How much do you know about Leon Russell, Tara MacLean, Martyn Ware and Jimmy Stokley? Not enough, I suspect. Well, now’s the time to rectify that, with the help of these upcoming tomes. Read all about ’em:
Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time’s Journey Through Rock & Roll History
By Bill Janovitz
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Leon Russell is an icon, but somehow is still an underappreciated artist. He is spoken of in tones reserved not just for the most talented musicians, but also for the most complex and fascinating. His career is like a roadmap of music history, often intersecting with rock royalty like Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He started in the ’50s as a teenager touring with Jerry Lee Lewis, going on to play piano on records by such giants as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and Phil Spector, and on hundreds of classic songs with major recording artists. Leon was Elton John’s idol, and Elton inducted him into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2011. Leon also gets credit for altering Willie Nelson’s career, giving us the long-haired, pot-friendly Willie we all know and love today. In his prime, Leon filled stadiums on solo tours, and was an organizer/performer on both Joe Cocker’s revolutionary Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh. Leon also founded Shelter Records in 1969 with producer Denny Cordell, discovering and releasing the debut albums of Tom Petty, The Gap Band, Phoebe Snow, and J.J. Cale. Leon always assembled wildly diverse bands and performances, fostering creative and free atmospheres for musicians to live and work together. He brazenly challenged musical and social barriers. However, Russell also struggled with his demons, including substance abuse, severe depression, and a crippling stage fright that wreaked havoc on his psyche over the long haul and at times seemed to will himself into obscurity. Now, acclaimed author and founding member of Buffalo Tom, Bill Janovitz shines the spotlight on one of the most important music makers of the 20th century.”
Song Of The Sparrow: A Memoir
By Tara MacLean
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Singer-songwriter Tara MacLean has had an extraordinary musical career. From being discovered singing on a B.C. ferry to touring with Dido, Tom Cochrane and Lilith Fair, her solo albums and those with the band Shaye have touched legions of fans. But she hasn’t, until now, disclosed the details of how the power of song saved her from a childhood filled with danger. From her earliest days in the backwoods of Prince Edward Island, Tara was surrounded by nature, the songs of her musician father and the love of her actor mother. But love was not enough to feed their growing family, nor were the Wiccan, then evangelical Christian teachings her parents followed. Hunger and uncertainty were constant companions, as were the dangers that began to enter her world. Predators can come in many forms from even the most trusted circles, and Tara soon learned that a young girl is never safe. It was only through Tara’s inner strength and the solace she found in singing that she created a refuge and a future for herself. Song Of The Sparrow is a daring, heartbreaking and provocative memoir of a life filled with music, told with the same raw, open and elegant poetry that Tara’s fans have come to expect. From Tara’s childhood in P.E.I. through her teenage years in B.C. to her meteoric rise in music, Song Of The Sparrow reveals her remarkable strength and shows that a song and a wide-open heart are the best weapons for fighting monsters.”
Electronically Yours: Vol. I: My Autobiography
By Martyn Ware
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Human League and Heaven 17 were among some of the most pioneering bands of the 1980s, with Ware having played an integral role in each of their numerous successes. A young lad from the heart of post-war Sheffield, Ware formed The Human League a few years out of school in his early 20s. Described by David Bowie as ‘the future of music,’ it wasn’t long before the band become known for their innovative and infectiously catchy singles such as Being Boiled, touring with the likes of Siouxsie & The Banshees and Iggy Pop before Ware’s departure. Heaven 17 followed suit, with their soon-to-be classic albums Penthouse & Pavement and The Luxury Gap, featuring several colossal hits. Ground-breaking icons in new wave and synth pop, both groups remain some of the biggest-selling bands across the U.K. and worldwide. In Electronically Yours, Martyn takes us through his incredible route to stardom; from his austere upbringing in various council houses and close teenage friendship with former-bandmate Phil Oakey, to the white-hot experimentation in the Synth Britannia era and his production career, which allowed him to work with some of the world’s greatest singers, including Tina Turner. But it’s not just his life inside the industry which is compelling; a proud socialist, Martyn writes poignantly about politics — how it can be a soulful, personal, moral duty — and its role in his music creation and Britain today. With charming meditations on culture, humour, travel and sport, Martyn also shares his love of ’60s films, explains why Venice is the most beautiful city in the world, and reveals how Sheffield Wednesday has forever been his first and eternal passion. A huge page-turner and always warmly told, Electronically Yours sees Martyn talk candidly for the very first time about his extraordinary journey.”
Exiled: The Climax and Surrender of Jimmy Stokley
By Bill Luxon
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “By 1968, The Exiles had become a fixture on Dick Clark‘s Caravan of Stars and a favorite touring band in nightclubs ranging from their native Richmond, Ky, to New York City, plus hundreds of other venues across the country. Center stage was Jimmy Stokley, whose magnetic personality and wild, charismatic stage persona fueled not only the music, but also the libidos of girls in attendance. Exiled: The Climax And Surrender Of Jimmy Stokley describes the group’s climb from local garage band to professional musicians grinding out mostly one-nighters for over a decade, and finally to success and gold records at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The book also details the pitfalls of life on the road, where sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll wasn’t just a catchphrase — it was a lifestyle. Written by founding member Bill Luxon, Exiled details the cast of characters in the band’s rise up the charts, plus Stokley’s heart-wrenching fall from the fame he desperately desired and so richly deserved.”
Heavy Metal Music in Argentina: In Black We Are Seen
By Emiliano Scaricaciottoli, Nelson Varas-Díaz and Daniel Nevárez Araujo
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This is an interdisciplinary study of Argentina’s heavy metal subculture between 1983 and 2002, a period in which metal music withstood the onslaught of military dictatorship and survived the neoliberal policies of bourgeois democracy. Edited by leading researchers in the field, this collection addresses the music’s rituals, circulations, cultural products, lyrics, and intertexts, allowing readers to rethink the genre’s place within Argentinean politics and economics. Exclusively written by members of the Group for Interdisciplinary Research on Argentinian Heavy Metal in a communal approach to scholarship, the book echoes the working-class voices that marked early post-dictatorship metal music in Argentina, exploring heavy metal music as a catalyst for social change and a site for engaging political reflection. This is a fascinating work of scholarship and a groundbreaking contribution to the emerging field of global metal studies.”
A is for Anarchist
By Billy Woods & M. Musgrove
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A sardonic spin on the ABC book, A Is For Anarchist is a sharp knife in a drawer full of safety scissors. Wryly written by critically acclaimed rapper Billy Woods and sublimely illustrated by artist M. Musgrove, A Is For Anarchist upends the traditional ABC format with earnestness that belies its irreverence. Anarchist takes modest ideas, like E is for Energy and G is for Ghosts, and flips them into incisive commentary on modern life and the state of the world. Also, it has to be the only alphabet book with annotated footnotes and a Nas reference.”
