"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."- John LennonChuck Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986; for having "laid the groundwork for not only a rock and roll sound but a rock and roll stance."In 2004, six of Berry's songs were included in "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time": Johnny B. Goode; Maybellene; Roll Over Beethoven; Rock and Roll Music; Sweet Little Sixteen...

"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."- John LennonChuck Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986; for having "laid the groundwork for not only a rock and roll sound but a rock and roll stance."In 2004, six of Berry's songs were included in "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time": Johnny B. Goode; Maybellene; Roll Over Beethoven; Rock and Roll Music; Sweet Little Six...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!How The Beatles Came To AmericaFamous television Master of Ceremonies, Ed Sullivan first learns I have written a book about him and his show when I hand him a finished manuscript. Naively, I imagine he'll be flattered, but when he reads it, he's furious. I am revealing more about him, more backstage gossip and more details about the inner workings of the show than he wants made public.Fortunately f...

George Carlin was an American comedian, writer, social critic, and actor who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums. Carlin was noted for his black comedy as well as his thoughts on politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and various taboo subjects. Carlin and his "Seven dirty words" comedy routine were central to the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, in which a 5–4 decision by the justices affirmed the government's power to regulate indec...

'Charles R. Cross has got as close to the truth as anyone yet in his exhaustive and ground-breaking account of the life of the greatest guitarist in the history of rock.'Observer'Superb'Sunday TelegraphJimi Hendrix continues to fascinate, and sell huge quantities of albums, even 35 years after his death. Quite apart from his influence on musicians and fans, a large part of th...

Rock Diary: Buddy Holly is a unique, chronological, day-by-day, month-by-month and year-by-year history of the life and career of one of the most popular and influential musicians of all-time. This definitive factual story is the ultimate biographical timeline of one of the architects of rock ‘n’ roll - from his earliest days as a teenager in Lubbock, Texas through his phenomenal rise as one of America’s leading rock pioneers to his tragic early death on the ‘day the music died’. Also a co...

"UnconVINCEd: The Unauthorized Story of Why Sting Still Won't Work for Vince McMahon and the WWE" is a compelling, first of its kind, and completely unauthorized inside look at why one of wrestling's biggest stars - Steve Borden (Sting) - still refuses to work for WWE and Vince McMahon.International bestselling author Michael Essany probes Borden's storied career, his deep Christian faith, battles with drug and alcohol abuse, his refusal to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, an...

Charlie Gillett, a British journalist, loves the music, and his passion is evident throughout The Sound of the City. Yet the greatest strength of the book is the way Gillett tracks the resistance of the music industry to early rock-and-roll, which was followed (needless to say) by a frantic rush to engulf and devour it.When first published The Sound of the City was hailed as having 'never been bettered as the definitive history of rock' (Guardian). Now th...

"I don't know where he's buried, but if I did I'd piss on his grave." —Jerry Wexler, best friend and mentorHere Comes the Night: Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues is both a definitive account of the New York rhythm and blues world of the early '60s, and the harrowing, ultimately tragic story of songwriter and record producer Bert Berns, whose meteoric career was fueled by his pending doom. His heart damaged by rheumatic fever as a youth...

A fan from the moment the Doors' first album arrived, Greil Marcus saw the band many times at the legendary Filmore Auditorium and the Avalon Ballroom in 1967. Five years later it was all over.Forty years after the singer Jim Morrison was found dead in Paris and the group disbanded, Greil Marcus muses on how one could drive from here to there, changing fom one FM pop station to another, and be all but guaranteed to hear two, three, four Doors songs in an hour. Whatever the demands ...

"A winning look at the stories behind 45 pop, punk, folk, soul and country classics" in the words of Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper and more ( The Washington Post).Every great song has a fascinating backstory. And here, writer and music historian Marc Myers brings to life five decades of music through oral histories of forty-five era-defining hits woven from interviews with the artists who created them, including such legendary tunes as the Isley...

Exclusive insights from a celebrated musician and passionate industry insiders, two accompanying CDs of legendary tracks and beautiful packaging make for a book with broad appeal -- one that will captivate fans of Robbie Robertson and music lovers of all ages.Part memoir, part tribute, and all great storytelling ...Music industry veterans Robbie Robertson, Jim Guerinot, Jared Levine, and Sebastian Robertson invite young readers to share with them in celebrating twen...