I’m continuing my irregular series of blog posts about book lists with this rather large list of rock music books. As in all of my lists, the idea is not to be exhaustive or definitive. I’ve aimed for a combination of biographies, autobiographies/memoirs, and general nonfiction, along with a few novels. Many have been published recently, although some go back decades. I have written earlier blog posts about several of these artists: Booker T. Jones, Wilko Johnson, and Michael Nesmith. Also Madeline Bocaro, about her Yoko Ono book; and Shantha Mohan, about her Leadership Lessons with The Beatles book.
Compiling this list has been a labor of love, in some ways taking me back to my rock writing days of the 1970s and 1980s. I scripted and selected the recordings for a weekly rock music radio program heard worldwide on The Voice of America, and wrote for various publications, including Trouser Press, Woodwind, Unicorn Times, ARSC Journal and several others. In 1980, Steve Leeds (later an esteemed veteran of the music business, satellite radio executive, and music business professor) and I formed an independent rock music label, Ambition Records, and released one of the first compilations of independent rock, Declaration of Independents.
I’ve limited the list to one author, and one book. The only exceptions: Kim Gordon, who is included as both an author and an editor; and Mick Houghton, as both a main author and coauthor. I plan to follow this with similar rock book lists in the future. In the meantime, I hope this list provides useful reading and listening possibilities!
Pat Benatar: Between a Heart and a Rock Place: A Memoir
Will Birch: Cruel to Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe
Chris Blackwell with Paul Morley: The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond
Mark Blake: Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and Beyond — The Story of Rock’s Greatest Manager
Jerry Blavat (Foreword by Dick Clark): You Only Rock Once: My Life in Music
Peter Blecha: Stomp and Shout: R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll
Madeline Bocaro: In Your Mind – The Infinite Universe of Yoko Ono
Bono: Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story
Steve Boone: Hotter Than a Match Head: Life on the Run with The Lovin’ Spoonful
David Bowie (Photographs by Mick Rock): Moonage Daydream: The Life & Times of Ziggy Stardust
Carrie Brownstein: Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir
Geezer Butler: Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath―And Beyond
Peter Ames Carlin: Sonic Boom: The Impossible Rise of Warner Bros. Records, from Hendrix to Fleetwood Mac to Madonna to Prince
Belinda Carlisle: Lips Unsealed: A Memoir
Nick Cave and Seán O’Hagan: Faith, Hope and Carnage
Cerphe Colwell with Stephen Moore: Cerphe’s Up: A Musical Life with Bruce Springsteen, Little Feat, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, CSNY, and Many More
Cynthia Connolly, Leslie Clague, Sharon Cheslow: Banned in DC: Photos and Anecdotes From the DC Punk Underground (79-85), Seventh edition
Elvis Costello: Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink
David Crosby and Carl Gottlieb: Long Time Gone: the autobiography of David Crosby
Roger Daltrey: Thanks a Lot Mr Kibblewhite: My Story
Dave Davies: Living on a Thin Line: The Autobiography
Ray Davies: Americana: The Kinks, the Riff, the Road: The Story
Laura Davis-Chanin: The Girl in the Back: A Female Drummer’s Life with Bowie, Blondie, and the ’70s Rock Scene
Matthew F. Delmont: The Nicest Kids in Town: American Bandstand, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in 1950s Philadelphia
Tom Doyle: Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush
Francis Dumaurier: Giorgio Gomelsky ‘For Your Love’: The Incredible Life of a Music Impresario for the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds & Magma
Bob Dylan: The Philosophy of Modern Song
David A Ensminger: Punk Women: 40 Years of Musicians Who Built Punk Rock, in Their Own Words
Marianne Faithfull with David Dalton: Faithfull: An Autobiography
Mick Fleetwood & Anthony Bozza: Play On: Now, Then, and Fleetwood Mac: The Autobiography
Carey Fleiner: The Kinks: A Thoroughly English Phenomenon
John Fogerty: Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music
Rik Forgo and Steve Cafarelli: Eagles: Up Ahead in the Distance
Peter Frampton with Alan Light: Do You Feel Like I Do?: A Memoir
Gillian G. Gaar: She’s a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock and Roll, Expanded second edition
Michael Goldberg: Wicked Game: The True Story Of Guitarist James Calvin Wilsey
Kim Gordon: Girl in a Band: A Memoir
Kim Gordon and Sinead Gleeson (Editors): This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music
Dave Grohl: The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
Peter Guralnick: Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley
Debbie Harry: Face It: A Memoir
Levon Helm with Stephen Davis: This Wheel’s on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band, Updated edition
David Hepworth: Never a Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded
Chris Hillman: Time Between: My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother, and Beyond
Susanna Hoffs: This Bird Has Flown: A Novel
Jac Holzman and Gavan Daws: Follow the Music: The Life And High Times Of Elektra Records In The Great Years Of American Pop Culture
Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman: No One Here Gets Out Alive: The Biography of Jim Morrison
Nick Hornby: High Fidelity
Barney Hoskyns: Small Town Talk: Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock
Mick Houghton: Becoming Elektra: The True Story of Jac Holzman’s Visionary Record Label (Revised & Expanded Edition)
Ian Hunter: Diary of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
Steven Hyden: Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock
Chrissie Hynde: Reckless: My Life as a Pretender
Richard Morton Jack (Foreword by Gabrielle Drake): Nick Drake: The Life
Wanda Jackson with Scott B. Bomar (Foreword by Elvis Costello): Every Night Is Saturday Night: A Country Girl’s Journey To The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Tommy James with Martin Fitzpatrick: Me, the Mob, and the Music: One Helluva Ride with Tommy James & The Shondells
Bill Janovitz: Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time’s Journey Through Rock & Roll History
Elton John: Me: Elton John (Official Autobiography)
Wilko Johnson: Don’t You Leave Me Here: My Life
Allan Jones: Too Late To Stop Now: More Rock’n’Roll War Stories
Booker T. Jones: Time Is Tight: My Life, Note by Note
Rickie Lee Jones: Last Chance Texaco: Chronicles of an American Troubadour
Carole King: A Natural Woman: A Memoir
John Kruth: Lunacy: The Curious Phenomenon of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, 50 Years On
Jen B. Larson: Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983
Andrew Lauder and Mick Houghton: Happy Trails: Andrew Lauder’s Charmed Life and High Times in the Record Business
Deke Leonard: Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics : The Legend of Man, a Rock’N’Roll Band
Phil Lesh: Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead
Ray Manzarek: Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors
Greil Marcus: The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Ten Songs
Paul McCartney: The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present
Evelyn McDonnell: Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyonce. Girl Groups to Riot Grrrl.
Joni Mitchell: Morning Glory On The Vine: Early Songs and Drawings
Shantha Mohan: Leadership Lessons with The Beatles: Actionable Tips and Tools for Becoming Better at Leading
Thurston Moore: Sonic Life: A Memoir
Jim Morrison: The Collected Works of Jim Morrison: Poetry, Journals, Transcripts, and Lyrics
Charles Shaar Murray: Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix and Post-war Pop
Marc Myers: Anatomy of a Song: The Oral History of 45 Iconic Hits That Changed Rock, R&B and Pop
Michael Nesmith: Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff
Michael Oberman Fast Forward, Play, and Rewind
Meredith Ochs: Rock-and-Roll Woman: The 50 Fiercest Female Rockers
Mark Opsasnick: ROCK THE POTOMAC: POPULAR MUSIC AND EARLY-ERA ROCK AND ROLL IN THE WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA
Alex Pappademas and Joan LeMay: Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan
Alan Paul: Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the ’70s
Liz Phair: Horror Stories: A Memoir
Suzi Quatro: Unzipped
Johnny Ramone: Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone
Paul Rees: Robert Plant: A Life
Taylor Jenkins Reid: Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel
Mark Ribowsky: The Big Life of Little Richard
Keith Richards: Life
Robbie Robertson: Testimony
Lisa Robinson: Nobody Ever Asked Me about the Girls: Women, Music and Fame
Henry Rollins: The Portable Henry Rollins
Linda Ronstadt and Lawrence Downes: Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands
Chris Salewicz: Jimmy Page: The Definitive Biography
Jon Savage: This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: The Oral History
Joel Selvin: Fare Thee Well: The Final Chapter of the Grateful Dead’s Long, Strange Tip
Paul Sexton: Charlie’s Good Tonight: The Life, the Times, and the Rolling Stones: The Authorized Biography of Charlie Watts
Grace Slick with Andrea Cagan: Somebody to Love?: A Rock-and-Roll Memoir
Danyel Smith: Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop
Patti Smith: Just Kids
RJ Smith: Chuck Berry: An American Life
Ronnie Spector with Vince Waldron (Foreword by Keith Richards): Be My Baby: A Memoir
Bob Spitz: Led Zeppelin: The Biography
Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run
Richard Thompson with Scott Timberg: Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice 1967-1975
Tracey Thorn: My Rock ‘n’ Roll Friend
Pete Townshend: Who I Am: A Memoir
Tina Turner: My Love Story
Kathy Valentine: All I Ever Wanted: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir
Mark Volman with John Cody: Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures With The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, And More
Mick Wall: Life in the Fast Lane: The Eagles’ Reckless Ride Down the Rock & Roll Highway
Ryan H. Walsh: Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968
Ed Ward: The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock
Sheila Weller: Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon–and the Journey of a Generation
Jann S. Wenner: Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir
Lucinda Williams: Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You: A Memoir
Brian Wilson: I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir
Elizabeth Winder: Parachute Women: Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, and the Women Behind the Rolling Stones
Bill Wyman: Stone Alone: The Story Of A Rock’n’Roll Band