Some Music Books Better Than Mine

by Joel Selvin
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8 books
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Making Rumours

The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album
Ken Caillat, Steve Stiefel, 2012
Brilliant, dishy account of the strenuous efforts behind the recording of the Fleetwood Mac classic album written by the engineer, drawing deeply from his diaries at the time – one of the best books ever written about the recording process.

Moanin' at Midnight

The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf
James Segrest, Mark Hoffman, 2012
The authors pull the great bluesman out of the mists of history with astonishing clarity and perspective.

The Restless Generation: How rock music changed the face of 1950s Britain

Pete Frame, 2011
Pete Frame, the cartographer behind Rock’s Family Trees, sculpted a detailed look at how rock and roll came to Great Britain before there were Beatles – chock full of original research.

Django

The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend
Michael Dregni, 2004
Cinematic account of the life and times of the great French jazz guitarist – a sweeping, panoramic look at one of the great lives in music.

Going Down with Janis

Peggy Caserta, Dan Knapp, 1974
Widely reviled, this exploitation book about Janis Joplin actually captures more of the real person than many of her more authentic biographies (ex-girlfriend Casserta offered a latter corrective, “I Ran Into Some Trouble Along the Way,” also recommended).

Really the Blues

Mezz Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, 2016
An absolute classic of the Swing era, “Really the Blues” captures the scene, the language, and the excitement of the early jazz era in the voice of one of the key figures of the time.

Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?

The Carter Family and Their Legacy in American Mus
Mark Zwonitzer, Charles Hirshberg, 2014
More than the story of the history of America’s first family of country music, “Will You Miss Me…” is a poignant, memorable love story.

Play Like Elvis!

How British Musicians Bought the American Dream
Mo Foster, 2000
Fascinating and detailed look at how British musicians in the post-war era picked up American musical instruments and found new means of expression.