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Whats your favourite musician autobiography ?

EuroAussie

By EuroAussie
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EuroAussie

EuroAussie

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Really getting into Eric Claptons autobio right now.

 

Its my favourite type of book, reading about the personalities, struggles, excesses and in particular behind the scenes process of creating some of the most memorable albums of all time.

 

Some of my favourite autobios that Ive read so far were Anthony Keidis, Slash, Alex James (Blur)and surprisigly Boy George.

 

Whats your favourites, and recommendations, I love these things ... !

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blindboygrunt

blindboygrunt

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if you like excess and the ridiculous side of things 'walk this way' by aerosmith is a great read . funny and eye opening .

best books , and i'm no bigger a fan than the next guy of elvis , are peter gurilnicks 'last train to memphis' about his rise , and 'careless love' the second part of the story .

dylan's autobiography is amazing i you're a fan ..,think we'll ever see the next parts of it ?

strangely fab is david lee roth's 'crazy from the heat' like snapshot memories type book . not chronological , long chapters to one page ones it makes for a great toilet book, ego the size of a double decker bus but a funny guy none the less.

'shakey' is a super book if you have any time for neil young..

i have loads , love reading about these peoples magical life while looking up to the sky and wondering what happened to me :-)

am reading life by keith richards at the minute,

next one will be levin helm's as soon as it can be got again, seems theyre all gone since he shuffled off .

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ParlourMan

ParlourMan

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I've read a few now, covering The Beatles, Stones, Dylan up to a lot more modern stuff, some are more rock n roll than others... one of the most rock n roll though was the Killing Pablo book about Pablo Escobar. Mental....

 

I will however read Telling stories by Tim Burgess, I've met him a few times, he's a pretty sound fella. I shared some 'chemical intake' with him at the Daytripper gigs in Blackpool back in the early 90's. Oh to be young and silly again........ It was fabulous!

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flatbaroque

flatbaroque

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Dylan's Chronicles is a book version of whatever your favourite Bob album is....it's so well written....a memoir rather than an autobiography...but straight down the line in his self assessment.

I want to read those Elvis ones by Peter G. but i'm trying to only buy e books for kindle these days as I've got too many books, run outta room..only get those Elvis ones in German for some reason on kindle...achtung mein King of Rock and roll.

Frank Zappa's was fun too...I forget what it was called...but written by himself and with his sense of the absurd.

Oh I forgot Keef's that was entertaining and well written to boot.

Also one called Here There and Everywhere- recording the Beatles...by the sound recording Engineer for most of their best stuff...not George Martin ..another guy..full of fascinating Beatle gossip and recording trivia.

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Lefty Guy

Lefty Guy

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Really getting into Eric Claptons autobio right now.

 

Its my favourite type of book, reading about the personalities, struggles, excesses and in particular behind the scenes process of creating some of the most memorable albums of all time.

 

Some of my favourite autobios that Ive read so far were Anthony Keidis, Slash, Alex James (Blur)and surprisigly Boy George.

 

Whats your favourites, and recommendations, I love these things ... !

 

Not an autobiography but one of my favourite "guitar" books.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guitar-Man-Will-Hodgkinson/dp/0747577455

 

I've just bought Carole King's autobiography but haven't read it yet.

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BluesKing777

BluesKing777

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Really getting into Eric Claptons autobio right now.

 

 

 

Do you have a link, EA?

 

There are quite a number of EC books on Amazon - which one are you reading?

 

I am a total sucker for a good music bio - the best written in the last few years would have to be the Keef one! But I have read most of them.

 

That 'Guitar Man' is FAB and he is the same guy from the BBC show. Good laugh too close to the truth. He also wrote a follow up where he learns to write songs - called - here is a surprise - "The Song Man".... Buc should read it! The end has a recording session that is pretty awful.

 

 

BluesKing777.

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EuroAussie

EuroAussie

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this one ..

 

http://www.ericclapton-online.com/book/

 

Do you have a link, EA?

 

There are quite a number of EC books on Amazon - which one are you reading?

 

I am a total sucker for a good music bio - the best written in the last few years would have to be the Keef one! But I have read most of them.

 

That 'Guitar Man' is FAB and he is the same guy from the BBC show. Good laugh too close to the truth. He also wrote a follow up where he learns to write songs - called - here is a surprise - "The Song Man".... Buc should read it! The end has a recording session that is pretty awful.

 

 

BluesKing777.

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Gruffchris

Gruffchris

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Hey,

 

The first book I ever read(not school) was Tina Tunners auto biography, lol. I was on holiday in turkey with nothing to do so that got a read, good book :).

 

Up until a year or to after leaving high school, reading books was not on the agenda. But I started to play the guitar and that opened me up to other musical genres.

 

I was given The Door's autobiography, written by the drummer? It was a long time ago, but I think it must have been a good read. Not long after I moved to a different country, there was no T.V but there was an English lady who sold books, she used to let us use her place as a library, so from then till now I try and get through as many books as possible :).

 

Even though it was (musical)autobiography's, that got me into reading, I just cant seem to find one that's as well written as a good novel.

 

I'm defo going to have a look into some of the above mentioned ones [thumbup]

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Madman_Greg

Madman_Greg

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The last two I read were

 

Eric Clapton: The Autobiography. by Eric Clapton with Christopher Simon Sykes [Paperback]

 

http://www.amazon.com/Eric-Clapton-Autobiography-Christopher-Simon/dp/0099505495/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336135625&sr=8-2

 

Life - Keith Richards

 

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Keith-Richards/dp/031603441X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336135792&sr=1-1

 

both recommended

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Rambler

Rambler

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An interesting genre. Serves to recoup financial misfortunes or settle scores. Sometimes tells it like it is. Waylon by Waymore is a fave. Blunt, ornery. Paid the bills. Lenny Kaye gets a high five for shaping the raw material.

 

About some of the others mentioned. Clapton - unstinting about his failings, surprisinginly passive aggressive with his bands; Richards--great raconteur, side steps where EC steps up; Levon -- another raconteur, bitter bitter (played up, I think by S. Davis). MacCartney (Many Years w/Barry Miles). An interesting attempt to take his former mate down a peg.

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j45nick

j45nick

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Had the wrong name in previous post...it's "Here, there and Everywhere..My Life recording the Beatles" by Geoff Emerick......haha..well its kind of like "across the universe"....I've corrected the earlier post now

 

 

Geoff Emerick was/is a lot more than "just" an engineer for the Beatles. He was a critical link in the chain that included the performer, the producer, and the engineer. When you have a brilliant producer like George Martin, the input and importance of a superb engineer like Emerick can get lost in the shuffle.

 

Of course, maybe this is just sour grapes coming from a guy (me) who was both engineer and producer when our old band was performing, but got shuffled to the sidelines in the recording studio when the "real" producer and the NABET (union) recording engineers took over. I think the stuff I did on the road in concert with our fairly limited equipment was better than the stuff the Mercury Records guys did for us in the studio, but I'm biased.

 

In any case, Emerick is one of the best in the trade when it comes to recording engineers, and his multiple Emmy awards prove it..

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jdd707

jdd707

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Biography and music history.. not autobiography .. but 3 great books

 

 

Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?

The Carter Family & Their Legacy in American Music

 

Escaping the Delta

Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues

 

Are You Readyt for the Country

Elvis, Dylan, Parsons and the roots of country rock

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Del Nilppeznaf

Del Nilppeznaf

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As others have said

 

Chronicles: Dylan

 

It reads almost like a Beat fictional story..great book.

 

A favorite musical read is

 

Rhythm Oil: Stanley Booth

 

A traverse through the American South, and the music that sprung out of there, influencing the world. Lots of well known and less well known characters..and amazing stories.. If you like blues and American music..a must read [thumbup]

 

( Booth traveled with the Stones on one of their majestic U.S tours in the early 70's and wrote an apparently excellent book about it... that I haven't read yet..and can't think of the name.. but he's a well respected music author/ journalist )

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