The music industry often paints a glamorous picture of its stars' lives and achievements, but what is life really like behind the gloss? How does it feel to have a No.1 record, or to live on the road for over 300 days a year? And what happens after the hits stop? The answers to these and many other questions are contained within the pages of this book, as twenty-six major American hitmakers of the Fifties and Sixties reveal their own fascinating stories. Includes previously unpublished interviews with Gary 'US' Bonds, Pat Boone, Freddy Cannon, Crickets Jerry Allison, Sonny Curtis and Joe B. Mauldin, Bo Diddley, Dion, Fats Domino, Duane Eddy, Frankie Ford, Charlie Gracie, Brian Hyland, Marv Johnson, Ben E. King, Brenda Lee, Little Eva, Chris Montez, Johnny Moore (Drifters), Gene Pitney, Johnny Preston, Tommy Roe, Del Shannon, Edwin Starr, Johnny Tillotson and Bobby Vee. Over 150 illustrations including previously unpublished recent portraits as well as vintage ads, record sleeves, label shots, sheet music covers, etc.

As a founder member of the world's most successful instrumental group, the Shadows, and a chart-topper in his own right, bassist Jet Harris scaled the heights of superstardom in the 1960s. A helpless alcoholic for most of his adult life, he also sank to unimaginable depths of despair, leaving a string of broken hearts and shattered lives in his wake. In this unauthorised biography author Dave Nicolson examines his eventful life and career, and how he eventually overcame his addiction to the bottle and fought his way back to centre stage. In the second part of the book, a series of revealing interviews with those friends and artists who knew him best -- Cliff Richard, Bruce Welch, Tony Meehan, Brian 'Licorice' Locking, Billie Davis and others -- completes this unique and intimate portrait of a music legend.