Setting the Record Straight: The music and careers of recording artists from the 1950s and early 1960s... in their own words Review

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Setting the Record Straight: The music and careers of recording artists from the 1950s and early 1960s... in their own words Review"Setting the record straight" is a VERY enjoyable read. Lots of facts from the people involved,this is not a friend or a supposed "expert" telling you something they heard.The book is a fast read ( if you enjoy these little stories ) full of little myths & realities. I enjoyed it so much that i ordered vol 2 (which is every bit as good as vol. 1 was) and have already completed more than 3/4's of it. Great job Mr.Musso. I hope there is a vol. 3 in the works.....Dale F. AbbottSetting the Record Straight: The music and careers of recording artists from the 1950s and early 1960s... in their own words OverviewDespite having become household names during their respective recording careers the biographies of some of the music industry?s biggest names are clouded with inaccuracies, conflicting data, and baseless tales. While a number of the skewed reports might have developed innocently, a product of longtime hearsay, and/or interviews with second-generation group members, other material was simply fabricated by record company agents, with the sole objective of selling an artist to the buying public.The only way to correct the discrepancies was to gather information directly from each artist or founding group member. This book is based on a series of personal conversations with 50 of the music industry?s leading artists, who graciously shared the true stories of their landmark careers. If their music and careers have left an indelible legacy on pop culture, which clearly it has, then the accuracy of their accomplishments deserves to be recorded.Learn why Buddy Holly and the Crickets decided to disband and how Brenda Lee came to be billed as a 32 year old midget during a 1959 tour of France. Hear why Paul left Paula in the midst of a Dick Clark Caravan of Stars concert tour. Discover how a backstage discussion and handshake immediately transformed a young vocal group from Harlem into the legendary Drifters. And hear first-hand accounts about the trials and tribulations, the joys and tragedies of life on the road during the rock and roll era?s infancy.Within these pages, the artists? own words are ?Setting the Record Straight!?

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1000 Songs that Rock Your World: From Rock Classics to one-Hit Wonders, the Music That Lights Your Fire Review

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1000 Songs that Rock Your World: From Rock Classics to one-Hit Wonders, the Music That Lights Your Fire ReviewIt's not correct to say I finished this one. Every time I open it there's something new to look at. This book is just gorgeous and has a ton of retro and vintage rock photos. My favorite is the use of vintage posters, album covers and rock tickets. In addition to the look, Thompson's picks are on the money but he struggles to put some genres into context. One example is an odd placement of a Bela Lugosi biography used at the beginning of a chapter on movie theme songs. Still, this is a book you'll love to own and want to share.1000 Songs that Rock Your World: From Rock Classics to one-Hit Wonders, the Music That Lights Your Fire Overview

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Rockin' Down the Highway: The Cars and People That Made Rock Roll Review

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Rockin' Down the Highway: The Cars and People That Made Rock Roll ReviewI'd say what a great read, but this baby is more than that. You just pick it up and it makes you smile and chuckle in warm appreciation. The connection between cars and music always is kicking around in the back of our heads and somehow here they've caught that in visual and textual mediums. Pick this up and I swear to god it feels as if you are rockin'd down the highway with the AM radio cranked. You can browse through it, or read it cover to cover. And you can just put it on the coffee table if you want to and it still talks to you. I actually feel like sending a check to Grushkin and his co-conspirators just to keep them cookin' on similar projects. And I'm cheap. And I don't gush. If you've even heard of rock and roll and automobiles, buy this baby.Rockin' Down the Highway: The Cars and People That Made Rock Roll OverviewIn the world of music, a car is inspiration, a symbol of freedom and style, and often a way to hit the road and get to the gig. From Robert Johnson's "Terraplane Blues" to rapper Xzibit's hit MTV show, "Pimp My Ride," from pink Cadillacs and L'il Deuce Coupes and Roadrunners, cars have been a constant theme in rock-n-roll. Perhaps it's because references to cars in American song are so pervasive that no one has ever attempted the daunting task of exploring the connection . . . until now.

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Sh-Boom: The Explosion of Rock 'n' Roll (1953-1968) Review

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Sh-Boom: The Explosion of Rock 'n' Roll (1953-1968) ReviewThe writing is robust and beautiful. I wanted to keep it in my life a little longer. Clay Cole has skillfully blended memoirs with cultural history. There are tender moments and others that are very funny. Clay has the well-earned reputation of being one of the kindest people in show business. He does not hold back, however, in describing some of the darker moments in Rock 'n' Roll history. Payola and racism get it right in the chops.
Baby boomers will love this book, but non boomers should not hold back. Everyone's life will be enriched by reading about these legendary times when teenagers wrote and performed for teenagers, and the book could easily be used in writing classrooms as a prime example of how to tell a story.Sh-Boom: The Explosion of Rock 'n' Roll (1953-1968) OverviewThere was a small sliver of time between Be-Bop and Hip-Hop, when a new generation of teenagers created rock 'n' roll. Clay Cole was one of those teenagers he was the host of his own Saturday night, pop music television show.
Clay Cole's SH-BOOM! is the pop culture chronicle of that exciting time, 1953-1968, when teenagers created their own music, from swing bands and pop to rhythm and blues, cover records, a cappella, rockabilly, folk-rock, and girl groups; from the British Invasion to the creation of the American Boy Band. He was first to introduce Chubby Checker performing the "Twist;" the first to present the Rolling Stones, Tony Orlando, Dionne Warwick, Neil Diamond, Bobby Vinton, the Rascals, Ronettes, Four Seasons, Dion, and dozens more; the first to introduce music video clips, discotheque, go-go girls and young unknown standup comedians Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and Fannie Flagg to a teenage television audience.

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Waiting for the Sun: A Rock and Roll History of Los Angeles Review

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Waiting for the Sun: A Rock and Roll History of Los Angeles ReviewBarney Hoskyns' "Waiting for the Sun" is a superbly written and illustrated history of the Los Angeles music scene from the Second World War through the early nineties. There aren't many really good books about popular music around, but this is one of them; in fact, I'd say it's the best book yet written about a music "scene" (as opposed to a particular artist), even better than Jon Savage's "England's Dreaming," which recounts the explosion of punk in the U.K. in the 1970's.
The story moves effortlessly through the progression of musical styles that have flourished and often cross-pollinated each other in Southern California -- small-combo jazz, R&B, early rock & roll, surf music, folk-rock, psychedelia, country rock, heavy metal, punk and rap. The book includes lively portraits of the many famous (and infamous) people who have been a part of it, like Phil Spector, Ricky Nelson, Sam Cooke, David Crosby, Neil Young, Sonny Bono, the Beach Boys, Jim Morrison, Gram Parsons, Charles Manson, Randy Newman, Steely Dan, X and NWA, but also discusses many talented people who never quite made it to the big time, or who lost their way before realizing their full potential. Hoskyns is quite good in describing the business side of the music scene, and in relating events outside the music scene (for example, the booming aerospace industry, the surfing craze, the development of a "San Francisco sound," and the riots of 1965 and 1992) that had a significant impact on it.
In tracing the development of popular music in LA, Hoskyns makes the key point -- though this is hardly news -- that no musical style remains popular very long, and even the most creative and versatile artists simply can't stay on top for more than a couple of years. A handful of artists (Neil Young and Joni Mitchell come to mind) do manage to hold onto a significant audience throughout their careers, but few artists have their level of talent and dedication, and seem to do better by going into production, or management, or the movies, or politics (like Sonny Bono), than trying to rely on an outmoded musical formula.
Another key point is that during the sixties, Los Angeles became the popular music capital of the U.S., if not the world. Los Angeles' preeminence in the industry may be a given now, but even as late as the mid-sixties, many of the top groups lived and worked in New York, Detroit, New Orleans, and elsewhere; as Hoskyns documents, a lively club scene, big-name entertainment companies, sun and palm trees, and growing ranks of like-minded artists, all combined to make the region the entertainment mecca it is today.
This book contains a few small errors, such as repeatedly referring to "Huntingdon" rather than "Huntington" Beach, and ascribing several different publication years to Mike Davis' "City of Quartz," another fine book about Southern California. I also don't understand the significance of the book's lame title, except that it was also the title of the Doors' generally lame third album. Finally, I take issue with Hoskyns' gratuitous bashing of Joan Didion, whose writings on California in the sixties are still -- at least to this Midwesterner -- better than anyone else's.
These minor complaints aside, "Waiting for the Sun" is a superb book, a great addition to the literature on both popular music and Southern California.Waiting for the Sun: A Rock and Roll History of Los Angeles Overview

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Guitar Towns: A Journey to the Crossroads of Rock 'n' Roll Review

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Guitar Towns: A Journey to the Crossroads of Rock 'n' Roll ReviewNo fan of rock or the guitar will be disappointed by this incredible compilation. It is a treasure. Equal parts travelogue and rock and pop music history book, McNutt's work is at once compelling, humorous and touching. Guitar Towns takes you from Guitar Slim duck-walking on car hoods on Bourbon Street in the 1950s to Garth Brooks trudging as a rejected unknown through the alleys of Nashville decades later. You can't put this book down once you pick it up and its stories are unforgettable.Guitar Towns: A Journey to the Crossroads of Rock 'n' Roll Overview"I couldn't put it down. Randy McNutt's passion for music comesthrough loud and clear on every page." -- GeorgeThorogoodEveryone knows the importance of Nashville, New York,LA, and Chicago to popular music, but what about Norfolk and Bakersfield?When recording was more art than commerce, regional music centersflourished. From the 1940s to the 1970s, hundreds of hits -- from "My Guy"to "Five O'Clock World" -- came out of New Orleans, Muscle Shoals,Memphis, Houston, Cincinnati, and other music centers that are too often forgottentoday. The important role they played is described in Randy McNutt's entertainingnew book, Guitar Towns. Paying tribute to neglected treasures,McNutt, a writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer and a record producer himself, traveledacross America to seek the creators of pop music's hits, misses, and myths. The bookrecounts his personal odyssey as it documents an important chapter in Americancultural history.McNutt persuaded singers, songwriters, discjockeys, producers, and session players to talk to him about their lives and theirmusic, and they responded with enthusiasm and flair. Guitar Towns is irresistible toanyone interested in pop music and culture.Each spring my itchfor sonic Americana worsened with the tree pollen. I navigated with two dozen oldand new state and local maps, which I stored in a nylon briefcase on my back seat.Right away, I realized I couldn't visit every music center. So I limited my journeysto areas with strong roots and music ties. I preferred the Soul Zone, a musicalhothouse stretching from Cincinnati to the Gulf of Mexico and an area that wielded adisproportionate influence on American music for decades. Amazingly, Southern musicteams, often consisting of blacks and whites, made high-quality records as theircities churned with racial conflict. -- from Chapter One

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The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Revised and Updated for the 21st Century) Review

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The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Revised and Updated for the 21st Century) ReviewThere are two reasons why I had to get this book. Firstly, my 1995 copy crumbled into an oblivion of dry glue, a spine torn in half and a cover too flabby to endure. I did turn to the book often for information, but from the looks of it, you'd think I shot it out of a canon once a week as well. The book is just as cheaply constructed as other reviewers contend, while the Q Rock Stars Encyclopedia is much friendlier to the reader both aesthetically and physically. Secondly, Rolling Stone's web site used to contain all the information found in this book. Recently, though, the disappointing decision was made to scrap those lengthier and more informative biographies for the infuriatingly cursory headnotes they recently replaced them with.
Some of the omissions noted by other reviewers here are remarkable not necessarily because of the bands omitted, but because of the "artists" Rolling Stone replaced them with. I mean, come on, the guys in Great White aren't exactly pioneers, and why anyone thinks the exclusion of Wierd Al Yankovic is at all noteworthy mystifies me. But to leave them out for Britney Spears? Ricky Martin? What a blow! Couldn't we just scrap Milli Vanilli, for the love of God? It isn't as though Tiffany, who is included in this book, will be remembered any more than Britney 30 years from now; nonetheless I don't consider either pop star worthy of inclusion at the expense of decently talented blues bands such as Great White who at least know what a "chord" is. The real crime with regard to the debate over who's in and who's out is the exclusion of various Native American songwriters such as Jim Boyd or Bill Miller. The former in particular continues to make unbelievable folk rock (some of which was featured on the "Smoke Signals" Soundtrack). The work Boyd has done with Sherman Alexie (songs like the incomparable "Million Miles Away") especially warrants recognition here.
Those objections aside, this really is a nearly inexhaustible resource for fans of any of the 1,900+ bands the book takes a look at. I think that the distant tone with which the entries are written will infuriate more passionate fans who think their heroes aren't getting the accolades they deserve. But as an Encyclopedia's duty is to provide the essential information, this book at least succeeds more often than it fails. My own relationship with its past and current editions is going on about 8 years now. Along with the "Rough Guide to Rock" or the "Encyclopedia of Record Producers," it continues to be one of the few resources I run to for answers to questions or quick tutorials on bands whose work I am yet to be familiar with. I think it should also be noted that people ought not to be mislead by the "Rock 'N Roll" title, as the book includes many bluegrass, country, and folk artists who may not immediately be associated with Rock 'N Roll per say, but who influenced the genre to such an extent that their exclusion from this book would have been egregious. I mean people like Dave Van Ronk, Bill Monroe or Townes Van Zandt.The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Revised and Updated for the 21st Century) OverviewCompletely updated with new entries and extensive revisions of the previous 1,800, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia Of Rock & Roll is the authoritative volume on the world's music makers -- from the one-hit wonders to the megastars. In 1983, Rolling Stone Press introduced its first Rock & Roll Encyclopedia. Almost two decades later, it has become the premier guide to the history of rock & roll, and has been selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum as its official source of information. Giving full coverage to all aspects of the rock scene, it tells the story of rock & roll in a clear and easy reference format, including complete discographies, personnel changes for every band, and backstage information like date and place of birth, from Elvis Presley to Eminem. Since the last edition, the music scene has exploded in every area, from boy-bands to hip-hop, electronica to indie rock. Here, the Encyclopedia explores them all -- 'NSync, Notorious B.I.G., Ricky Martin, Radiohead, Britney Spears, Blink-182, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Portishead, Fatboy Slim, Fiona Apple, Lil' Kim, Limp Bizkit, Oasis, Outkast, Yo La Tengo, TLC, and many, many more. The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Third Edition includes all the facts, phenomena, and flukes that make up the history of rock. Accompanying the biographical and discographical information on the nearly 2,000 artists included in this edition are incisive essays that reveal the performers' musical influences, first breaks, and critical and commercial hits and misses, as well as evaluations of their place in rock history. Filled with hundreds of historical photos, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia is more than just a reference book, it is the bible of rock & roll.

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The Elvis Encyclopedia Review

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The Elvis Encyclopedia Review--In a photo from the set of "Love Me Tender" Richard Egan is identified as George Hamilton.
--The plot outline of "King Creole" includes several mistatements, about the finale in particular.
--The plot outline for "Paradise Hawaiin Style" is incorrect about how the helicopter keys were lost.
--A photo of Elvis with some bikini clad dancing girls is said to be a scene from the movie "Follow That Dream"; I don't remember any such girls from that particular movie.
--The caption of the famous photo of Elvis rehearsing with the hound dog for the Steve Allen show implies that the photo is from the broadcast itself.
After encountering these questionable items within minutes of opening the book, I feared too much else would be unrealiable, so decided not to purchase the book, despite the many good photos, and apparent plethora of information. Also, the print is miniscule, although I admit it had to be to get everything in one volume.
I speak as a long time Elvis fan who values complete accuracy, especially in a book that aspires to be definitive.The Elvis Encyclopedia Overview

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Shakey: Neil Young's Biography Review

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Shakey: Neil Young's Biography ReviewI'm a huge Neil Young fan, with over two dozen of his albums in my collection. But I'm not a fanatic, and as a result I found his biography, "Shakey" to be as stimulating, but as frustratingly erratic as the artist himself. One thing Neil Young could never be accused of is self-censorship, and author Jimmy McDonough writes about him in the same vein, telling in nearly 800 pages a stoory that could have been more succinctly and powerfully conveyed in about half that number. McDonough spent over ten years working on the book, however, and I guess he felt that his huge investment of time justifies the book's length.
The book is a rambling narrative of Young's life, mainly as seen through the eyes of his closest associates, but is told in the Hunter S. Thompson "gonzo" style of journalism as McDonough frequently inserts himself into the story. There is nothing necessarily wrong with this approach, in may have in fact been necessary, but it ends up padding the length. The main story is interspersed with a hundred or so pages of text from McDonough's various interviews with Young in which the artist is quoted verbaitim. It is a fascinating and unprecedented look into Young's mind, but again it starts to become wearing after awhile. Lengthy passages about such relatively uninteresting subjects as Young's passion for model trains slow things down even further.
Ultimately, "Shakey" is likely to be endured only by Young's most ardent fans and will not win the artist any new converts. But I get the feeling that Young would prefer it that way. As McDonough recounts, the quickest way to get Young to drop a song from an album is to tell him its going to be a surefire hit. He is that rare rock star who actually eschews popularity. Young remains a startlingly original talent after nearly four decades in the recording busines and for all of its flaws, "Shakey" manages to capture his essence.Shakey: Neil Young's Biography Overview

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