"A dauntingly ambitious, obsessively researched" (Los Angeles Times) global history of music that reveals how songs have shifted societies and sparked revolutions. Histories of music overwhelmingly suppress stories of the outsiders and rebels who...

This gritty bestselling memoir by the singer Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age, and Soulsavers documents his years as a singer and drug addict in Seattle in the '80s and '90s. When Mark Lanegan first arrived in Seattle in the...

The story of the phenomenon that is Kraftwerk, and how one band revolutionized the cultural landscape of our time.'We are not artists nor musicians. We are workers.' Ignoring nearly all rock traditions, experimenting in near-total secrecy in their...

More than five decades after they first came together and changed the sound of rock 'n' roll, the Grateful Dead remain one of rock's most beloved bands—a musical and cultural phenomenon that spans generations and paved the way for everything from the...

An acclaimed music scholar presents an accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz In How to Listen to Jazz, award-winning music scholar Ted Gioia presents a lively introduction to one of America's premier art forms. He tells us what to...

In "a work as graceful and sublime as a box of rain" (New York Times Book Review), Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh tells the full story of the greatest improvisational band in American history. In this compelling, revelatory bestseller, the legendary...

Standing at the crossroads--the Mississippi crossroads of Robert Johnson and the devil's infamous meeting--Mark Radcliffe found himself facing his own personal crunch point. Aged sixty, he had just mourned the death of his father, only to be handed a...

Secrets of master guitarists, revealed in conversation.Guitar Talk offers interviews with many of the most creative guitarists of our time. This new book presents these conversations, between Joel Harrison and Nels Cline, Pat Metheny, Fred Frith, Bill...

An AudioFile Best Audiobook of 2020The first in-depth biography of the legendary singer and “Voice of the Civil Rights Movement,” who combatted racism and prejudice through her music.Odetta channeled her anger and despair into some of the most powerful...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An accessible and inspirational guide to bringing the art and creativity of songwriting into your life, from the Grammy-winning cofounder of Wilco and Uncle TupeloThere are few creative acts more mysterious and magical than...

Personally compiled and curated by Yoko Ono, Imagine John Yoko is the definitive inside story-told in revelatory detail-of the making of the legendary album and all that surrounded it: the locations, the creative team, the artworks and the films, in the...

A rock 'n roll classic, back in print, updated and revised.One of the funniest rock memoirs ever, Al Kooper's legendary Backstage Passes is available again! Al's quirky life, from would-be teenage rocker, to crashing Bob Dylan's recording session and...

The perfect gift for music and car lovers, Special Deluxe is Neil Young's New York Times bestselling follow-up to Waging Heavy Peace that “reads like a great Neil Young song plays.” (The Buffalo News)In this acclaimed new memoir, New York Times...

A memoir by Morris Day of The Time centering around his lifelong relationship and association with Prince"A vital, illuminating, and wildly entertaining autobiography." -Billboard"Great book! Great storytelling!" -LENNY KRAVITZ"Lean, slick, cooler than...

From the acclaimed author of Last Train to Memphis, this is the definitive biography of Sam Cooke, one of most influential singers and songwriters of all time.Sam Cooke was among the first to blend gospel music and secular themes -- the early foundation...

The long-awaited memoir from the legendary guitarist and cofounder of the seminal British band The Smiths.An artist who helped define a period in popular culture, Johnny Marr tells his story in a memoir as vivid and arresting as his music. The Smiths,...

John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life traces the powerful, life-affirming story of the former Beatle's remarkable comeback after five years of self-imposed retirement.Lennon's final pivotal year would climax in several moments of creative triumph...

A collection of essays on music and life by the famed classical pianist and composerStephen Hough is one of the world’s leading pianists, winning global acclaim and numerous awards, both for his concerts and his recordings. He is also a writer, composer,...

"For me, a truly compelling, fact-packed read all about how guitars are made, look, sound, and play. Atkinson admirably recounts a century of history, invention, and experimentation by experts and amateurs of a revolutionary instrument. Highly...

Now Is the Time to Invent offers a definitive portrait of the vibrant indie-rock scene that flourished in the mid-1980s and reached its creative peak in the 1990s. More than 60 profiles and interviews, taken from the pages of the acclaimed independent...