s guitar or another. By 1969 it was clear that these new electric instruments had launched music into a radical new age, empowering artists with a vibrancy and volume never before attainable.
Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan
Paul, Alan
(Hardcover)
List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $9.09
Just a few years after he almost died from a severe addiction to cocaine and alcohol, a clean and sober Stevie Ray Vaughan was riding high. His last album was his most critically lauded and commercially successful. He had fulfilled a lifelong dream by collaborating with his first and greatest musical hero, his brother Jimmie. His tumultuous marriage was over and he was in a new and healthy romantic relationship. Vaughan seemed poised for a new, limitless chapter of his life and career.Instead, it all came to a shocking and sudden end on August 27, 1990, when he was killed in a helicopter crash following a dynamic performance with Eric Clapton. Just 35 years old, he left behind a powerful musical legacy and an endless stream of What Ifs. In the ensuing 29 years, Vaughan’s legend and acclaim have only grown and he is now an undisputed international musical icon. Despite the cinematic scope of Vaughan’s life and death, there has never been a truly proper accounting of his story. Until now.Texas Flood provides the unadulterated truth about Stevie Ray Vaughan from those who knew him best: his brother Jimmie, his Double Trouble bandmates Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton and Reese Wynans, and many other close friends, family members, girlfriends, fellow musicians, managers and crew members.
Visualizing The Beatles: A Complete Graphic History of the World's Favorite Band
Pring, John
(Hardcover)
List Price: $26.99 Our Price: $8.09
Filled with stunning full-color infographics, a unique, album-by-album visual history of the evolution of the Beatles that examines how their style, their sound, their instruments, their songs, their tours, and the world they inhabited transformed over the course of a decade.Combining data, colorful artwork, interactive charts, graphs, and timelines, Visualizing the Beatles is a fresh and imaginative look at the world’s most popular band. Meticulously examining the songs on every Beatles’ album from Please Please Me to Let It Be, UK-based graphic artists John Pring and Rob Thomas deconstruct:• lyrical content• songwriting credits• inspiration for the songs• instruments used• cover designs• chart position• and more . . . .They also break down the success of Beatles’ singles across the world, their tour dates, venues, and cities, their hairstyles, fashion choices and favorite guitars, and a wealth of other Beatles’ minutiae. Visualizing the Beatles also includes illustrations involving the conspiracy theories of the "Paul is dead" hoax as well as A-to-Z lists of every artist or performer who has ever covered a Beatles’ song.Comprehensive, entertaining, and packed with fun facts, Visualizing the Beatles is a wonderful introduction for new fans and a must-have for devotees, offering a new way to think about this extraordinary band whose influence continues to shape music.
Closer You Are: The Story of Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices
Cutter, Matthew
(Hardcover)
List Price: $27.00 Our Price: $4.39
The authorized biography of Robert Pollard, indie rock icon and founder of the music group Guided By Voices.Robert Pollard has been a staple of the indie rock scene since the early '80s, along with his band Guided By Voices. Pollard was a longtime grade school teacher who toiled endlessly on his music, finding success only after adopting a do-it-yourself approach, relying on lo-fi home recordings for much of his and his band's career. A prolific artist, Pollard continues to churn out album after album, much to the acclaim of critics and his obsessive and devoted fans. But his story has never been faithfully told in its entirety. Until now.Author Matthew Cutter is a longtime friend of Pollard and, with Pollard's blessing, he's set out to tell the whole, true story of Guided By Voices. Closer You Are is the first book to take an in-depth look at the man behind it all, with interviews conducted by the author with Pollard's friends, family, and bandmates, along with unfettered access to Pollard himself and his extensive archives.Robert Pollard has had an amazing and seemingly endless career in rock music, but he's also established himself as a consummate artist who works on his own terms. Now fans can at long last learn the full story behind one of America's greatest living songwriters.
Mo' Meta Blues
Thompson, Ahmir "Questlove"
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $6.79
Mo' Meta Blues is a punch-drunk memoir in which Everyone's Favorite Questlove tells his own story while tackling some of the lates, the greats, the fakes, the philosophers, the heavyweights, and the true originals of the music world. He digs deep into the album cuts of his life and unearths some pivotal moments in black art, hip hop, and pop culture.
Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music (6th Edition)
Marcus, Greil
(Paperback)
List Price: $17.00 Our Price: $7.35
In 1975, Greil Marcus’s Mystery Train changed the way readers thought about rock ’n’ roll and continues to be sought out today by music fans and anyone interested in pop culture. Looking at recordings by six key artists - Robert Johnson, Harmonica Frank, Randy Newman, the Band, Sly Stone, and Elvis Presley - Marcus offers a complex and unprecedented analysis of the relationship between rock ‘n’ roll and American culture. In this latest edition, Marcus provides an extensively updated and rewritten Note and Discographies section, exploring the recordings’ evolution and continuing impact.
The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pionering Rivalry That Shaped Rock "N' Roll
Port, Ian S.
(Hardcover)
List Price: $28.00 Our Price: $10.55
This one-of-a-kind narrative masterfully recreates the rivalry between the two men who innovated the electric guitar’s amplified sound—Leo Fender and Les Paul—and their intense competition to convince rock stars like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton to play the instruments they built.
How to Play the Piano (A Little Book On)
Rhodes, James
(Hardcover)
List Price: $12.95 Our Price: $6.25
Now you can master Bach’s most beautiful prelude - even if you’ve never sat down at a piano before!Do you have a piano (or keyboard) and forty-five spare minutes every day? Then spend the next six weeks with acclaimed concert pianist James Rhodes. By the end, you’ll be able to perform Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C major - no prior musical experience required!Rhodes reveals How to Play the Piano step by step - how to read the treble and bass clefs as well as sharp and flat notes, and then how to practice - before teaching the Prelude in easy, bite-size segments. His method is free of tedious drills, and filled with inspiration: “If listening to music is soothing for the soul, then playing music is achieving enlightenment.”Before you know it, not only will you have learned how to play one of Bach’s most beloved masterpieces - you also will have unleashed your creativity, exercising your mind (and fingers) and accomplishing something you never thought possible. Bravo!
Music, The Brain and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination
Jourdain, Robert
(Softcover)
List Price: $14.95 Our Price: $7.09
How music captures our imagination.
Burning Down the Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution, and the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Mohr, Tim
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.95 Our Price: $7.59
It began with a handful of East Berlin teens who heard the Sex Pistols on a British military radio broadcast to troops in West Berlin, and it ended with the collapse of the East German dictatorship. Punk rock was a life-changing discovery. The buzz-saw guitars, the messed-up clothing and hair, the rejection of society and the DIY approach to building a new one: in their gray surroundings, where everyone’s future was preordained by some communist apparatchik, punk represented a revolutionary philosophy - quite literally, as it turned out.But as these young kids tried to form bands and became more visible, security forces - including the dreaded secret police, the Stasi - targeted them. They were spied on by friends and even members of their own families; they were expelled from schools and fired from jobs; they were beaten by police and imprisoned. Instead of conforming, the punks fought back, playing an indispensable role in the underground movements that helped bring down the Berlin Wall.This secret history of East German punk rock is not just about the music; it is a story of extraordinary bravery in the face of one of the most oppressive regimes in history. Rollicking, cinematic, deeply researched, highly readable, and thrillingly topical, Burning Down the Haus brings to life the young men and women who successfully fought authoritarianism three chords at a time - and is a fiery testament to the irrepressible spirit of revolution.
The Faith of Dolly Parton: Lessons from Her Life to Lift Your Heart
Delffs, Dudley
(Hardcover)
List Price: $22.99 Our Price: $8.09
Dolly Parton has entertained, educated, and inspired millions of fans for over five decades. Whether she’s writing songs, performing live, recording new albums, acting in or producing new movies and TV programs, expanding her wildly successful Dollywood amusement park, helping children around the world learn to read with her Imagination Library nonprofit, or donating millions of dollars to schools, charities, and people in need, the Queen of Country Music has never been shy about crediting her Christian faith for her success.“A belief in God is essential,” Dolly shares. “You have to believe in something bigger than yourself. We grew up believing that through God all things are possible.” Growing up in the little mountain church where her grandfather preached, Dolly started singing hymns and playing guitar at services when she was only six. Consequently, she has never been shy about discussing her faith and relationship with God. “People say, ‘Well, I am surprised that you talk about your faith,’ and I say, ‘Why not? That’s who I am. That’s what keeps me going,’” she explains. Tennessee native, Dolly fanboy, and award-winning writer Dudley Delffs now spotlights ten faith lessons as evidenced in Dolly’s life, music, interviews, and attitude. The Faith of Dolly Parton focuses on the ways Dolly’s life can inspire us all to be more authentic, to trust God during hard times, to stay grounded during the good times, and to always keep our sense of humor. Sometimes poignant, sometimes funny, frequently surprising, and always true to Dolly’s down-home spirit of joyful generosity, this book will delight her millions of fans as well as anyone seeking a fresh faith-filled role model.
33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day
Lynskey, Dorian
(Paperback)
List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $8.69
From One of the United Kingdom's Most Prominent Music Critics, A Page-Turning and Wonderfully Researched History of 33 Songs that have Transformed the World Through the Twentieth Century and Beyond.
Tommyland
Lee,Tommy
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $7.35
From playing with Motley Crue to marrying Pamela Anderson to dating Pink, rock-and-roll's most brazen bad boy exposes a lot more than his tattoos in this unflinching look at life in the fast lane.
Woodstock: Three Days that Rocked the World (50th Anniversary Edition)
Evans, Mike (Edt)
(Hardcover)
List Price: $29.95 Our Price: $11.39
A special 50th anniversary edition of our lavishly illustrated ultimate guide to Woodstock, with a day-by-day, act-by-act account of everything that went down on Yasgur’s farm—along with interviews and quotes from those who were there.
Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution
Purdum, Todd S.
(Hardcover)
List Price: $32.00 Our Price: $10.55
A revelatory portrait of the creative partnership that transformed musical theater and provided the soundtrack to the American Century.
Roll Me up and Smoke Me When I Die
Nelson, Willie
(Paperback)
List Price: $14.99 Our Price: $5.49
In Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, Willie Nelson muses about his greatest influences and celebrates the family, friends, and colleagues who have blesses his remarkable journey. Willie riffs on music, wives, Texas, politics, horses, religion, marijuana, children, the environment, poker, hogs, Nashville, karma, and more. He shares the outlaw wisdom he has acquired over eight decades, along with favorite jokes and insights. Rare family pictures, beautiful artwork created by his son Micah Nelson, and lyrics to classic songs punctuate these charming and poignant memories. At once a road journal and a fitting tribute to America's greatest traveling bard, Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die - introduced by Kinky Friedman, another favorite son of Texas - is a deeply personal look into the heart and soul of one of the greatest artists of our time.
AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll: The Ultimate Story of the World's Greatest Rock-and-Roll Band
Engleheart, Murray
(Softcover)
List Price: $16.99 Our Price: $8.39
After more than three decades and 150 million albums, AC/DC has established itself as much more than just a great rock band. For millions of fans spanning several generations across the world, they are an ear-bleedingly loud, sweat-soaked religion. Now, in a book of astonishing breadth and scope, comes the complete story of AC/DC. Everything you ever wanted to know and plenty more you never dreamt of is all here, the ultimate balls-out adventure, laced with sex, drunken escapades, and brawls - topped off with rare intimate photos to create the ultimate portrait of the ultimate rock band.
Rough Ideas: Reflections on Music and More
Hough, Stephen
(Hardcover)
List Price: $30.00 Our Price: $11.89
A collection of essays on music and life by the famed classical pianist and composerStephen Hough is one of the world’s leading pianists, winning global acclaim and numerous awards, both for his concerts and his recordings. He is also a writer, composer, and painter, and has been described by The Economist as one of “Twenty Living Polymaths.”Hough writes informally and engagingly about music and the life of a musician, from the broader aspects of what it is to walk out onto a stage or to make a recording, to specialist tips from deep inside the practice room: how to trill, how to pedal, how to practice. He also writes vividly about people he’s known, places he’s traveled to, books he’s read, paintings he’s seen; and he touches on more controversial subjects, such as assisted suicide and abortion. Even religion is there - the possibility of the existence of God, problems with some biblical texts, and the challenges involved in being a gay Catholic.Rough Ideas is an illuminating, constantly surprising introduction to the life and mind of one of our great cultural figures.
Understand Rap: Explanations of Confusing Rap Lyrics that You & Your Grandma Can Understand
Buckholz, William
(Paperback)
List Price: $12.95 Our Price: $6.25
Rap songs are renowned for their double entendres, clever turns of phrase, and general ingenuity, so things don't always make sense on the first (or fourth) listen. Enter Understand Rap, a useful pop-cultural reference volume, based on the website of the same name, that explains all the confusing lyrics and terms used in rap songs via language that even your elderly relations can understand.
How Music Got Free: A Story of Obsession and Invention
Witt, Stephen
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $3.89
How Music Got Free is a riveting story of obsession, music, crime, and money, featuring visionaries and criminals, moguls and tech-savvy teenagers. It’s about the greatest pirate in history, the most powerful executive in the music business, a revolutionary invention and an illegal website four times the size of the iTunes Music Store. Journalist Stephen Witt traces the secret history of digital music piracy, from the German audio engineers who invented the mp3, to a North Carolina compact-disc manufacturing plant where factory worker Dell Glover leaked nearly two thousand albums over the course of a decade, to the high-rises of midtown Manhattan where music executive Doug Morris cornered the global market on rap, and, finally, into the darkest recesses of the Internet.Through these interwoven narratives, Witt has written a thrilling book that depicts the moment in history when ordinary life became forever entwined with the world online - when, suddenly, all the music ever recorded was available for free. In the page-turning tradition of writers like Michael Lewis and Lawrence Wright, Witt’s deeply reported first book introduces the unforgettable characters - inventors, executives, factory workers, and smugglers - who revolutionized an entire artform, and reveals for the first time the secret underworld of media pirates that transformed our digital lives.An irresistible never-before-told story of greed, cunning, genius, and deceit, How Music Got Free isn’t just a story of the music industry - it’s a must-read history of the Internet itself.
Music Through the Eyes of Faith
Best, Harold M.
(Softcover)
List Price: $15.95 Our Price: $5.75
Co-sponsored by the Christian College Coalition, this thought-provoking study of music-as-worship leads both students and experienced musicians to a better understanding of the connections between music making and Christian faith.
Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain
Goldberg, Danny
(Hardcover)
List Price: $28.99 Our Price: $7.59
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death comes a new perspective on one of the most compelling icons of our timeIn early 1991, top music manager Danny Goldberg agreed to take on Nirvana, a critically acclaimed new band from the underground music scene in Seattle. He had no idea that the band’s leader, Kurt Cobain, would become a pop-culture icon with a legacy arguably at the level of that of John Lennon, Michael Jackson, or Elvis Presley. Danny worked with Kurt from 1990 to 1994, the most impactful period of Kurt’s life. This key time saw the stratospheric success of Nevermind, which turned Nirvana into the most successful rock band in the world and made punk and grunge household terms; Kurt’s meeting and marriage to the brilliant but mercurial Courtney Love and their relationship that became a lightning rod for critics; the birth of their daughter, Frances Bean; and, finally, Kurt’s public struggles with addiction, which ended in a devastating suicide that would alter the course of rock history. Throughout, Danny stood by Kurt’s side as manager, and close friend.Drawing on Goldberg’s own memories of Kurt, files that previously have not been made public, and interviews with, among others, Kurt’s close family, friends, and former bandmates, Serving the Servants sheds an entirely new light on these critical years. Casting aside the common obsession with the angst and depression that seemingly drove Kurt, Serving the Servants is an exploration of his brilliance in every aspect of rock and roll, his compassion, his ambition, and the legacy he wrought—one that has lasted decades longer than his career did. Danny Goldberg explores what it is about Kurt Cobain that still resonates today, even with a generation who wasn’t alive until after Kurt’s death. In the process, he provides a portrait of an icon unlike any that has come before.
E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX
DMX
(Softcover)
List Price: $15.95 Our Price: $7.79
Raised in the ghetto, abandoned as a child, addicted to drugs and women all his life but still able to produce four consecutive #1 hip-hop albums in a row - this is the life and times of the darkest and most dangerously introspective hip-hop artist ever, written at the height of his career and completely uncensored.
Guitars and Heroes: Mythic Guitars and Legendary Musicians
Bitoun, Julien
(Softcover)
List Price: $29.95 Our Price: $10.29
An encyclopedia of more than 100 guitars and the musicians who have mastered them.Guitars and Heroes is organized by era, from the rockabilly pioneers to the guitar heroes of the future. Each chapter contains portraits of guitarists (past and present) and their favorite instruments. The authoritative text describes the musician's favored guitar or guitars and why they prefer them, often revealing a hidden facet of the musician's artistic approach.Special photo spreads include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Prince, Billie Joe Armstrong, AC/DC, Les Paul, anatomy of a Stratocaster, 5 Replica Guitars; Burst, the world's most expensive guitar; 5 Most Desirable Amplifiers, 5 Pedals That Changed the World, 5 Groundbreaking Sounds, The Chicago Blues in 5 Albums, 5 Essential Hard Rock Albums and 5 Design Gibson Mistakes.
Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song
Bareilles, Sara
(Paperback)
List Price: $17.00 Sale: $2.79
Sara Bareilles "pours her heart and soul into these essays" (Associated Press), sharing the joys and the struggles that come with creating great work, all while staying true to yourself. Imbued with humor and marked by Sara’s confessional writing style, this essay collection tells the inside story behind some of her most popular songs. Well known for her chart-topper "Brave," Sara first broke through in 2007 with her multi-platinum single "Love Song." She has since released seven albums that have sold millions of copies and spawned several hits.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heaven: (Or, How I Made Peace with the Paranormal and Stigmatized Zealots and Cynics in the Process)
Taylor, Corey
(Paperback)
List Price: $14.99 Our Price: $5.49
Corey Taylor has seen a lot of unbelievable things. However, many of his most incredible experiences might just shock you. For much of his life, the Grammy Award-winning singer of Slipknot and Stone Sour has brushed up against the supernatural world. Those close encounters impacted his personal evolution just as much as headlining at Castle Donington in front of 100,000 people at Download Festival or debuting at #1 on the Billboard Top 200.Since growing up in Iowa, his own curiosity drew him into situations that would've sent most people screaming scared and running for the hills. He's ballsy enough to go into the darkness and deal with the consequences, though. As a result, he's seen ghosts up close and personal, whether while combing through an abandoned house in his native Iowa as a child or recording an album in the fabled Houdini Hollywood Hills mansion. He's also got the memories (and scars) to prove it. For some reason, he can't seem to shake these spectral stories, and that brings us to this little tome right here...A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heaven compiles Taylor's most intimate, incredible, and insane moments with the supernatural. His memories are as vivid as they are vicious. As he recounts these stories, he questions the validity of religious belief systems and two-thousand-year-old dogma. As always, his rapid-fire writing, razor-sharp sense of humor, unbridled honesty, and cozy anecdotes make quite the case for his point. You might end up believing him or not. That's up to you. Either way, you're in for a hell of a ride.
A Night at the Opera
Forman, Denis
(Paperback)
List Price: $23.95 Our Price: $11.89
Beyond the operas themselves, Sir Denis offers brief biographies of the great composers, conductors, and artists. There is a glossary of musical terms, as well as a list of all the elements that make an opera such a special musical and theatrical experience, from the proper place and style of the audience's applause (and boos) to the use of surtitles. All of the information and opinions are presented in a lively and amusing way. A Night at the Opera will entertain and inform, delight and (perhaps) infuriate, providing a subject for lively debate and ready reference for years to come.
The John Lennon Letters
Davies, Hunter (Edt)
(Softcover)
List Price: $25.00 Our Price: $8.69
John Lennon was one of the greatest songwriters the world has ever known, creator of "Help!," "Come Together," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Imagine," and dozens more. But it was in his correspondence that he let his personality and poetry flow unguarded. Gathered in this handsome volume are John Lennon's letters to family, friends, strangers, and lovers from every point in his life. Funny, informative, wise, poetic, and sometimes heartbreaking, these letters reveal a hidden side of the private genius. This collection of nearly 300 letters and postcards has been edited and annotated by Hunter Davies, whose authorized biography The Beatles (McGraw-Hill, 1968) was published to great acclaim. With unparalleled knowledge of Lennon and his contemporaries, Davies reads between the lines of the artist's words, contextualizing them and using them to reveal the man himself.
The History of Rock & Roll (Volume 1: 1920-1963)
Ward, Ed
(Paperback)
List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $9.79
Ed Ward covers the first half of the history of rock & roll in this sweeping and definitive narrative - from the 1920s, when the music of rambling medicine shows mingled with the songs of vaudeville and minstrel acts to create the very early sounds of country and rhythm and blues, to the rise of the first independent record labels post-World War II, and concluding in December 1963, just as an immense change in the airwaves took hold and the Beatles prepared for their first American tour. The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 1 shines a light on the far corners of the genre to reveal the stories behind the hugely influential artists who changed the musical landscape forever.In this first volume of a two-part series, Ward shares his endless depth of knowledge and through engrossing storytelling hops seamlessly from Memphis to Chicago, Detroit, England, New York, and everywhere in between. He covers the trajectories of the big name acts like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and Ray Charles, while also filling in gaps of knowledge and celebrating forgotten heroes such as the Burnette brothers, the “5” Royales, and Marion Keisker, Sam Phillips’s assistant, who played an integral part in launching Elvis’s career.For all music lovers and rock & roll fans, Ward spins story after story of some of the most unforgettable and groundbreaking moments in rock history, introducing us along the way to the musicians, DJs, record executives, and producers who were at the forefront of the genre and had a hand in creating the music we all know and love today.
Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock
Hyden, Steven
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.99 Our Price: $5.99
The author of the critically acclaimed Your Favorite Band is Killing Me offers an eye-opening exploration of the state of classic rock, its past and future, the impact it has had, and what its loss would mean to an industry, a culture, and a way of life.Since the late 1960s, a legendary cadre of artists - including the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Black Sabbath, and the Who - has revolutionized popular culture and the sounds of our lives. While their songs still get airtime and some of these bands continue to tour, its idols are leaving the stage permanently. Can classic rock remain relevant as these legends die off, or will this major musical subculture fade away as many have before, Steven Hyden asks.In this mix of personal memoir, criticism, and journalism, Hyden stands witness as classic rock reaches the precipice. Traveling to the eclectic places where geriatric rockers are still making music, he talks to the artists and fans who have aged with them, explores the ways that classic rock has changed the culture, investigates the rise and fall of classic rock radio, and turns to live bootlegs, tell-all rock biographies, and even the liner notes of rock’s greatest masterpieces to tell the story of what this music meant, and how it will be remembered, for fans like himself.Twilight of the Gods is also Hyden’s story. Celebrating his love of this incredible music that has taken him from adolescence to fatherhood, he ponders two essential questions: Is it time to give up on his childhood heroes, or can this music teach him about growing old with his hopes and dreams intact? And what can we all learn from rock gods and their music - are they ephemeral or eternal?
Music Theory Book: Take Your Understanding of Music to the Next Level (The Everything)
Schonbrun, Marc
(Softcover)
List Price: $19.95 Our Price: $8.69
Whether you're a new student or an intermediate musician, understanding music theory takes significant time and effort. But learning more about the music you love doesn't have to be a challenge! This updated handbook is a complete guide to mastering the important tools you'll need to read, play, and comprehend music. It's a total educational package, with a helpful audio CD, hundreds of illustrations, and challenging practical exercises.You will learn:• How chords and scales are constructed• How rhythm works and how to understand complex time signatures• How to identify a key and how keys are organized• How composers and musicians think about songwritingEach clear, easy-to-understand chapter includes several Etudes. These focused practice exercises test and reinforce your newfound understanding of music theory. So grab a pencil, tune your instrument, and become a better musician - without missing a beat!
Auditioning for the Musical Theatre
Silver, Fred
(Paperback)
List Price: $15.00 Our Price: $5.99
Proven tactics and techniques from a leading New York vocal coach on how to "act" a song, choose the right material, handle a callback, what to wear, how to use eye contact, select a voice teacher and vocal coach, and more. Includes 130 excellent yet unusual audition songs for all types of situations and performers, including juveniles and dancers.
Fare Thee Well: The Final Chapter of the Grateful Dead's Long, Strange Trip
Selvin, Joel
(Hardcover)
List Price: $27.00 Our Price: $3.29
A tell-all biography of the epic in-fighting of the Grateful Dead in the years following band leader Jerry Garcia's death in 1995.The Grateful Dead rose to greatness under the inspired leadership of guitarist Jerry Garcia, but the band very nearly died along with him. When Garcia passed away suddenly in August of 1995, the remaining band members experienced full crises of confidence and identity. So long defined by Garcia's vision for the group, the surviving "Core Four," as they came to be called, were reduced to conflicting agendas, strained relationships, and catastrophic business decisions that would leave the iconic band in utter disarray. Wrestling with how best to define their living legacy, the band made many attempts at restructuring, but it would take twenty years before relationships were mended enough for the Grateful Dead as fans remembered them to once again take the stage.Acclaimed music journalist and New York Times bestselling author Joel Selvin was there for much of the turmoil following Garcia's death, and he offers a behind-the-scenes account of the ebbs and flows that occurred during the ensuing two decades. Plenty of books have been written about the rise of the Grateful Dead, but this final chapter of the band's history has never before been explored in detail. Culminating in the landmark tour bearing the same name, Fare Thee Well charts the arduous journey from Garcia's passing all the way up to the uneasy agreement between the Core Four that led to the series of shows celebrating the band's fiftieth anniversary and finally allowing for a proper, and joyous, sendoff of the group revered by so many.
The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour
Asher, Peter
(Hardcover)
List Price: $27.00 Our Price: $8.69
Peter Asher met the Beatles in the spring of 1963, the start of a lifelong association with the band and its members. He had a front-row seat as they elevated pop music into an art form, and he was present at the creation of some of the most iconic music of our times.Asher is also a talented musician in his own right, with a great ear for what was new and fresh. Once, when Paul McCartney wrote a song that John Lennon didn’t think was right for the Beatles, Asher asked if he could record it. "A World Without Love" became a global No. 1 hit for his duo, Peter & Gordon. A few years later Asher was asked by Paul McCartney to help start Apple Records; the first artist Asher discovered and signed up was a young American singer-songwriter named James Taylor. Before long he would be not only managing and producing Taylor but also (having left Apple and moved to Los Angeles) working with Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Robin Williams, Joni Mitchell, and Cher, among others.The Beatles from A to Zed grows out of his popular radio program "From Me to You" on SiriusXM's The Beatles Channel, where he shares memories and insights about the Fab Four and their music. Here he weaves his reflections into a whimsical alphabetical journey that focuses not only on songs whose titles start with each letter, but also on recurrent themes in the Beatles’ music, the instruments they played, the innovations they pioneered, the artists who influenced them, the key people in their lives, and the cultural events of the time.Few can match Peter Asher for his fresh and personal perspective on the Beatles. And no one is a more congenial and entertaining guide to their music.
Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life
Gould, Jonathan
(Hardcover)
List Price: $30.00 Our Price: $8.69
Rendidos a la pasión Karen Booth Anna Langford estaba preparada para convertirse en directora de la empresa familiar, pero su hermano no quería cederle el control. Cuando ella vio que tenía la oportunidad de realizar un importante acuerdo comercial, decidió ir a por todas, aunque aquello significara trabajar conJacob Lin, el antiguo mejor amigo de su hermano y el hombre al que jamás había podido olvidar. Jacob Lin era un implacable empresario. Y Anna le dio la oportunidad perfecta de vengarse de su hermano. Sin embargo, un embarazo no programado les enfrentó al mayor desafío que habían conocido hasta entonces.
Why Bob Dylan Matters
Thomas, Richard F.
(Paperback)
List Price: $15.99 Our Price: $5.99
Classics professor and renowned Dylanologist Richard F. Thomas makes a compelling case for moving the iconic singer-songwriter out of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and into the pantheon of classical poets, based on his wildly popular Bob Dylan seminar at Harvard.
Making Money with Music: Generate Over 100 Revenue Streams, Grow Your Fan Base, and Thrive in Today's Music Environment
Chertkow, Randy
(Paperback)
List Price: $19.99 Our Price: $8.09
You can make a living with music today. The secret is to tap multiple income streams.Whether you're a solo artist, band, DJ, EDM producer, or other musician, Making Money with Music gives you strategies to generate revenue, grow your fan base, and thrive in today's technology-driven music environment. Plus, it lists hundreds of services, tools, and critical resources you need to run your business and maximize income.
Been So Long: My Life and Music
Kaukonen, Jorma
(Hardcover)
List Price: $29.99 Our Price: $8.69
From the man who made a name for himself as a founding member and lead guitarist of Jefferson Airplane comes a memoir that offers a rare glimpse into the heart and soul of a musical genius - and a vivid journey through the psychedelic era in America.“Music is the reward for being alive,” writes Jorma Kaukonen in this candid and emotional account of his life and work. “It stirs memory in a singular way that is unmatched.” In a career that has already spanned a half century - one that has earned him induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, among other honors - Jorma is best known for his legendary bands Jefferson Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna. But before he won worldwide recognition he was just a young man with a passion and a dream.Been So Long is the story of how Jorma found his place in the world of music and beyond. The grandson of Finnish and Russian-Jewish immigrants whose formative years were spent abroad with his American-born diplomat father, Jorma channeled his life experiences?from his coming-of-age in Pakistan and the Phillipines to his early gigs with Jack Casady in D.C. to his jam sessions in San Francisco with Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and other contemporaries - into his art in unique and revelatory ways. Been So Long charts not only Jorma’s association with the bands that made him famous but goes into never-before-told details about his addiction and recovery, his troubled first marriage and still-thriving second, and more. Interspersed with diary entries, personal correspondence, and song lyrics, this memoir is as unforgettable and inspiring as Jorma’s music itself.
Spotify Teardown: Inside the Black Box of Streaming Music
Eriksson, Maria
(Paperback)
List Price: $19.95 Our Price: $7.59
Overview not currently available
Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times
Walker, Alan
(Paperback)
List Price: $22.00 Our Price: $7.59
A landmark biography of the Polish composer by a leading authority on Chopin and his timeBased on ten years of research and a vast cache of primary sources located in archives in Warsaw, Paris, London, New York, and Washington, D.C., Alan Walker’s monumental Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times is the most comprehensive biography of the great Polish composer to appear in English in more than a century. Walker’s work is a corrective biography, intended to dispel the many myths and legends that continue to surround Chopin. Fryderyk Chopin is an intimate look into a dramatic life; of particular focus are Chopin’s childhood and youth in Poland, which are brought into line with the latest scholarly findings, and Chopin’s romantic life with George Sand, with whom he lived for nine years.Comprehensive and engaging, and written in highly readable prose, the biography wears its scholarship lightly: this is a book suited as much for the professional pianist as it is for the casual music lover. Just as he did in his definitive biography of Liszt, Walker illuminates Chopin and his music with unprecedented clarity in this magisterial biography, bringing to life one of the nineteenth century’s most confounding, beloved, and legendary artists.
Herbie Hancock: Possibilities
Dickey, Lisa
(Paperback)
List Price: $17.00 Our Price: $6.25
In Herbie Hancock: Possibilities, the legendary jazz musician and composer reflects on an extraordinary life and a thriving career that has spanned seven decades. A true innovator who has spent a lifetime exploring a range of musical genres, and enriching each of them, Hancock has had an enormous influence on acoustic and electric jazz, R&B, funk, and hip-hop. From his beginnings as a child prodigy to his early classic Blue Note recordings; from his work in Miles Davis’s second great quintet to his innovations as the leader of his own groundbreaking sextet; from era-defining classic albums like Head Hunters and River: The Joni Letters to his collaborations with artists like Wayne Shorter and Stevie Wonder, Hancock reveals the methods behind his ever-evolving musical genius. He discusses his influences, his happy marriage, and how his practice of Buddhism has inspired him both creatively and personally. Honest, enlightening, and as electrifyingly vital as its author, this is an invaluable contribution to jazz literature and an intimate, insightful portrait of a creative life.
Paul Simon: The Life
Hilburn, Robert
(Hardcover)
List Price: $30.00 Our Price: $2.29
A publishing event from music legend Paul Simon: an intimate, candid, and definitive biography written with Simon’s full participation - but without his editorial control - by acclaimed biographer and music writer Robert Hilburn.For more than fifty years, Paul Simon has spoken to us in songs about alienation, doubt, resilience, and empathy in ways that have established him as one of the most beloved artists in American pop music history. Songs like “The Sound of Silence,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Still Crazy After All These Years,” and “Graceland” have moved beyond the sales charts and into our cultural consciousness. But Simon is a deeply private person who has resisted speaking to us outside of his music. He has said he will not write an autobiography or memoir, and he has refused to talk to previous biographers.Finally, Simon has opened up - for more than one hundred hours of interviews - to Robert Hilburn, whose biography of Johnny Cash was named by Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times as one of her ten favorite books of 2013. The result is a landmark book that will take its place as the defining biography of one of America’s greatest artists.
Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day
Selvin, Joel
(Hardcover)
List Price: $27.99 Our Price: $3.89
In this breathtaking cultural history filled with exclusive, never-before-revealed details, celebrated rock journalist Joel Selvin tells the definitive story of the Rolling Stones’ infamous Altamont concert, the disastrous historic event that marked the end of the idealistic 1960s.In the annals of rock history, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival on December 6, 1969, has long been seen as the distorted twin of Woodstock - the day that shattered the Sixties’ promise of peace and love when a concertgoer was killed by a member of the Hells Angels, the notorious biker club acting as security. While most people know of the events from the film Gimme Shelter, the whole story has remained buried in varied accounts, rumor, and myth - until now.Altamont explores rock’s darkest day, a fiasco that began well before the climactic death of Meredith Hunter and continued beyond that infamous December night. Joel Selvin probes every aspect of the show - from the Stones’ hastily planned tour preceding the concert to the bad acid that swept through the audience to other deaths that also occurred that evening - to capture the full scope of the tragedy and its aftermath. He also provides an in-depth look at the Grateful Dead’s role in the events leading to Altamont, examining the band’s behind-the-scenes presence in both arranging the show and hiring the Hells Angels as security.The product of twenty years of exhaustive research and dozens of interviews with many key players, including medical staff, Hells Angels members, the stage crew, and the musicians who were there, and featuring sixteen pages of color photos, Altamont is the ultimate account of the final event in rock’s formative and most turbulent decade.
Who I Am
Townshend, Pete
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.99 Our Price: $8.09
From the voice of a generation: ...smashed his first guitar onstage, in 1964, by accident. ...heard the voice of God on a vibrating bed in rural Illinois. ...invented the Marshall stack, feedback, and the concept album. ...stole his windmill guitar-playing from Keith Richards. ...detached from his body in an airplane, on LSD, and nearly died. ...has some explaining to do. ...is the most literary and literate musician of the last fifty years. ...planned to write his memoir when he was 21. ...published this book at 67. One of rock music's most intelligent and literary performers, Pete Townshend—guitarist, songwriter, editor—tells his closest-held stories about the origins of the preeminent twentieth-century band The Who, his own career as an artist and performer, and his restless life in and out of the public eye in this candid autobiography, Who I Am. With eloquence, fierce intelligence, and brutal honesty, Pete Townshend has written a deeply personal book that also stands as a primary source for popular music's greatest epoch. Readers will be confronted by a man laying bare who he is, an artist who has asked for nearly sixty years: Who are you?
Words Will Break Cement
Gessen, Masha
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $2.55
The heroic story of Pussy Riot, who resurrected the power of truth in a society built on lies On February 21, 2012, five young women entered the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. In neon-colored dresses, tights, and balaclavas, they performed a "punk prayer" beseeching the "Mother of God" to "get rid of Putin." They were quickly shut down by security, and in the weeks and months that followed, three of the women were arrested and tried, and two were sentenced to a remote prison colony. But the incident captured international headlines, and footage of it went viral. People across the globe recognized not only a fierce act of political confrontation but also an inspired work of art that, in a time and place saturated with lies, found a new way to speak the truth. Masha Gessen's riveting account tells how such a phenomenon came about. Drawing on her exclusive, extensive access to the members of Pussy Riot and their families and associates, she reconstructs the fascinating personal journeys that transformed a group of young women into artists with a shared vision, gave them the courage and imagination to express it unforgettably, and endowed them with the strength to endure the devastating loneliness and isolation that have been the price of their triumph.
Willie Nelson: American Icon
Vaughan, Andrew
(Hardcover)
List Price: $29.95 Our Price: $12.59
Celebrate an American icon with the first full-color book that comprehensively explores the work and life of country superstar Willie Nelson. Throughout his career, Willie Nelson - singer, songwriter, author, poet, actor, and activist - has won countless accolades as well as the hearts of listeners. In the US alone, Nelson has sold more than 40 million albums. This lavish volume, written by well-known music journalist Andrew Vaughan, features more than 100 photographs and illustrations. It’s a must-have for every one of Nelson’s millions of dedicated fans.
Springsteen: Album by Album
White, Ryan
(Hardcover)
List Price: $27.95 Our Price: $12.99
With in-depth explorations of 17 studio albums spanning over 40 years of music history, Springsteen is the definitive book on "The Boss." Bruce Springsteen stands astride the rock 'n' roll stage like a colossus. Renowned for his passionate songwriting, galvanizing live shows, and political activism, the iconic rocker shows no signs of slowing down. Richly photographed, and featuring brilliant writing by one of America's top music critics as well as a foreword by Peter Ames Carlin (author of the bestselling biography Bruce), this is a must-have for Springsteen's millions of fans.
The Ukulele Handbook
Pretor-Pinney, Gavin
(Softcover)
List Price: $22.00 Our Price: $7.35
From 1897 to today, this fascinating history of the ukulele, from its birth in Hawaii to its global popularity, also discusses the anatomy of this strange little instrument and includes a songbook with instructions on how to play it.
Brian May's Red Special: The Story of the Home-Made Guitar that Rocked Queen and the World (Revised & Updated)
May, Brian
(Hardcover)
List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $8.69
Get the full story behind the Red Special, Brian May’s hand-built guitar - a unique instrument that helped make May’s musical dreams come true.In 1963, Brian May and his father Harold started to build the Red Special - an electric guitar meant to outperform anything commercially made. Here, Brian talks about of his one-of-a-kind instrument, from its creation on. He played it on every single Queen album and during the band’s amazing shows: the roof of Buckingham Palace, Live Aid, the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics . . . and beyond. Along with original diagrams, sketches, and notes, May has included a great selection of photographs of himself with the guitar - which was fully dismantled so it could be shot - as well as close-ups and X-rays.
Something Wonderful
Purdum, Todd S.
(Paperback)
List Price: $20.00 Our Price: $7.35
A revelatory portrait of the creative partnership that transformed musical theater and provided the soundtrack to the American Century.They stand at the apex of the great age of songwriting, the creators of the classic Broadway musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, whose songs have never lost their popularity or emotional power. Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play. Their songs and dance numbers served to advance the drama and reveal character, a sharp break from the past and the template on which all future musicals would be built.Though different in personality and often emotionally distant from each other, Rodgers and Hammerstein presented an unbroken front to the world and forged much more than a songwriting team; their partnership was also one of the most profitable and powerful entertainment businesses of their era. They were cultural powerhouses whose work came to define postwar America on stage, screen, television, and radio. But they also had their failures and flops, and more than once they feared they had lost their touch.Todd S. Purdum’s portrait of these two men, their creative process, and their groundbreaking innovations will captivate lovers of musical theater, lovers of the classic American songbook, and young lovers wherever they are. He shows that what Rodgers and Hammerstein wrought was truly something wonderful.
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die
Moon, Tom
(Softcover)
List Price: $19.95 Our Price: $9.79
Celebrate the joy, the revelation, the mystery, the fun, the sheer shivers-up-the-spine pleasure of great music. Essential operas, Milestone rock albums. An education in the blues. The world of world. Classical from Bach to Bartok to Beethoven to Brahms. And dozens of unexpected gems, surprising discoveries, and long-lost masterpieces. The entries are arranged alphabetically, to break down genre bias and broaden every listener's horizons - think Miles Davis to Claude Debussy to the melodic story-songs of The Decemberists. And the writing is passionate, informed, opinionated. Includes indexes for every mood and occasion.
Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste
Gasser, Nolan
(Hardcover)
List Price: $32.50 Our Price: $9.79
From the chief architect of the Pandora Radio’s Music Genome Project comes a definitive and groundbreaking examination of how your mind, body, and upbringing influence the music you love.Everyone loves music. But what is it that makes music so universally beloved and have such a powerful effect on us?In this sweeping and authoritative book, Dr. Nolan Gasser - a composer, pianist, and musicologist, and the chief architect of the Music Genome Project, which powers Pandora Radio - breaks down what musical taste is, where it comes from, and what our favorite songs say about us.Dr. Gasser delves into the science, psychology, and sociology that explains why humans love music so much; how our brains process music; and why you may love Queen but your best friend loves Kiss. He sheds light on why babies can clap along to rhythmic patterns and reveals the reason behind why different cultures around the globe identify the same kinds of music as happy, sad, or scary. Using easy-to-follow notated musical scores, Dr. Gasser teaches music fans how to become engaged listeners and provides them with the tools to enhance their musical preferences. He takes readers under the hood of their favorite genres - pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, electronica, world music, and classical - and covers songs from Taylor Swift to Led Zeppelin to Kendrick Lamar to Bill Evans to Beethoven, and through their work, Dr. Gasser introduces the musical concepts behind why you hum along, tap your foot, and feel deeply. Why You Like It will teach you how to follow the musical discourse happening within a song and thereby empower your musical taste, so you will never hear music the same way again.
Sound of the Beast (Heavy Metal)
Christe, Ian
(Softcover)
List Price: $14.99 Our Price: $7.35
In this first-ever atlas of the heavy metal phenomenon, Ian Christe delivers a bird's-eye view of this dark and forbidden music. The ultimate headbanger history, Sound of the Beast reveals tales of concert hysteria, courtroom drama, and musical triumph with: Interviews with Black Sabbath, Metallica, Morbid Angel, Megadeth, Twisted Sister, Kiss, Slipknot, and many others; Genre boxes explaining black metal, power metal, thrash metal, nu metal, and more; More than a hundred rare and unpublished photos; A thirty-year graphic timeline of metal milestones, hilarious metal lists, and the twenty-five most original recordings of all time.
My Voice
Martinez, Angie
(Paperback)
List Price: $16.00 Our Price: $5.99
In her nearly twenty years behind the mic at New York City's two biggest hip-hop stations - Hot 97 and Power 105.1 - Angie Martinez has become an entertainment legend. From onetime presidential hopeful Barack Obama to Jay Z and Beyoncé to postprison Tupac, her intimate and candid interviews with the leading names in the music business, hip-hop culture, and beyond have grabbed headlines and changed the conversation.In the same no-holds-barred style of her radio show, Angie shares stories from behind the scenes of her most controversial interviews, opens up about her personal life, and reflects on her climb to become the voice of New York.
Johnny Cash: The Life
Hilburn, Robert
(Paperback)
List Price: $20.00 Our Price: $6.49
In this, the definitive biography of an American legend, Robert Hilburn conveys the unvarnished truth about a musical superstar. Johnny Cash's extraordinary career stretched from his days at Sun Records with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis to the remarkable creative last hurrah, at age 69, that resulted in the brave, moving "Hurt" video. As music critic for the Los Angeles Times, Hilburn knew Cash throughout his life: he was the only music journalist at the legendary Folsom Prison concert in 1968, and he interviewed both Cash and his wife June Carter just months before their deaths. Drawing upon a trove of never-before-seen material from the singer's inner circle, Hilburn creates an utterly compelling, deeply human portrait of a towering figure in country music, a seminal influence in rock, and an icon of American popular culture. Hilburn's reporting shows the astonishing highs and deep lows that marked the journey of a man of great faith and humbling addiction who throughout his life strove to use his music to lift people's spirits.
Page 1 of 4 - 238 results
To Top