George Michael or George Harrison? Hound Dog or Hootie? Colonel Tom or Chico Buarque? Yungblud or Warren Zevon? Take your pick; they’re all in the stack of new music books arriving just in time for summer. And there’s more where they came from. Read all about ’em:
George Michael: A Life
By James Gavin
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “George Michael was an extravagantly gifted, openhearted soul singer whose work was both pained and smolderingly erotic. He was a songwriter of true craft and substance, and his music swept the world, starting in the mid-1980s. His fabricated image — that of a hypermacho sex god — loomed large in the pop culture of his day. It also hid — for a time — the secret he fought against revealing: Michael was gay. Soon his obsession with fame would start to backfire. As one of the industry’s most privileged yet tortured men began to self-destruct, the press showed little sympathy. George Michael: A Life explores the compelling story of a superstar whose struggles, as well as his songs, continue to touch fans all over the world. Acclaimed music biographer James Gavin traces Michael’s metamorphosis from the shy and awkward Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou into the swaggering, dominant half of the leading British pop duo of the 1980s Wham!; he then details Michael’s sensational solo career and its subsequent unraveling. With deep analysis of the creative process behind Michael’s albums, tours, and music videos, as well as interviews with hundreds of his friends and colleagues, George Michael: A Life is a probing, definitive portrait of a pop legend.”
Colonel Tom Parker: The Curious Life of Elvis Presley’s Eccentric Manager
By James L. Dickerson
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Based on unprecedented original research and interviews with insiders, this authoritative investigative biography of Colonel Tom Parker (1909-1997), Elvis Presley’s lifelong manager, includes new revelations and insights into the music industry’s most notorious and mysterious manager. Investigative journalist and music writer James L. Dickerson looks at topics such as Parker’s illegal entry into the United States, his work as a carny with Royal American Shows, and his management of country singer Eddy Arnold, his partnership with Hank Snow, and how he manipulated Presley and his family to seize control of the singer’s career. The book, which covers Parker’s life and career from birth to his death, examines Parker’s greed, his indebtedness to behind-the-scenes players in Las Vegas, his gambling addiction, and his fear of deportation — all of which played a role in ruining Elvis’s career. Because Parker was always there with Elvis, gazing ominously over his shoulder, the book presents behind-the-scenes glimpses of the entertainer’s career that you will read nowhere else, thanks in part to the author’s personal and professional relationship with Elvis’s first guitarist, Scotty Moore, with whom the author wrote two revealing books.”
Goodnight Boogie: A Tale of Guns, Wolves & The Blues of Hound Dog Taylor
By Matt Rogers
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hound Dog Taylor made guitars howl and hips shake. A founding father of lo-fi blues rock — that gritty, stripped-down sound played on cheap guitars with no bass — Taylor and his band The HouseRockers played loud, wild gut-bucket boogie that was raw and ferocious, earning them a reputation as “The Ramones of the blues.” Though his influence continues to be heard in the music of contemporary musicians such as Jack White, The Black Keys and others, Taylor’s story has never been fully explored. Off stage, his life was as wild as his music. From his childhood in 1920s Mississippi to his final years in 1970s Chicago, he was surrounded by racism, crime, and violence. The threat of bloodshed was constant, whether from the Ku Klux Klan, South Side gangs, or even fellow musicians. From drunkenly slicing off his sixth finger with a straight razor, to becoming the artist whose music launched the now-legendary Alligator Records, Goodnight Boogie is the first in-depth biographical study of the Blues Hall of Famer whose life was as compelling as his music. This is the story of a brilliant and unforgettably original musician who struggled for success while fighting to survive.”
Swimming With the Blowfish: Hootie, Healing, and One Hell of a Ride
By Jim Sonefeld
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For a time, there was no bigger band in the world than Hootie & the Blowfish — rock ’n’ roll’s unexpected foil to the grunge music that dominated the early ’90s airwaves. In Swimming With the Blowfish, Jim Sonefeld, drummer and one of the band’s principal songwriters, reveals the inside story of the band’s humble beginnings, meteoric rise, sudden fall, and ultimate rebirth — and in the telling he opens his heart to readers about addiction, recovery, and faith. Hootie became ubiquitous in the ’90s — their debut album Cracked Rear View was one of the best-selling in the history of rock music; they won two Grammy Awards; they played alongside The Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., Willie Nelson and Neil Young; and they appeared at the biggest venues in the world. Though Jim enjoyed the perks that came with fame — the parties, the relationships, the money, the drugs and alcohol — eventually it all became a camouflage that hid a deeper spiritual malady. As his life was careening toward disaster, he reached out to seek relief in 12-step recovery, eventually settling into a loving, but by no means uncomplicated, homelife. A book that encapsulates a band still beloved by legions of fans, Swimming With the Blowfish is much more — an unpretentious, emotional story of one man’s spiritual path to a more fruitful life. Jim’s journey is shattering, redeeming, and ultimately as comforting as your favorite flannel shirt.”
The World Is Going To Love This: Up From The Basement With The Strokes
By Gordon Raphael
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Legendary music producer Gordon Raphael has spent four decades working with musicians, performers and songwriters to create unique genre-defining sounds. His work with The Strokes, Regina Spektor and The Libertines has made him one of the world’s most sought-after music producers. What’s his secret? This book gives an insider’s view into how music is created and recorded, sharing insights into the artistic discoveries that happen when a group of talented musicians find the right studio, the right producer and the right sound. Like sitting on the purple velvet couch at New York’s fabled Transporterraum Studio, this rock ‘n’ roll memoir gives an all-access pass to the processes and techniques, the people and the performances. It’s the early 2000s and, for the first time, young people who’ve grown up hating their parent’s rock music have found a reason in the songs of N.Y.C. newcomers The Strokes to drop their electronica, house and techno for guitars, Converse, leather jackets and form their own bands. Focusing on the eight-year period from the demise of the Seattle grunge scene to the birth of a thrilling cultural shift in New York and London that reimagined rock ‘n’ roll, Raphael shares his tales of musical glory and loss, creative triumphs and breakups. It’s a bumpy ride with a killer soundtrack.”
All My Friends Have Deserted
By Yungblud & Tom Pallant
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Yungblud. A striking new musical voice has emerged for Gen-Z. Political, provocative and impassioned, Yungblud has in the space of three years become one of the U.K.’s most recognisable artists through his unique blend of pop, punk and emo music — gaining one of the most die-hard fanbases on the planet in the process. From 21st Century Liability, where nothing was sacred — gun violence, psychosis, sex, drugs and suicide — to his sophomore album Weird!, an exploration of oddity and self-acceptance, Yungblud challenges our zeitgeist as much as he channels it. Featuring a selection of rare and unseen photographs by friend and collaborator Tom Pallant, All My Friends Have Deserted shows Yungblud as a man of multitudes: Dominating the stage, screaming into the mic, laughing behind the scenes, enjoying quiet creative moments and pulling faces at the camera. The result is a rollercoaster of a photo essay that carries readers on a journey through the highs and lows of Gen-Z’s most essential new rock star. “My generation is over being divided. Being divided is an old concept that is rapidly becoming obsolete. We are opinionated. We are full of contradictions. That’s the beauty of it. Our intention is to make this world equal. No matter what size you are, what shape you are, what colour you are, what sexuality you are,” says Yungblud. Underpinning it all is the message of empathy. Authentic and electric, rebellious and irreverent, yet still utterly human, Yungblud is the new face of punk.”
Came the Lightening: Twenty Poems for George
By Olivia Harrison
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Olivia Harrison presents Came the Lightening, a book of 20 poems dedicated to George Harrison, marking 20 years since his passing. As a contributor to the book Concert for George, the revised edition of I Me Mine and George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Olivia is no stranger to writing beautiful words that have an ethereal connection to love. These poems are accompanied by a selection of photographs and mementos curated by Olivia, including pictures of herself and George. Came the Lightening sees Olivia reflect upon her life with George, examining the intimacy of the emotional bond in their relationship through a memorable series of poems. She delves into the phenomenon of losing a partner and the passage of time. In essence, this is a story of love.”
Warren Zevon: Every Album, Every Song
By Peter Gallagher
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Bruce Springsteen called him ‘one of the great, great American songwriters,’ Jackson Browne hailed him as ‘the first and foremost proponent of song noir,’ and Stephen King once said that if he could write like him, he ‘would be a happy guy.’ The list of artists that lined up to appear on his records include Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Dave Gilmour and Emmylou Harris. So how is it that most people, if they have heard of Zevon at all, know him only as ‘that Werewolves Of London‘ guy’? This book goes beyond that solitary hit single to examine all aspects of Zevon’s multifaceted, five-decade career, from his beginnings in the slightly psychedelic folk duo Lyme and Cybelle, through to his commercial breakthrough in the late ’70s with Excitable Boy, his critically acclaimed late ’80s comeback Sentimental Hygiene, his decline into cult obscurity, and his triumphantly heartbreaking final testament The Wind, released just prior to his death in 2003. Along the way the reader will discover one of rock’s consummate balladeers, as well as a cast of characters including doomed drug dealers, psychopathic adolescents, outlaws of the Old West, BDSM fetishists, ghostly gunslingers, an unfeasibly large assembly of apes, and, yes, lycanthropes unleashed on the streets of London.”
33 1/3 | Chico Buarque’s Chico Buarque
By Charles A. Perrone
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Chico Buarque comprises a critical appreciation of the self-titled album (1978), which is one of the Brazilian artist’s most representative. This vibrant collection displays the singer-songwriter’s singular talents as a composer and poet in songs with both popular appeal and keen analytical skills. The 11 tracks include both up-beat sambas and lyrical compositions: Witty tunes, dramatic laments, international items, and, especially, epochal protest songs with fascinating histories. The album embodies Buarque’s affective sensibilities and sociopolitical engagement, and this book situates the album in inter-related contexts: the artist’s own career; the evolution of the current he represents MPB (Brazilian Popular Music); and, especially, historical conjuncture-the period of military dictatorship in Brazil, 1964-85.”
A Quick Ting On Grime
By Franklyn Addo
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A Quick Ting On Grime is a brilliant look at the history, the present and the future of grime. Franklyn Addo writes beautifully about this musical juggernaut that has taken over the U.K. in recent years. From the Bow estates to the charts, Addo explores how this cultural phenomena has reverberated throughout British society — all the way from fashion to politics to language. Addo documents the genre’s cultural explosion and how it became the voice of a generation. This book provides phenomenal insight into the captivating and electrifying genre that is grime.”
American Song and Struggle from Columbus to World War 2: A Cultural History
By Will Kaufman
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Long before anyone ever heard of ‘protest music’, people in America were singing about their struggles. They sang for justice and fairness, food and shelter, and equality and freedom; they sang to be acknowledged. Sometimes they also sang to oppress. This book uncovers the history of these people and their songs, from the moment Columbus made fateful landfall to the start of the Second World War, when ‘protest music’ emerged as an identifiable brand. Cutting across musical genres, Will Kaufman recovers the passionate voices of America itself. We encounter songs of the mainland and the conquered territories of Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines; we hear Indigenous songs, immigrant songs and Klan songs, minstrel songs and symphonies, songs of the heard and the unheard, songs of the celebrated and the anonymous, of the righteous and the despicable. This magisterial book shows that all these songs are woven into the very fabric of American history.”
Recording History: Jews, Muslims, and Music across Twentieth-Century North Africa
By Christopher Silver
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “If 20th-century stories of Jews and Muslims in North Africa are usually told separately, Recording History demonstrates that we have not been listening to what brought these communities together: Arab music. For decades, thousands of phonograph records flowed across North African borders. The sounds embedded in their grooves were shaped in large part by Jewish musicians, who gave voice to a changing world around them. Their popular songs broadcast on radio, performed in concert, and circulated on disc carried with them the power to delight audiences, stir national sentiments, and frustrate French colonial authorities. With this book, Christopher Silver provides the first history of the music scene and recording industry across Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and offers striking insights into Jewish-Muslim relations through the rhythms that animated them. He traces the path of hit-makers and their hit records, illuminating regional and transnational connections. In asking what North Africa once sounded like, Silver recovers a world of many voices ― of pioneering impresarios, daring female stars, cantors turned composers, witnesses and survivors of war, and national and nationalist icons ― whose music still resonates well into our present.”
