50 Great Music Books

The following are 50 great books about music. Now, these aren’t necessarily the 50 greatest books about music, since there are tons of great music books that I haven’t read, but these are 50 books about music that I recommend, either 'cause they're simply entertaining (i.e. The Dirt) or they contain a lot of useful information. I'd say more about them but frankly that would be too much work, so feel free to check out Amazon.com if you want more details about each book.

General:
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion – Jim Irvin (editor)
The Essential Rock Discography - Martin Strong
The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made – Dave Marsh
The Billboard Book of Number One Hits - Fred Bronson
Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung: The Work of a Legendary Critic: Rock 'N' Roll as Literature and Literature as Rock 'N' Roll - Lester Bangs
Temples Of Sound: Inside The Great Recording Studios - Jim Cogan and William Clark
Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed - Kim Cooper and David Smay (editors)
Legends Of Rock Guitar - Pete Brown and HP Newquist
Pioneers of Rock and Roll: 100 Artists Who Changed the Face of Rock - Harry Sumrall

Jazz:
The Encyclopedia of Jazz - Leonard G. Feather

Country:
The Encyclopedia of Country - Paul Klingsbury (editor)

Blues:
Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta – Robert Palmer

Soul:
Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom – Peter Guralnick
The Sound Of The City – Charlie Gillett
Nowhere to Run: The Story of Soul Music – Gerri Hirshey
Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story Of Stax Records – Rob Bowman

Funk:
Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One – Rickey Vincent

Folk Rock:
Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60s Folk-Rock Revolution - Richie Unterberger
Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock - Richie Unterberger

Heavy Metal:
Metal: The Definitive Guide – Gary Sharpe-Young
The Collector’s Guide To Heavy Metal Volume 1: The Seventies – Martin Popoff
The Collector’s Guide To Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties – Martin Popoff
The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties – Martin Popoff
Lords Of Chaos – Michael Moynihan and Didirk Soderlind

Indie/Alternative/Punk/Post-punk:
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk – Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
England's Dreaming - John Savage
Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 – Simon Reynolds
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 – Michael Azerrad
The Trouser Press Guide to 90's Rock - Ira Robbins (editor)
The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize – David Cavanagh

Britpop:
Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock – John Harris

Biographies:
Song and Dance Man 3: The Art Of Bob Dylan – Michael Gray
Chronicles: Volume One - Bob Dylan
Last Train To Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley – Peter Guralnick
Careless Love: The Unmasking of Elvis Presley – Peter Guralnick
The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited: The Sequel – Johnny Rogan
Divided Soul: The Life Of Marvin Gaye – David Ritz
Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley - David Browne
The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band - Neil Strauss with Motley Crue
Walk This Way: The Autobiography Of Aerosmith - Stephen Davis
Hammer Of The Gods: Led Zeppelin Unauthorized - Stephen Davis
Led Zeppelin: 1968-1980 – Keith Shadwick
Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius - Philip Lambert

The Beatles:
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970 – Mark Lewisohn
Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles – Geoff Emerick
Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties – Ian MacDonald

Series:
The Complete Guide To The Music Of…
33 1/3


Any other great music books I forgot? Send me an e-mail

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