Hold On World revisits Lennon and Ono's love affair and startling collaborations. John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band was arguably the most emotionally honest album ever made. It wasn't merely another record but more like a sonic exorcism, a spiritual, public bloodletting. Lennon's album drove a stake through the heart of the Beatles' myth while confronting everything else in John's life, from Dylan to God to his glorified status as a "Working Class Hero." Determined to rid himself of childhood traumas-abandoned by his father, John, at age nine, watched helplessly as his mother was killed by a car-Lennon wrote the most powerful song cycle of his career, confronting fear, disappointment, and illusion, all the while espousing his love for Yoko Ono. Released simultaneously, Ono's album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band is emotionally raw and challenging. It inspired bands like the B-52s and Yo La Tengo to employ pure sound, whether shrieking vocals or guitar feedback, to express their deepest feelings.

Roy Orbison emerged as an artist alongside his Sun Records contemporaries in the early days of rock 'n' roll. He did not possess the good looks of Elvis Presley or the everyman toughness of Johnny Cash nor did he conduct wild-child stage antics like Jerry Lee Lewis. But he did possess a magnetic mystique that would captivate fans around the world and inspire countless musicians.THA quiet man who k.d. lang would refer to as Buddha Orbison was more interested in building model airplanes watching films and reading books in his den than talking about himself or partying hard. Yet he was nothing shy of a superstar a determined to succeed driven by a relentless love for music that started in childhood and blessed with some of the best pipes in the business. Standing still onstage hidden behind his perpetual Ray-Bans Orbison delivered his melodious songs with haunting emotional depth. His artful recordings mysterious image and angelic voice have left an indelible mark on popular music.THIn ERhapsody in BlackE John Kruth tells the story of Roy Orbison in prose as musical as the artist's melodies and does not shy away from or trivialize the personal pain alienation and tragic events that shaped Orbison's singular personality and music. Featuring interviews with people who worked closely with Orbison career-spanning photos a select discography and a new afterward for the paperback edition ERhapsody in BlackE is both celebratory and touching. It delves into the behind-the-music details of Orbison's collaborations recording sessions tours and business affairs as well as his personal life a his roots his marriages and his children a to present a telescopic view of his legacy.

The Beatles' sixth studio album ERubber SoulE was a game changer. By December 1965 when the album was released the Beatles had played the first arena rock show at Shea Stadium for 55 000 delirious fans been awarded MBE (Member of British Empire) medals and were indisputably the greatest musical phenomenon since Elvis Presley. With their first film EA Hard Day's NightE John Paul George and Ringo laid down the blueprint for everyone who ever wanted to form a group. The movie entertaining as it was became an instruction manual for aspiring pop stars of the day on how to play dress and act. Richard Lester's 1964 comedy turned out to be the touchstone for every music video that followed.THThen with the release of ERubber SoulE the Beatles created an artistic benchmark to which their peers measured their craft and creativity. Touring the world over two years the band had grown up fast. Both musically and lyrically their new album represented a major leap. Upon hearing ERubber SoulE Bob Dylan allegedly remarked I get it you're not cute anymore. Newsweek hailed the Beatles as the Bards of Pop while critic Greil Marcus claimed Rubber Soul was the best album they would ever make. For Traffic's Steve Winwood the album broke everything open. It crossed music into a whole new dimension and was responsible for kicking off the sixties rock era. THIn EThis Bird Has FlownE John Kruth not only analyzes the songs and making of ERubber SoulE putting the album in context of the turbulent times in which it was created but captures the spirit of musical innovation and poetry that makes the record a standout in the Beatle's canon.

(Book). He was blessed with a set of pipes that Elvis Presley claimed were the best in the business. His eyes hidden behind his perpetual Ray-Bans, Roy Orbison stood perfectly still onstage, singing songs of devastating heartbreak. Bob Dylan compared him to a professional killer, claiming the intensity of Orbison's operatic tenor was enough to make him "drive off a cliff." Neil Young stated, "It's almost impossible to comprehend the depth of his soul. There's something sad but proud about Roy's music." And Bono later claimed he was not only enthralled by Orbison's "angelic voice," but considered "In Dreams" to be "probably the greatest pop song ever written." Orbison's singing has inspired everyone who has heard it, from Springsteen to k. d. lang, and laid the very foundation for goth. While fascinating from a pop culture standpoint, it is Orbison's life's journey that makes a great story that has yet to be told to its fullest. Rhapsody in Black doesn't shy away from or trivialize the personal pain, alienation, and tragic events that shaped Orbison's singular personality and music. Roy Orbison wasn't merely a singer but a sonic alchemist who, in the end, transformed unfathomable human misery into transcendent melody and platinum records. Rhapsody in Black contains new interviews with over 20 people who worked closely with Orbison throughout his life.

This book is a fun and informative historical survey of songs that lionize notorious brigands from Ireland to Brazil Italy to Australia to the drug lords of Mexico and the inner-city gangs of the United States. For centuries each of these cultures have continued to romanticize criminals raising them to the status of heroic figures through poetry stories song and more recently film. EA Friend of the DevilE tracks the true story of these legendary bandits behind the songs that deify them while looking at society's role in both creating outlaws and our perpetual need for a new hero. The book also delves into why socially minded truth-seeking artists including Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan wrote and sang songs about such cold-blooded killers as Pretty Boy Floyd and Joey Gallo purposefully perpetuating their myths in lieu of an honest portrayal of these bad men.THEA Friend of the DevilE features new interviews with dozens of contemporary songwriters including Steve Earle Richard Thompson Taj Mahal and Dr. John along with authors Michael Ondaatje and Ishmael Reed. Illustrated with a series of photographs by the author of songwriters and singers of outlaw ballads that include Pete Seeger Joan Baez Aaron Neville John Prine and Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes.

At last, the authorized biography of Townes Van Zandt (1944-1997), who wrote such unforgettable songs as "Pancho & Lefty" and "If I Needed You." Born to a wealthy oil family in Ft. Worth, Texas, hounded by alcoholism and depression, Van Zandt pursued a nomadic existence following his muse, whatever the cost to himself, friends, and relatives. Based on exclusive interviews with those close to Van Zandt, including his best friend Guy Clark and colleagues like Steve Earle and John Prine, "To Live's to Fly" captures all the humor, hijinks, poetry, and heartbreak of this revered, "genuinely" outlaw country artist.