It started off so well. As Jon Lord enthused in the October 1975 issue of Melody Maker: 'Tommy can't be so bad for us with so many good ideas. All I can say is when you hear the album (Come Taste The Band) you'll change your mind. Whether you like the music or not, you'll have to realise that Deep Purple now have an excitement in their playing that they haven't had in a long time...' Despite calls of 'we want Blackmore' when Deep Purple Mark four played live, there was so much more to American guitarist Tommy Bolin than being Ritchie Blackmore's replacement. As a result, the purpose of this long-overdue biography is to readdress the existing narrative of Tommy Bolin's legacy. As well as discussing objectively Tommy's time with Deep Purple, Laura Shenton offers an insight into his musical achievements in his own right outside of the band, which include two cult rock albums in Teaser and Private Eyes. He also had a stint in The James Gang and made numerous guest appearances, where his versatile and virtuosic skills as a guitarist were utilised, before his untimely death in 1976 at the shockingly young age of 25

Little Feat may not be a household name, but they are well-known to a good number of musicians who are: Keith Richards rounded up the Rolling Stones to see them perform in Amsterdam in 1975, Robert Plant publicly lamented their lack of success (as Led Zeppelin's soared into the stratosphere), and Bob Dylan and Elton John saw them in concert whenever possible. Legends like Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, and Bob Seger helped out on their many record albums, and they backed up Robert Palmer, John Cale, and Chico Hamilton. Yet they never had a hit single, and the closest they came to success was with their 1978 live album, Waiting for Columbus (later performed live in its entirety by jam band Phish) - but not even the death of their leader, Lowell George, could stop the Feats' shoes from sailin': the band reformed in 1988 and has continued since, with Craig Fuller and Shaun Murphy helping out along the way. Little Feat on track dives into the ups and downs of their 50-year career and discusses every album and song, from their idiosyncratic 1971 debut to the post-pandemic optimism of 2021's When All Boats Rise.

When they were creating and releasing their most influential albums in the mid to late 1970s, Kraftwerk were far from the musical mainstream. When they were creating and releasing their most influential albums in the mid to late 1970s, Kraftwerk were far from the musical mainstream - and yet it is impossible now to imagine the history of popular music without them. Today, Kraftwerk are considered to be an essential part of pop's DNA, alongside artists like the Beatles, the Velvet Underground, and Little Richard. Kraftwerk's immediate influence might have been on a generation of synth-based bands (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the Human League, Depeche Mode, Yello, et al), but their influence on the emerging dance culture in urban America has proved longer lasting and more decisive. This collection of original essays looks at Kraftwerk - their legacy and influence - from a variety of angles, and demonstrates persuasively and coherently that however you choose to define their art, it's impossible to underestimate the ways in which it predicted and shaped the future.

Chameleon, entertainer, actor, and iconoclast. It would be difficult to think of a rock star who had a more varied and influential career than David Bowie and the list of bands and musicians who have been influenced by Bowie reads like an A to Z of popular music. But Bowie himself skilfully and consistently maintained his credibility as the most innovative performer of his generation by staying one jump ahead of the many who sought to imitate him. Classic Tracks - David Bowie explores this icon in detail. While his many artistic incarnations are known, few knew David Bowie the man, and as this book will show, through its exploration of his diverse body of work, the only real constant factors in his career was his incredible voice, his imagination and his supreme talent for artistic reincarnation. Every track of each of his albums is examined in great detail, giving you an insight to both the music, and the enigmatic man who created it.

"Without a doubt, it is the most detailed account of the awesome pleasures and perils of rock and roll stardom I have ever read. It is completely compelling, and utterly revolting". ("Rolling Stone"). Ten years ago, Motley Crue's bestselling "The Dirt" - penned with collaborator extraordinaire Neil Strauss - set a new bar for rock 'n' roll memoirs. A runaway bestseller and genuine cultural phenomenon, this turbocharged blockbuster is still flying off shelves a decade after its initial publication. The book takes readers along for the whole wild ride of Motley Crue - the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward-masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first power ballad. Their sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D'Errico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies include collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty. Now, in time for Motley's 30th anniversary - and a new tour! - comes a deluxe collector's hardcover edition of the book, complete with a dazzling new effects - laden cover and all - new extra material from the band inside.

Students of pop music and pop culture as well as fans who have loved the music since it came into being will gain valuable insight into this genre of the 1970s and 1980s. Listen to New Wave Rock!: Exploring a Musical Genre contains background on new wave music in general, with an overview and history of new wave rock in particular. While the bulk of the book is devoted to analysis of 50 must-hear musical examples, which include artists, songs, and albums, the book also explores how this genre of the late 1970s and 1980s came into being, musical influences on the genre, and how the genre influenced later generations of artists. Additional chapters analyze the impact of new wave rock on American popular culture and the legacy of new wave music, including how the music is still used today in film and television soundtracks and in television commercials. The combination of detailed examination of specific artists, songs, and albums and discussion of background, legacy, and impact distinguish this book from others on the subject and make it a vital reference and interesting read for both students and music aficionados. Details 50 must-hear musical examples, including artists, songs, and albums Traces the legacy of new wave rock through film, television, and television commercials from the 1980s to the present Describes the musical materials of new wave rock that developed out of disco and punk rock Covers both well-remembered artists (e.g., Blondie) and not so well-remembered artists that all had a major impact on popular culture in the 1970s and 1980s

On the afternoon of August 15, 1969, Richie Havens took the stage at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, welcoming a crowd of several hundred thousand to the green fields of Max Yasgur's farm. Havens was the first act - the legendary festival, years in the making, was finally beginning. Nothing would be the same after. But the story of the legendary festival begins with Michael Lang, a kid out of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, who liked to smoke a joint and listen to jazz and who eventually found his way to Florida, where he opened a head shop and produced his first festival - Miami Pop, featuring Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and others. In the late '60s, after settling in Woodstock, he began to envision a music and arts festival where folks could come and stay for a few days amid the rural beauty of upstate New York. The idea crystallized when Lang talked it over with Artie Kornfeld, a songwriter and A and R man, and with two other young men they formed Woodstock Ventures. They booked talent, from Janis Joplin and the Who to the virtually unknown Santana and Crosby, Stills and Nash; won over agents and promoters; brought in the Hog Farm commune to set up campgrounds; hired a peacekeeping force; took on fleets of volunteers; appeased the Yippies; and, were run out of one town and found another site weeks before the festival. On the ground with the talent, the townspeople, and his handpicked crew, Lang had a unique and panoramic perspective of the festival. Enhanced by interviews with others who were central to the making of the festival, "The Road to Woodstock" tells the story from inspiration to celebration, capturing all the magic, mayhem, and mud in between.

Winner of the NOBEL PRIZE in Literature 2016 For the first time, a comprehensive, definitive collection of lyrics of music legend and poet Bob Dylan. A major publishing event - a beautiful, comprehensive collection of the lyrics of Bob Dylan with artwork from thirty-three albums. As it was well put by Al Kooper (the man behind the organ on 'Like a Rolling Stone'), 'Bob is the equivalent of William Shakespeare. What Shakespeare did in his time, Bob does in his time.' Christopher Ricks, editor of T. S. Eliot, Samuel Beckett, Tennyson, and The Oxford Book of English Verse, has no argument with Mr. Kooper's assessment, and Dylan is attended to accordingly in this authoritative edition of his lyrics. In the words of Christopher Ricks: 'For fifty years, all the world has delighted in Bob Dylan's books of words and more than words: provocative, mysterious, touching, baffling, not-to-be-pinned-down, intriguing, and a reminder that genius is free to do as it chooses. And, again and again, these are not the words that he sings on the initially released albums.' This edition changes things, giving us the words from officially released studio and live recordings, as well as selected variant lyrics and revisions to these, recent revisions and retrospective ones; and, from the archives, words that, till now, have not been published. As set down, as sung, and as sung again.

Wizard rock"" (i.e. music written about the Harry Potter book series by British author J. K. Rowling) is an idiosyncratic genre of music that includes quirky bands with names like ""Harry and the Potters,"" ""Draco and the Malfoys,"" and ""The Whomping Willows."" This book-derived largely from insider insight, participant observation, and interviews with over a dozen wizard rockers-is the first holistic ethnography of the movement ever undertaken, and contained in these pages in exploration of the genre's history, as well as an exploration of how (and why!) bands write, record, perform this most unique style of music. This work also includes an exhaustive appendix that lists dozens of the most popular wizard rock bands, the names of their members, and the titles of their various releases, making it a must-have for fandom academics and wizard rock scholars alike.

In PARTY LIKE A ROCKSTAR, J.T. Harding charts his life from a kid growing up in Michigan to a chart-topping songwriter living in Nashville and working with country music stars like Keith Urbahn and Kenny Chesney. As a kid playing rock n' roll in his parents' garage, Harding's was a world in which every taste of new music-from KISS to Prince and everyone in between-was a revelation. Inspired by his favorite artists, Harding abandons the classic "American Dream" and runs away to Los Angeles, where he forms a band and becomes part of the music scene there, all the while selling records to his favorite artists and producers at Tower Records. A story of youth, rebellion, and determination, PARTY LIKE A ROCKSTAR is a memoir for music lovers and an invaluable how-to guide for anyone who wants to learn how to write a hit song. Fun and heartfelt, Harding's memoir is the story of one man's unshakable love for rock and roll, how it guided him through some of the greatest tragedies-and greatest triumphs-of his wild and unvarnished life.

Take a day-by-day journey through every live concert of the greatest rock-n-roll band in the world-the Rolling Stones from 1962 through 1982. For over fifty years the Rolling Stones have been performing concerts and pleasing audiences around the world. From their humble beginnings playing in small clubs in 1962, the Stones developed into the global sensation we all know today. A music-lovers dream, this chronicle provides a chronological and comprehensive look at all of the shows played by the Stones between 1962 and 1982 and includes set lists, venues, concert reviews, anecdotes on the concerts and a breadth of information on notable events in the lives of the band and the individual members. As a bonus, there is a list of all of the Stones' radio recordings, some of which were performed before live audiences, and performances on television shows. In addition to the extensive facts and details, is an exhilarating display of visual images from never-before seen tickets, posters, programs, handbills and photographs.

A compelling portrait of composer-performer Julius Eastman's enigmatic and intriguing life and music. Composer-performer Julius Eastman (1940-90) was an enigma, both comfortable and uncomfortable in the many worlds he inhabited: black, white, gay, straight, classical music, disco, academia, and downtown New York. His music, insistent and straightforward, resists labels and seethes with a tension that resonates with musicians, scholars, and audiences today. Eastman's provocative titles, including Gay Guerrilla, Evil Nigger, Crazy Nigger, and others, assault us with his obsessions. Eastman tested limits with his political aggressiveness, as reflected in legendary scandals like his June 1975 performance of John Cage's Song Books, which featured homoerotic interjections, and the uproar over his titles at Northwestern University. These episodes are examples of Eastman's persistence in pushing the limits of the acceptable in the highly charged arenas of sexual and civil rights. In addition to analyses of Eastman's music, the essays in Gay Guerrilla provide background on his remarkable life history and the era's social landscape. The book presents an authentic portrait of a notable American artist thatis compelling reading for the general reader as well as scholars interested in twentieth-century American music, American studies, gay rights, and civil rights. This Life of Sounds: Evenings for New Music inBuffalo received an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for excellence. Mary Jane Leach is a composer and freelance writer, currently writing music and theatre criticism for the Albany Times-Union.

Neil Young's Harvest is one of those strange albums that has achieved lasting success without ever winning the full approval of rock critics or hardcore fans. Even Young himself has been equivocal, describing it in one breath as his finest album, dismissing it in the next as an MOR aberration. Here, Sam Inglis explores the circumstances of the album's creation and asks who got it right: the critics, or the millions who have bought Harvest in the 30 years since its release? Excerpt The White Falcon's split pickup might have been just a gimmick from the early days of stereo, but the way Neil Young uses it on 'Alabama' is remarkable. His muted picking brings stabbing notes first from one speaker, then the other, as though we were hearing not one but two guitarists, playing with an unnatural empathy. The electric guitar has seldom sounded so menacing, and Young's growling rhythm and piercing lead notes are tracked perfectly by Kenny Buttrey's bare-bones drumming. The build to the chorus is beautifully judged, and when Young and his celebrity backing singers let rip, there's an almost physical sense of release.

Jethro Tull was one of the truly innovative rock bands to emerge from the late 1960s. At their peak the idiosyncratic group, fronted by multi-instrumentalist Ian Anderson, resembled a troupe of roving English minstrels. Crafting a signature progressive rock sound that resisted easy categorization, they were often derided by critics as too British, too eccentric, too theatrical. Over the span of a decade, "Tull" would release a string of sublime albums featuring intricate compositions in a wide range of musical styles, with little regard for the showbiz maxim "give the public what it wants." Focusing on the band's peak creative period of 1971-1980, this history includes insider accounts based on exclusive interviews with key members and rare photographs from Anderson's personal collection.

'Last Of the Giants is the mad, funny, dark and often painful story of a lost band from a now-distant time' CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE INCLUDES BRAND NEW CHAPTER COVERING GUNS N' ROSES EPIC WORLD TOUR 'Any story about Guns is worth reading. But when the author is Mick Wall it's absolutely essential' KERRANG Many millions of words have already been written about Guns N' Roses, the old line-up, the new line-up. But none of them have ever really gotten to the truth. Which is this: Guns N' Roses has always been a band out of time, the Last of the Giants. They are what every rock band since the Rolling Stones has tried and nearly always failed to be: dangerous. At a time when smiling, MTV-friendly, safe-sex, just-say-no Bon Jovi was the biggest band in the world, here was a band that seemed to have leapt straight out of the coke-smothered pages of the original, golden-age, late-sixties rock scene. 'Live like a suicide', the band used to say when they all lived together in the Hell House, their notorious LA home. And this is where Mick Wall first met them, and became part of their inner circle, before famously being denounced by name by Axl Rose in the song 'Get in the Ring'. But this book isn't about settling old scores. Written with the clear head that 25 years later brings you, this is a celebration of Guns N' Roses the band, and of Axl Rose the frontman who really is that thing we so desperately want him to be: the last of the truly extraordinary, all-time great, no apologies, no explanations, no giving-a-shit rock stars. The last of his kind.

'Explodes in to life from the opening paragraph' RECORD COLLECTOR Think you know the story of Jim Morrison and The Doors? This revelatory and explosive biography from critically acclaimed rock journalist Mick Wall will make you think again. 'The pick of the best guitar tomes: Wall's account pulls no punches, cataloguing each of the primal scenes - early performances, indecent exposure, Jim's sexuality, decline and death' GUITARIST In 1971, Jim Morrison was found dead in a club toilet in Paris. He was 27 years old. Since then, The Doors have been the subject of a mystery fuelled by sensationalised rumours and empty conjecture. In this definitive account of Jim Morrison and The Doors, critically acclaimed rock writer Mick Wall unravels the myths surrounding the iconic band and its frontman, and captures the unique and unforgettable spirit of the sixties. A brilliantly penetrating and long-overdue biography, Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre questions the idolisation of Jim Morrison and considers the story of The Doors in all of its uncomfortable truth.

Aerosmith's lead guitarist Joe Perry opens up for the first time to tell the riveting inside story of his lifeinside the band, featuring everyone from Jimmy Page to Alice Cooper, Bette Midler to Chuck Berry, John Belushi to Al Hirschfeld. Before the platinum records or the Super Bowl half-time show or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Joe Perry was a boy growing up in small town Massachusetts. But the guitar became his passion, an object of lust, an outlet for his restlessness and his rebellious soul. That passion quickly blossomed into an obsession, and he got a band together. One night after a performance he met a brash young musician named Steven Tyler; before long, Aerosmith was born. What happened over the next forty-five years has become the stuff of legend: the knock-down, drag-out, band splintering fights; the drugs, the booze, the rehab; the packed arenas and timeless hits; the reconciliations and the comebacks. Full of humour, insight and brutal honesty about life in and out of one of the biggest bands in modern history, Rocks is also the story of a dedicated family man in a thirty-year marriage who has navigated the pressures of an extreme lifestyle. In Perry's own words, it tells the whole story.

David Bowie's career as a pioneering artist spanned nearly 50 years and brought him international acclaim. He continues to be cited as a major influence on contemporary artists and designers working across the creative arts. Published to accompany the blockbuster international exhibition launched at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, this is the only book to be granted access to Bowie's personal archive of performance costume, ephemera and original design artwork by the artist, and brings it together to present a completely new perspective on his creative work and collaborations. The book traces his career from its beginnings in London, through the breakthroughs of Space Oddity and Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and on to his impact on the larger international tradition of twentieth-century avant-garde art. Essays by V&A curators on Bowie's London, image, and influence on the fashion world, are complemented by Howard Goodall on musicology; Camille Paglia on gender and decadence and Jon Savage on Bowie's relationship with William Burroughs and his fans. Also included is a discussion between Christopher Frayling, Philip Hoare and Mark Kermode, held at the V&A, of Bowie's cultural impact. Over 300 images include personal and performance photographs, costumes, lyric sheets giving an unique insight into Bowie's world.

An essential part of human expression, humor plays a role in all forms of art, and humorous and comedic aspects have always been part of popular music. For the first time, The Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor draws together scholarship exploring how the element of humor interacts with the artistic and social aspects of the musical experience. Discussing humor in popular music across eras from Tin Pan Alley to the present, and examining the role of humor in different musical genres, case studies of artists, and media forms, this volume is a groundbreaking collection that provides a go-to reference for scholars in music, popular culture, and media studies. While most scholars, when considering humor's place in popular music, tend to focus on more "literate" forms, the contributors in this collection seek to fill in the gaps by surveying all kinds of humor, critical theories, and popular musics. Across eight parts, the essays in this collection explore topics both highbrow and low, including: Parody and satire Humor in rock and global music Gender, sexuality, and politics The music mockumentary Novelty songs Humor has long been a fixture of the popular music soundscape, whether on stage, in performance, on record, or on film. The Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor covers it all, presenting itself as the most comprehensive treatment of the topic to date.

Dusty Springfield made her name in the 60s with a string of top ten hits. Her unique singing style and distinctive bouffant blonde look made her famous throughout the world. Despite a period in the wilderness during the 70s and 80s, she was back at the top in the 90s until her death from cancer in March l999. Born an Irish Catholic in l939, her background set her almost schizophrenically at odds with herself as she realised her sexuality and moved further into the rock world. Both Penny Valentine and Vicki Wickham knew Dusty well, as friend and manager for much of her career. As well as charting her gay relationships, this book also looks candidly at the period of her greatest self-destruction while living in Los Angeles in the 80s. Covering every area of her career with honesty and affection, Dusty is brought vividly to life.

Streaming Music examines how the Internet has become integrated in contemporary music use, by focusing on streaming as a practice and a technology for music consumption. The backdrop to this enquiry is the digitization of society and culture, where the music industry has undergone profound disruptions, and where music streaming has altered listening modes and meanings of music in everyday life. The objective of Streaming Music is to shed light on what these transformations mean for listeners, by looking at their adaptation in specific cultural contexts, but also by considering how online music platforms and streaming services guide music listeners in specific ways. Drawing on case studies from Moscow and Stockholm, and providing analysis of Spotify, VK and YouTube as popular but distinct sites for music, Streaming Music discusses, through a qualitative, cross-cultural, study, questions around music and value, music sharing, modes of engaging with music, and the way that contemporary music listening is increasingly part of mobile, automated and computational processes. Offering a nuanced perspective on these issues, it adds to research about music and digital media, shedding new light on music cultures as they appear today. As such, this volume will appeal to scholars of media, sociology and music with interests in digital technologies.

Alan Light, former writer for Rolling Stone, editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin magazines, and author of The Holy or the Broken, "gets inside Prince's mind palace in Let's Go Crazy, a history of the making of his historic, semi-autobiographical musical masterwork, Purple Rain" (Vanity Fair). Purple Rain is a song, an album, and a film, widely considered to be among the most important albums in music history and often named the best soundtrack of all time. It sold over a million copies in its first week of release in 1984 and blasted to #1 on the charts, where it would remain for a full six months and eventually sell over 20 million copies worldwide. It spun off three huge hit singles, won Grammys and an Oscar, and took Prince from pop star to legend, the first artist ever simultaneously to have the #1 album, single, and movie in the country. In Let's Go Crazy, acclaimed music journalist Alan Light takes a timely look at the making and incredible popularizing of this once seemingly impossible project. With impeccable research and in-depth interviews with people who witnessed and participated in Prince's audacious vision becoming a reality, Light reveals how a rising but not yet established artist from the Midwest was able not only to get Purple Rain made, but deliver on his promise to conquer the world. "A must-read for the Prince die-hards who have remained devoted through the musical meanderings of the last three decades" (Kirkus Reviews), Let's Go Crazy examines how the masterpiece that blurred R&B, pop, dance, and rock sounds altered the recording landscape and became an enduring touchstone for successive generations of fans.

No other band has affected modern progressive metal as deeply or widely as American quintet Dream Theater. Formed at Berklee College of Music) as Majesty in 1985 by guitarist John Petrucci, drummer Mike Portnoy, and bassist John Myung, the group has spent thirty years repeatedly pushing new boundaries and reinventing their identity. Although other acts - such as Queensryche and Fates Warning - paved the way for the prog-metal subgenre, Dream Theater were without doubt the first to meld influences from both metal and progressive rock into a groundbreaking blend of quirky instrumentation, extensively complex arrangements, and exceptional songwriting. Whether subtly or overtly, they've since left their mark on just about every progressive metal band that's followed. In this book, Jordan Blum examines virtually all Dream Theater collections, and their behind-the-scenes circumstances, to explore how the group distinctively impacted the genre with each release. Whether classics of the 1990s like Images and Words and Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, benchmarks of the 2000s like Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence and Octavarium, or even thrilling modern efforts like A Dramatic Turn of Events and Distance Over Time, every sequence of albums contributes something crucial to making Dream Theater's legacy nothing short of astonishing.

Rock & Pop Theory: the essential guide offers musicians of all ages and levels a practical and relevant guide to music theory today. With a special focus on popular music, this indispensable guide: introduces key musical concepts such as pitch, tempo, rhythm, harmony, scales, instruments, musical forms and structure outlines the conventions governing music notation, applying these specifically to rock & pop music provides interesting facts and real music examples to contextualise music theory offers practical tips on how to identify intervals, make up melodies and rhythms, set words to music and much more with foreword and chapter introductions by renowned educationalist Paul Harris contains quick-reference tools including an appendix, list of further repertoire examples, table of instruments, periods of music history, table of scales and modes and summary keys and time signatures. Rock & Pop Theory: the essential guide is a joint publication, published by Faber Music and Edition Peters.

From bestselling biographer Sean Smith comes the fascinating and tumultuous true story behind Sir Tom Jones, the nation's treasure, sage of The Voice and living music legend. Celebrating his 75th birthday this year, Tom Jones' life has been an unforgettable rollercoaster ride. From starting out in a little Welsh mining town where he married his sweetheart at just 16, who could have known that seven years later he would go on to become a major musical hit that would propel him to Bel Air? Through intimate interviews, Smith uncovers all this and more, including the years Tom spent as little more than a Vegas lounge singer, before being rediscovered in the late '80s and becoming a maestro on the music scene once again. As revealing as it is entertaining, this is the definitive story of a great talent who is showing no signs of slowing down.