One thing is for sure, the world of rock music is rarely boring, and if you’re looking to explore some of the best music books ever written, then you’ve come to the right place.
From brilliant autobiographies and compendiums to revelations of all kinds and surprisingly detailed histories, there is plenty of reading material available for devoted music fans to delve into.
You are reading: Best rock music books
Below, you’ll find our selection of 40 of our favorite books ever written about music along with a selection of the best reads from the past year. So whether you’re looking to buy a gift for a friend or looking for something to keep you busy during lockdown, we’re pretty sure you’ll find something on the list that fits your needs.
- the best e-readers you can buy right now
- the best freddie mercury books: the life and music of the icon queen
- the best freddie mercury books neil peart: a guide to the best writing from the late rush drummer
1. the dirt: motley crue with neill strauss
the big one. the (very gross) godfather of rock books. The book was immortalized in the Netflix feature film The Dirt and is so outrageously embarrassing that you’ll often wonder if the events really happened as you read it.
I read in awe and amazement when nikki sixx and company. ascend from smalltime la to the sunset strip and the biggest stages in the world: smoking, fucking and injecting everything, both imaginable and unthinkable.
2. waiting for the sun – by barney hoskyns
From surfboards to singer-songwriters, from svengalis to satanic cults, this multi-generational overview of the music scene reads like a well-written novel.
All the legendary characters are represented (Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa, Gram Parsons), but it’s often the lesser-known names like Van Dyke Parks and Lou Adler who offer the most interesting perspectives. is a story of excess, eccentricity, and enduring musical splendor.
3. hammer of the gods – by stephen davis
Another justifiably popular big shot that has been alternately revered, panned, and republished since it was first published in 1985. Journalist Stephen Davis toured America with Led Zeppelin for two weeks in 1975 as he began his US tour .
For better or worse, her primary source for this unauthorized biography was Richard Cole, sometime Zeppelin roadie/tour manager. for one thing, the band has publicly refuted its accuracy. on the other hand, his juicy, funny and shocking stories have been avidly spilled by thousands.
4. please kill me by the legs mcneil & gillian mccain
The debate over whether the UK or the US can claim to have “invented” punk rock has raged for years. We’ll keep this simple: It was the us.
Please Kill Me brilliantly documents the genre’s messy birth and wildly creative early years by allowing all the key players (lou reed, iggy pop, the ramones, johnny thunders, rob tyner, patti smith, richard hell, debbie harry, etc.) tell their stories in their own words. If punk means more to you than just a slogan on a cleverly ripped t-shirt, you need this book.
5. the true adventures of the rolling stones of stanley booth
See Also: Books-A-Million Application, Jobs & Careers Online
One of the most illuminating images of the 1960s rock revolution you’ve probably read, The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones is also an unrestricted inside look at the rise of the Rolling Stones.
A large part of its appeal lies in its writer. by the time booth met mick, keef and company. he had already drunk scotch whiskey with b.b. king for breakfast” and saw “otis redding show steve cropper the bay pier”. that same zeal is captured here, one hugely attractive triumph, trap, and brush with the law after another.
6. lonely boy: tales of a sex gun by steve jones
The influence of sex pistols on modern music, and especially punk, is simply undeniable. This first-hand account from the band’s guitarist, Steve Jones, manages to capture the meaning of the group through his own eyes, but also delves into his difficult childhood.
there’s no doubt about it: steve jones is one of a kind. he’s hilarious, eccentric, painfully honest, and 100% Lahndahn, which is all the more amazing, since he’s lived in Los Angeles for decades.
7. the beatles: all these years vol.1 by mark lewisohn
Arguably the most gargantuan undertaking in the history of musical literature, volume one of mark lewisohn’s The Beatles Story is simply the first part of a trilogy and ends before Beatlemania.
all these years vol. 1 is incredibly researched and mind-blowingly detailed, its 960 pages teach us a lot about a band we think we already know everything about. And for the terminally curious, there’s also an expanded version that tells the story over 1,700 pages. amazing.
8. murder in the front row by brian lew & harald oimoen
San Francisco natives Brian Lew and Harald Oimoen were two metal-obsessed geeks who found themselves at the epicenter of a world-changing musical revolution when a small band from Los Angeles called Metallica moved to the San Francisco area. the bay on February 12. , 1983.
Largely a photo book, Murder in the Front Row brilliantly captures the camaraderie, raw enthusiasm, and violent, reckless energy of nascent thrash metal, from Metallica’s first rehearsal with bassist Cliff Burton to the release of Reign. peerless slayer in blood. album.
9. our band could be your life by michael azerrad
The bible for anyone interested in folksy punk rock culture, Our Band Could Be Your Life details the birth and development of the American underground rock scene in the 1980s, focusing on biographies of 13 pioneering bands: Black Flag , sonic youth , butthole surfers, mudhoney and fugazi among them, who together charted new ground for pre-nirvana rock music.
Without these bands, and their stubborn independence and upbeat take-no-shit attitude, Nirvana would have been just another local bar band.
10. white line fever by lemmy
First published in 2002 and reprinted several times since then, Lemmy’s autobiography takes some beatings. From her childhood in Wales, through her discovery of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll (not exactly in that order), and through the infamy of rock, white line fever never stops being entertaining.
See Also: How to save money on buying books – or get them for free | Money | The Guardian
lemmy was a cultured and witty character and his book is a fun and warm reminder of the man we lost. essential reading.
11. choosing death by albert mudrian
Subtitled the unlikely history of death metal and grindcore, decibel mudrian magazine’s editor’s text offers an incisive and insightful analysis of the rise of underground extreme metal, charting a path from the back rooms of birmingham pubs to the circuit of stadiums in the United States.
Character inputs like napalm death, cannibal corpse, entomed, death, at the gates and more lend authenticity, while much of the unintended humor comes from the sheer, gleeful naivete of those involved. lords of chaos is more sensational, but this is the smartest book yet written about underground metal.
12. fried and justified by mick houghton
veteran pr mick houghton’s disarmingly honest and ego-free memoir of his time working with some of the most challenging and offbeat acts of the ’80s and ’90s: echo & the bunnymen, julian cope, klf-thrills at his insight and pragmatism.
of klf’s notorious £1m loss, houghton says: “i’ve never been so surprised…in terms of the music business, £1m is nothing…the house of love spent £800,000 in less than a year.”
>
13. i’ll sleep when i’m dead : the dirty life and times of warren zevon by crystal zevon
both in death and in life, warren zevon remains a cult figure. Fortunately, his ex-wife Crystal made sure that his legacy was not completely forgotten. I’ll sleep when I’m dead is not a flattering hagiography; This is a blackly comic oral history that depicts Zevon as equal parts genius and asshole.
Family, collaborators and superstar friends (stephen king, bruce springsteen) praise and crucify a man who lived life with a mixture of pleasure and spite. that a dying zevon gave him his blessing says a lot about the man.
14. 1971: never a dull moment by david hepworth
Never one for groupthink, Hepworth’s persuasive defense of his proposition that 1971 was rock’s greatest year casts a wide cultural web woven with sharp, original thought.
with monumental releases from zeppelin, david bowie, the stones, pink floyd and more that year, what matters less is the nomination, rather its thought-provoking analysis bolstered by impeccable research and style. the appendix listing 100 albums from 1971 is an expert witness in itself.
15. lexicon devil: the fast times and short life of darby crash and the germs by brendan mullen
The story of doomed punk rock anti-hero darby crash and his heroically inept band the germs (which featured future foo fighter pat smear), lexicon devil is a brilliantly sketched portrait of idealism, energy, confusion and self-destruction in the punk scene of the late seventies.
At times hilarious, terrifying and heartbreakingly sad, it’s a vivid and visceral read, pulsating with the energy and color of a Los Angeles lost. Surprisingly, it appears in not one, but two Red Hot Chili Peppers videos (by the way and universally speaking) as the book of choice for Anthony Kiedis.
See Also: The best book scanner in 2022 | Digital Camera World