27 Best 「bands」 Books of 2024| Books Explorer

In this article, we will rank the recommended books for bands. The list is compiled and ranked by our own score based on reviews and reputation on the Internet.
May include product promotions in this content
Table of Contents
  1. The Big Love: Life & Death with Bill Evans
  2. Black Card: A Novel
  3. Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star
  4. A Journey Through America With the Rolling Stones
  5. Billion dollar baby: A provocative young journalist chronicles his adventures on tour as a performing member of The Alice Cooper Rock-and-Roll Band
  6. Life
  7. The Longest Cocktail Party: An Insider's Diary of the Beatles, Their Million-dollar Apple Empire and Its Wild Rise and Fall
  8. Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon
  9. The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
  10. Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota
Other 17 books
No.1
100

The Big Love: Life & Death with Bill Evans

Verchomin, Laurie
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

pp. 144.paperback edition."Jazz music has never been a stranger to aberrant characters. Throughout the form€™s artistic and commercial heyday of the past hundred years, the only thing that has come close to upstaging its rapturous sounds are the actual individuals responsible for its creation. Further investigation into most facets of life, particularly where art is…

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.2
100

In this NPR Best Book of the Year, a mixed–race punk rock musician must face the real dangers of being Black in America in this “wise meditation on race, authenticity, and belonging” (Nylon).Chris L. Terry’s Black Card is an uncompromising examination of American identity. In an effort to be “Black enough,” a mixed–race punk rock musician indulges his own stereotypical views of African American life by doing what his white bandmates call “Black stuff.” After remaining silent during a racist incident, the unnamed narrator has his Black Card revoked by Lucius, his guide through Richmond, Virginia, where Confederate flags and memorials are a part of everyday life.Determined to win back his Black Card, the narrator sings rap songs at an all–white country music karaoke night, absorbs black pop culture, and attempts to date his Black coworker Mona, who is attacked one night. The narrator becomes the prime suspect, earning the attention of John Donahue, a local police officer with a grudge dating back to high school. Forced to face his past, his relationships with his black father and white mother, and the real consequences and dangers of being Black in America, the narrator must choose who he is before the world decides for him.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.3
100

Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star

Hunter, Ian
HarperCollins Distribution Services

The original version of Ian Hunter’s Diary of a Rock ’n' Roll Star was a five week tour diary of Mott The Hoople’s US tour in November and December 1972. Published in June 1974, the book became a cult classic that set the gold standard for rock writing.This updated version, published on 27 September 2018 by Omnibus Press, contains bonus content from Hunter in the form of a Japanese diary, a new three page foreword from diehard Ian Hunter fan Johnny Depp, exclusive new photos, and an introduction to writing the diary by official biographer Campbell Devine.A brutally honest chronicle of touring life in the 1970s, in 1996 Q magazine declared Diary of a Rock ’n' Roll Star as ‘the best rock book ever’. The Guardian has since described it as ‘an enduring crystallisation of the rock musician’s lot, and a quietly glorious period piece’.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.4
88

The Stones' previous U.S. tour was a crazy chaotic circus that culminated with the murder of a fan by Hells Angels at the infamous Altamont racetrack. Now they were going back to America to play more shows in bigger arenas with a far larger entourage and even more drugs. Robert Greenfield's book is the riveting insider's account of this tour. Features a new foreword by prize-winning, bestselling crime novelist, Ian Rankin.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.6
81

Life

Richards, Keith
Weidenfeld & Nicolson

With the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, the lyrics and the songs that roused the world, and over four decades he lived the original rock and roll life: taking the chances he wanted, speaking his mind, and making it all work in a way that no one before him had ever done. Now, at last, the man himself tells us the story of life in the crossfire hurricane. And what a life. Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records as a child in post-war Kent. Learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones' first fame and success as a bad-boy band. The notorious Redlands drug bust and subsequent series of confrontations with a nervous establishment that led to his enduring image as outlaw and folk hero. Creating immortal riffs such as the ones in 'Jumping Jack Flash' and 'Street Fighting Man' and 'Honky Tonk Women'. Falling in love with Anita Pallenberg and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France, wildfire tours of the US, 'Exile on Main Street' and 'Some Girls'. Ever increasing fame, isolation and addiction. Falling in love with Patti Hansen. Estrangement from Mick Jagger and subsequent reconciliation. Solo albums and performances with his band the Xpensive Winos. Marriage, family and the road that goes on for ever. In a voice that is uniquely and intimately his own, with the disarming honesty that has always been his trademark, Keith Richards brings us the essential life story of our times.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.7
80

When American teenager Richard DiLello wandered into the Beatles' Apple building in 1968, he was immediately appointed "house hippie;" he began making tea, rolling joints, and listening to dozens of demo tapes. By the time Apple crumbled a few years later he was director of public relations. Along the way he noted many of the stoned conversations he heard and the insane bits of business he witnessed: one-man bands auditioning in the reception, Hell's Angels taking over Savile Row, and The Beatles playing on the roof. Full of period detail, this is a fast-paced, witty, and immensely poignant account of the demise of the Fab Four and the death of the '60s dream.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.8
79

When the young Keith Moon was beating the tar out of his drum-kit in Shepherd's Bush in 1964 it would have been unthinkable that this sparky little mod kid would have been the subject of a door- stopping 500-page biography. But young Keith soon mutated into Moon the Loon and joined the pantheon of legendary rock and roll wild men who lived fast and died young and 500 pages now seems the minimum space needed to cover his many excesses.Tony Fletcher has drawn heavily on interviews with Moon's wife, his sister and his girlfriend for the last eight years of his life. Oliver Reed, Alice Cooper, and Larry Hagman also have their say and the picture that emerges is of a man whose outrageous antics sprung from an absurdly over- generous personality. The drink, the drugs and the trashed hotel rooms are all splendidly chronicled as is the music. His drug-fuelled demise is not a pretty sight but Moon had always walked the walk and so the fact that, unlike the other members of The Who, he actually did die before he got old, ultimately comes as no surprise. --Nick Wroe.Also published as Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.9
79

Now a Netflix original movie starring Machine Gun Kelly, Daniel Webber, Douglas Booth, and Iwan Rheon, directed by Jeff Tremaine.“Without a doubt, it is the most detailed account of the awesome pleasures and perils of rock & roll stardom I have ever read. It is completely compelling, and utterly revolting, full of blood, leather, eyeliner, heroin, and, oh yes, the glam metal that made the Eighties...the Eighties.”—Joe Levy, Rolling StoneCelebrate thirty years of the world's most notorious rock band with the deluxe collectors' edition of The Dirt—the outrageous, legendary, no-holds-barred autobiography of Mötley Crüe.Fans have gotten glimpses into the band's crazy world of backstage scandals, celebrity love affairs, rollercoaster drug addictions, and immortal music in Mötley Crüe books like Tommyland and The Heroin Diaries, but now the full spectrum of sin and success by Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, and Mick Mars is an open book in The Dirt. Even fans already familiar with earlier editions of the bestselling exposé will treasure this gorgeous deluxe edition. Joe Levy at Rolling Stone calls The Dirt "without a doubt . . . the most detailed account of the awesome pleasures and perils of rock & roll stardom I have ever read. It is completely compelling and utterly revolting."

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.10
78

A comic memoir of growing up as a heavy metal junkie in rural North Dakota in the 1980s retraces the author's coming of age to the soundtrack of Motley Crue, Ratt, Poison, Krokus, and other hard-hitting, take-no-prisoners rock bands.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.11
78
Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.12
78

Copiously researched and documented, Hit Men is the highly controversial portrait of the pop music industry in all its wild, ruthless the insatiable greed and ambition; the enormous egos; the fierce struggles for profits and power; the vendettas, rivalries, shakedowns, and payoffs. Chronicling the evolution of America's largest music labels from the Tin Pan Alley days to the present day, Fredric Dannen examines in depth the often venal, sometimes illegal dealings among the assorted hustlers and kingpins who rule over this multi-billion-dollar business. Updated with a new last chapter by the author.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.13
77

Black Vinyl White Powder

Bell, Simon Napier
Ebury Press

trade edition paperback vg++

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.14
77

Rod Stewart and the Changing "Faces"

Pidgeon, John
HarperCollins Distribution Services

A 2011 update of THE definitive 1976 book on The Faces, The Small Faces and Rod Stewart by leading British rock journalist John Pidgeon. John himself recounts his hilarious time as a Faces roadie.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.15
77

The "Beatles"

Davies, Hunter
HarperCollins Distribution Services

The ''Beatles'' Davies, Hunter

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.16
77

browned edges, but a good copy. 312 pp.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.17
77

Chronicles Volume 1

Dylan, Bob
Simon & Schuster

BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.18
77

Hugely entertaining interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono conducted by the iconic "Rolling Stone " magazine.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.19
76

'The loveliest – and certainly the most human – book about pop music I've ever read … A delightful and humane soap opera, a real page-turner, full of rounded and entirely recognisable characters.'Jon Ronson, Daily TelegraphTHE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF BRITPOP – BLUR, OASIS, ELASTICA, SUEDE & TONY BLAIRBeginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Founded on rock music, celebrity, boom-time economics and fleeting political optimism – this was 'Cool Britannia'. Records sold in their millions, a new celebrity elite emerged and Tony Blair's Labour Party found itself, at long last, returned to government.Drawing on interviews from all the major bands – including Oasis, Blur, Elastica and Suede – from music journalists, record executives and those close to government, The Last Party charts the rise and fall of the Britpop movement. John Harris was there; and in this gripping new book he argues that the high point of British music's cultural impact also signalled its effective demise – If rock stars were now friends of the government, then how could they continue to matter?Britpop in numbers: There were an astonishing 2.6 million ticket applications for the Oasis gig at Knebworth in 1996. 1 in 24 of the British public wanted to see them play. In the end the band played to 250,000 fans across two nights with a guest list that ran to 7,000. ’Definitely, Maybe’, Oasis's debut album, went straight to No 1, selling 100,000 copies in 4 days and outselling the Three Tenors in second place by a factor of 50% On its first day in the shops Oasis's second album, ‘What's The Story, Morning Glory’, was selling at a rate of 2 copies a minute through HMV's London stores. By 1997 Creation Records (which had been founded 12 years earlier with a bank loan of £1,000 by an ex-British Rail Clerk Alan McGee) announced a turnover of £36million thanks almost entirely to one band: Oasis.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.20
76

As dazzling as the decade they dominated, The Beatles almost single-handedly created pop music as we know it. Today, their songs are cited as seminal influences by stars like Oasis, Blur and Kula Shaker. Eloquently giving voice to their time, the Beatles quite simply changed the world.Updated with material from The Beatles Live at the BBC and the Anthology series, this acclaimed book gets to the heart of The Beatles — their records. It draws on the author’s unique knowledge and experience to “read” their 241 tracks chronologically — from their first amateur efforts in 1957 to Real Love, their final “reunion” recording in 1995. With this engrossing classic of popular criticism, Ian MacDonald shows exactly why the extraordinary songs of the Beatles remain a central and continually surprising presence.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.21
76

The life of Jerry Lee Lewis is one of the most dramatic and tormented in rock 'n' roll history. "Hellfire" remains one of the most remarkable biographies ever written on Lewis . . . "nothing else comes close. . . . Sooner or later, "Hellfire" will be recognized as an American classic" (Greil Marcus).

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.22
76

If ever there were Satanic Majesties of rock their name was Led Zeppelin. The band that out-sold the Rolling Stones and made Robert Johnson's deals with the devil look like a playground game of conkers were as high, inflated and glorified as their namesake. In Stephen Davis' scorching account of their phenomenally successful career, no aspect - however disquieting - is ignored. The infamous encounters with willing groupies in hotel bedrooms, the narcotic, alcoholic and psychotic wreckage they wreaked, the disturbing influence of the notorious mage Aleister Crowley on lead guitarist Jimmy Page and the death of John Bonham are all recorded. Above all, the exultant, blazing charge of their music and its effects on Led Zeppelin and their fans is scrutinized. "Hammer of the Gods" is a fierce and fearless story about a band that remain a legend of musical, sexual and mystical power. It is the last word in rock 'n' roll savagery. 'The biggest surprise success of the year ...the Led Zep tale, drenched in sex, drugs and psychic abuse, demonstrated the validity of all the old adages about talent, power and corruption. Stephen Davis' grimy homage to imperial excesss and demonic influence had fans slavering for more.' - "Rolling Stone."

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.23
76

I Am Ozzy

Osbourne, Ozzy
Sphere

I Am Ozzy

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.24
76

The Sunday Times bestseller.David Bowie was arguably the most influential artist of his time, reinventing himself again and again, transforming music, style and art for over five decades.David Buckley's unique approach to unravelling the Bowie enigma, via interviews with many of the singer's closest associates, biography and academic analysis, makes this unrivalled biography a classic for Bowie fans old and new. This revised edition of Strange Fascination captures exclusive details about the tours, the making of the albums, the arguments, the split-ups, the music and, most importantly, the man himself. Also including exclusive photographic material, Strange Fascination is the most complete account of David Bowie and his impact on pop culture ever written.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.25
76

I was the Fool-king of Soho and the number-one slag in the Groucho Club, the second drunkest member of the world's drunkest band. This was no disaster, though. It was a dream coming true.'For Alex James, music had always been a door to a more eventful life. But as bass player of Blur - one of the most successful British bands of all time - his journey was more exciting and extreme than he could ever have predicted. In Bit of a Blur he chronicles his journey from a slug-infested flat in Camberwell to a world of screaming fans and private jets - and his eventual search to find meaning and happiness (and, perhaps most importantly, the perfect cheese), in an increasingly surreal world.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.26
76

The comic strips of Colin B. Morton and Chuck Death deliver an irreverent, heartfelt, and devastatingly funny history of rock and roll. Like Monty Python at its best, their version is surreal and ridiculous - yet somehow everything in it rings true. According to Morton and Death, the bass player in Led Zeppelin was Jean-Paul Sartre. And despite having been able to think up brilliant titles for their first three albums, Led Zeppelin were stuck for what to call the fourth one - so they put a load of prunes on the front. In strip after strip, Morton & Death pinpoint the absurdities and oddities of rock history. In the process, they often come closer to its truth than conventional accounts do, as well as being far more entertaining. As for the drawings, their caricatures of rock stars from Mick Jagger to Frank Zappa, Johnny Rotten to Courtney Love, are in themselves worth the price of admission.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
No.27
76

The paperback will have a brand new chapter on the band's historic decision to re-form after so many years in order to play at the LIVE8 concert, including Sir Bob's intervention! Plus new, never before seen, photos of the band both onstage and backstage at the concert. One of the most fascinating rock bands ever, Pink Floyd was formed in 1965. After a year in the London 'underground' experimenting with revolutionary techniques like lights which matched their music, they released their first single in 1966. Their breakthrough album, THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, was released in 1973 and stayed in the charts until 1982, the longest a record has ever been continuously in the charts, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. In 1975 they released WISH YOU WERE HERE which reached iconic status, then in 1979 THE WALL went to number 1 in almost every country in the world. The movie version of THE WALL starring Bob Geldof was released in 1982, becoming a cult favorite. In the 1980s a rift developed between the band members which culminated in law suits. Only recently have there been reconciliations which have allowed founder member Nick Mason to write his personal take on the band's history.

Everyone's Review
No reviews yet.
search