Service Alert
Delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials
You may experience a delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials. All requests for materials will be delivered as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
You may experience a delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials. All requests for materials will be delivered as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Showing 1 - 20 of 1655 items
By Martin Popoff. 2021
The conclusion to the definitive biography of the rock 'n' roll kings of the North. In this conclusion to his…
trilogy of authoritative books on Canada's most beloved and successful rock band, Martin Popoff takes us through three decades of "life at the top" for Rush's Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Though this era begins with the brisk-selling Roll the Bones and sees throngs of fans sell out international tours, there is also unimaginable tragedy, with Peart losing his daughter and his wife within the space of ten months and, two decades later, succumbing to cancer himself. In between, however, there is a gorgeous and heartbreaking album of reflection and bereavement, as well as a triumphant trip to Brazil, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and-some say surprisingly-the band's first full-blown concept album to close an immense career marked by integrity and idealismBy Wanda Jackson. 2017
Oklahoman Wanda Jackson tells the story of how she began recording rock music; why she refused to return to the…
Grand Ole Opry for more than fifty years; and how her faith has sustained her for more than seven decades. AdultBy Bono. 2022
"Bono-artist, activist, and the lead singer of Irish rock band U2-has written a memoir: honest and irreverent, intimate and profound,…
Surrender is the story of the remarkable life he's lived, the challenges he's faced, and the friends and family who have shaped and sustained him. Narrated by the author, Surrender is an intimate, immersive listening experience, telling stories from Bono's early days in Dublin, to joining a band and playing sold out stadiums around the world with U2, plus his more than 20 years of activism. Throughout a remarkable life, music has always been a constant for Bono and in the audiobook, his distinctive voice is interwoven with a very personal soundtrack adding atmosphere and texture to each and every scene. From moments of classic U2 hits to snippets by The Clash, Patti Smith, Verdi, Johnny Cash and Mozart, Surrender also exclusively features clips of newly recorded reimagined versions of U2 songs including 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', 'With Or Without You', 'One', 'Beautiful Day' and more, glimpsed for the first time on Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story." -- Provided by publisherBy Robyn Flans. 2020
"Jeff Porcaro was a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning band Toto, and he also recorded and toured with a…
list of artists that reads like a who's who of popular music in the late twentieth century. His long-time friend, Robyn Flans has written this biography of one of the most recorded drummers in history, held in equal esteem by fans and music professionals alike. It includes interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Ron Howard, Jackson Browne, Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs, Peter Frampton and others, plus extensive commentary from Jeff's Toto bandmates and his family." -- Provided by publisherBy Aidan Levy. 2022
"Sonny Rollins has long been considered an enigma. Known as the "Saxophone Colossus," he is widely acknowledged as one of…
the greatest jazz improvisers of all time, winning Grammys, the Austrian Cross of Honor, Sweden's Polar Music Prize and a National Medal of Arts. A bridge from bebop to the avant-garde, he is a lasting link to the golden age of jazz, pictured in the iconic "Great Day in Harlem" portrait. His seven-decade career has been well documented, but the backstage life of the man once called "the only jazz recluse" has gone largely untold-until now. Based on more than 200 interviews with Rollins himself, family members, friends, and collaborators, as well as Rollins' extensive personal archive, Saxophone Colossus is the comprehensive portrait of this legendary saxophonist and composer, civil rights activist and environmentalist. A child of the Harlem Renaissance, Rollins' precocious talent landed him on the bandstand and in the recording studio with Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, or playing opposite Billie Holiday. An icon in his own right, he recorded Tenor Madness, featuring John Coltrane; Way Out West; Freedom Suite, the first civil rights-themed album of the hard bop era; A Night at the Village Vanguard; and the 1956 classic Saxophone Colossus. Yet his meteoric rise to fame was not without its challenges. He served two sentences on Rikers Island and won his battle with heroin addiction. In 1959, Rollins took a two-year sabbatical from recording and performing, practicing up to 16 hours a day on the Williamsburg Bridge. In 1968, he left again to study at an ashram in India. He returned to performing from 1971 until his retirement in 2012.? The story of Sonny Rollins-innovative, unpredictable, larger than life-is the story of jazz itself, and Sonny's own narrative is as timeless and timely as the art form he represents. Part jazz oral history told in the musicians' own words, part chronicle of one man's quest for social justice and spiritual enlightenment, this is the definitive biography of one of the most enduring and influential artists in jazz and American history." -- Provided by publisherBy Todd Mayfield. 2017
"Curtis Mayfield was one of the seminal vocalists and most talented guitarists of his era, and his music played a…
vital role in the civil rights movement: "People Get Ready" was the black anthem of the time. In |Traveling Soul|, Todd Mayfield tells his famously private father's story in riveting detail. Born into dire poverty, raised in the slums of Chicago, Curtis became a musical prodigy, not only singing like a dream but growing into a brilliant songwriter. In the 1960s he opened his own label and production company and worked with many other top artists, including the Staple Singers. Curtis's life was famously cut short by an accident that left him paralyzed, but in his declining health he received the long-awaited recognition of the music industry. Passionate, illuminating, vivid, and absorbing, |Traveling Soul| will doubtlessly take its place among the classics of music biography." -- Provided by publisher"For the first time, music legend Rudy Pérez shares his remarkable journey from a poor refugee kid in Miami to…
composing the greatest hit songs on the world stage. Named the most successful Latin songwriter in history, Rudy Pérez is the creator behind some of the bestselling records of Beyoncé, Julio Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, and IL Divo. In his one-of-a-kind memoir, Rudy tells about his childhood in Cuba and the heart-gripping visits to his father in prison during the height of the communist revolution. Tracing his family's perilous escape on one of the last Freedom Flights to America, Rudy opens up about the years of poverty and growing up in a crime-ridden neighborhood. These memories contrast with tender moments of dancing to the stereo with his siblings, nodding along to his mother's classical favorites, and swaying to blues melodies with his father. At a young age, Rudy tried his hand at recreating the music he loved, and his talent led him to an unprecedented career with over 300 hit songs. With years of hard work, ceaseless creativity, and a strong faith, Rudy was the first Latin music artist to win Billboard Producer of the Decade. Looking back over his five-time Grammy winning legacy, Rudy shares little-known stories of faith and behind-the-scenes details of working with stars like Fergie, Jaci Velasquez, Michael Bolton, Simon Cowell, and Sam Moore." -- GoodreadsBy Mary Rodgers. 2022
""What am I, bologna?" Mary Rodgers (1931-2014) often said. She was referring to being stuck in the middle of a…
talent sandwich: the daughter of one composer and the mother of another. And not just any composers. Her father was Richard Rodgers, perhaps the greatest American melodist; her son, Adam Guettel, a worthy successor. What that leaves out is Mary herself, also a composer, whose musical |Once Upon a Mattress| remains one of the rare revivable Broadway hits written by a woman. |Shy| is the story of how it all happened: how Mary grew from an angry child, constrained by privilege and a parent's overwhelming gift, to become not just a theater figure in her own right but also a renowned author of books for young readers (including the classic |Freaky Friday|) and, in a final grand turn, a doyenne of philanthropy and the chairman of the Juilliard School. But in telling these stories-with copious annotations, contradictions, and interruptions from Jesse Green, the chief theater critic of |The New York Times|-|Shy| also tells another, about a woman liberating herself from disapproving parents and pervasive sexism to find art and romance on her own terms. Whether writing for Judy Holliday or Rin Tin Tin, dating Hal Prince or falling for Stephen Sondheim over a game of chess at thirteen, Rodgers grabbed every chance possible-and then some. Both an eyewitness report from the golden age of American musical theater and a tale of a woman striving for a meaningful life, |Shy| is, above all, a chance to sit at the feet of the kind of woman they don't make anymore-and never did. They make themselves." -- Provided by publisherBy Ruth Pointer. 2016
"|Still So Excited!: My Life as a Pointer Sister| is an engaging, funny, heartbreaking, and poignant look at Ruth Pointer's…
roller-coaster life in and out of the Pointer Sisters. When overnight success came to the Pointer Sisters in 1973, they all thought it was the answer to their long-held prayers. While it may have served as an introduction to the good life, it also was an introduction to the high life of limos, champagne, white glove treatment, and mountains of cocaine that were the norm in the high-flying '70s and '80s. Pointer's devastating addictions took her to the brink of death in 1984. Pointer has bounced back to live a drug- and alcohol-free life for the past 30 years and she shares how in her first autobiography, detailing the Pointer Sisters' humble beginning, musical apprenticeship, stratospheric success, miraculous comeback, and the melodic sound that captured the hearts of millions of music fans." -- Provided by publisherBy Julissa. 2007
"Life is a trajectory with many paths that promise to take you to your final destination. Many times on this…
path called life, you come to a crossroads, and you don't know where to go. You may wonder, "Which route can get me where I want to go the fastest? Will I encounter difficulties along the way? What lies ahead?" These are common questions that everyone has asked themselves at some point in life. Having gone through a process similar to this, I can identify with what young people in today's society are facing. Through this book it is my desire to make this journey of The Rhythm of Life much easier, more desirable and even fun. By sharing (my) life experiences, advice and what God says in His Word, I pray that I can plant hope in the hearts of these boys and girls and influence them to live life to the fullest, in 'God's way'." -- Translation provided by NLSBy Pierre Meige. 2005
Il ne faut pas, lorsqu’on évoque le Rock n’Roll, se contenter d’écouter la musique, comme on le fait trop souvent.…
Les textes aussi, véritables poèmes, ont une importance capitale, surtout quand ils sont signés Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Mick Jagger, Jim Morrison, Syd Barrett ou Lou Reed. Ils nous font pénétrer au cœur d’un univers mystérieux, de velours et de spots, qui a ses signes, ses codes, ses rites et ses martyrs. Poétique, sociologie, psychanalyse, anthropologie, voire médecine et politique, il n’est pas de science inutile à l’étude du Rock. Son langage révèle une prodigieuse et parfois tragique histoire : la vie et la mort du monde adolescent des vingt dernières années. Héros d’une société marginale, les poètes du Rock sont tout aussi respectables — et souvent plus fraternels et fascinants — que ceux de la poésie traditionnelle. Entre Baudelaire et Lou Reed, entre Dylan Thomas et Bob Dylan, nulle différence. Dans son livre, Jean-Michel Varenne étudie les auteurs essentiels, seuls ou par affinité sélective.By Sheldon Pearce. 2021
A New Yorker writer's intimate, revealing account of Tupac Shakur's life and legacy, timed to the fiftieth anniversary of his…
birth and twenty-fifth anniversary of his death. In the summer of 2020, Tupac Shakur's single "Changes" became an anthem for the worldwide protests against the murder of George Floyd. The song became so popular, in fact, it was vaulted back onto the iTunes charts more than twenty years after its release—making it clear that Tupac's music and the way it addresses systemic racism, police brutality, mass incarceration, income inequality, and a failing education system is just as important now as it was back then. In Changes , published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Tupac's birth and twenty-fifth anniversary of his death, Sheldon Pearce offers one of the most thoughtful and comprehensive accounts yet of the artist's life and legacy. Pearce, an editor and writer at The New Yorker , interviews dozens who knew Tupac throughout various phases of his life. While there are plenty of bold-faced names, the book focuses on the individuals who are lesser known and offer fresh stories and rare insight. Among these are the actor who costarred with him in a Harlem production of A Raisin in the Sun when he was twelve years old, the high school drama teacher who recognized and nurtured his talent, the music industry veteran who helped him develop a nonprofit devoted to helping young artists, the Death Row Records executive who has never before spoken on the record, and dozens of others. Meticulously woven together by Pearce, their voices combine to portray Tupac in all his complexity and contradiction. This remarkable book illustrates not only how he changed during his brief twenty-five years on this planet, but how he forever changed the worldBy Dylan Jones. 2023
Drawing on contributions from remaining members, contemporaneous musicians, critics, filmmakers, and the generation of artists who emerged in their wake,…
this definitive oral history celebrates not only the impact of The Velvet Underground but their legacy, which burns brighter than ever in the 21st century. Rebellion always starts somewhere, and in the music world of the transgressive teen—whether it be the 1960s or the 2020s—The Velvet Underground represents ground zero. Crystallizing the idea of the bohemian, urban, narcissistic art school gang around a psychedelic rock and roll band—a stylistic idea that evolved in the rarefied environs of Andy Warhol's Factory—The Velvets were the first major American rock group with a mixed gender line-up. They never smiled in photographs, wore sunglasses indoors, and invented the archetype that would be copied by everyone from Sid Vicious to Bobby Gillespie. They were avant-garde nihilists, writing about drug abuse, prostitution, paranoia, and sado-masochistic sex at a time when the rest of the world was singing about peace and love. In that sense they invented punk and then some. It could even be argued that they invented modern New York. Drawing on interviews and material relating to all major players, from Lou Reed, John Cale, Mo Tucker, Andy Warhol, Jon Savage, Nico, David Bowie, Mary Harron, and many more, award-winning journalist Dylan Jones breaks down the band's whirlwind of subversion and, in a narrative rich in drama and detail, proves why The Velvets remain the original kings and queens of edgeBy Johnny Cash. 2023
The life of the Man in Black revealed by his lyrics, authorized by the Cash estate. Johnny Cash is one…
of the most beloved and influential country-music stars of all time, having composed more than six hundred songs and sold more than ninety million records. He received twenty-nine gold, platinum, and multiplatinum awards for his recordings and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This is the first time Cash's fifty years of songwriting have been collected anywhere; this book includes the lyrics to 125 songs and the stories behind them. Perhaps more than any other American artist, he spoke to the soul of the nation as well as to the triumphs and challenges of his own life. These pages explore Cash's range as a poet and storyteller, taking listeners from his early life and first successes through periods of personal challenge, activism, and faith. The result is a profound understanding of Johnny Cash as a man and an artist, as well as the American story he helped shape. An essential collectible that sheds new light on Cash's life and work, this book includes remembrances from Cash's son, John Carter Cash, "family historian" Mark Stielper. Released for the twentieth anniversary of the legendary musician's passing, it will be a landmark in music publishingBy Henry Threadgill. 2023
An autobiography of one of the towering figures of contemporary American music and a powerful meditation on history, race, capitalism,…
and art. Henry Threadgill has had a singular life in music. At 79, the saxophonist, flautist, and celebrated composer is one of three jazz artists (along with Ornette Coleman and Wynton Marsalis) to have won a Pulitzer Prize. In Easily Slip into Another World , Threadgill recalls his childhood and upbringing in Chicago, his family life and education, and his brilliant career in music. Here are riveting recollections of the music scene in Chicago in the early 1960s, when Threadgill developed his craft among friends and schoolmates who would go on to form the core of the highly influential Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM); the year and a half he spent touring with an evangelical preacher in the mid-1960s; his military service in Vietnam—a riveting tale in itself, but also representative of an under-recognized aspect of jazz history, given the number of musicians in Threadgill’s generation who served in the armed forces. We appreciate his genius as he travels to the Netherlands, Venezuela, Trinidad, Sicily, and Goa enriching his art; immerses himself in the volatile downtown scene in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s; collaborates with choreographers, writers, and theater directors as well as an astonishing range of musicians, from AACM stalwarts (Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, and Leroy Jenkins), to Chicago bluesmen, downtown luminaries, and world music innovators; shares his impressions of the recording industry his perspectives on music education and the history of Black music in the United States; and, of course, accounts for his work with the various ensembles he has directed over the past five decadesBy Geddy Lee. 2023
The long-awaited memoir from the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Rush bassist, and bestselling author of Geddy Lee's…
Big Beautiful Book of Bass. Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll's most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band. Long before Rush accumulated more consecutive gold and platinum records than any rock band after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, before the seven Grammy nominations or the countless electrifying live performances across the globe, Geddy Lee was Gershon Eliezer Weinrib, after his grandfather murdered in the Holocaust. As he recounts the transformation, Lee looks back on his family, in particular his loving parents and their horrific experiences as teenagers during World War II. He talks candidly about his childhood and the pursuit of music that led him to drop out of high school. He tracks the history of Rush which, after early struggles, exploded into one of the most beloved bands of all time. He shares intimate stories of his lifelong friendships with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart—deeply mourning Peart's recent passing—and reveals his obsessions in music and beyond. This rich brew of honesty, humor, and loss makes for a uniquely poignant memoirBy Cole Porter. 1965
The composer's contribution to popular music is treated with affectionate appreciation in an introduction by Arthur Schwartz. There follows an…
account of his career by Porter himself, and the rest of the book consists of discussion by HublerBy Otto Friedrich. 1989
Crazy, eccentric, obsessive, and bizarre are just some of the terms that have been used to describe Glenn Gould. Friedrich…
has used direct quotes from many of the people whom Gould knew during his short career, which ended at age fifty in 1982, in order to paint a picture of a man who was almost a recluse as far as his personal life was concerned, but who was also a genius, totally and obsessively devoted to his musicBy Kenneth Womack. 2023
The first full-length biography of Mal Evans, the Beatles' beloved friend, confidant, and roadie. Malcolm Evans, the Beatles' long-time roadie,…
personal assistant, and devoted friend, was an invaluable member of the band's inner circle. A towering figure in horn-rimmed glasses, Evans loomed large in the Beatles' story, contributing at times as a performer and sometime lyricist, while struggling mightily to protect his beloved "boys." He was there for the whole of the group's remarkable, unparalleled story: from the Shea Stadium triumph through the creation of the timeless cover art for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the famous Let It Be rooftop concert. Leaving a stable job as telecommunications engineer to serve as road manager for this fledgling band, Mal was the odd man out from the start—older, married with children, and without any music business experience. And yet he threw himself headlong into their world, traveling across the globe and making himself indispensable. In the years after the Beatles' disbandment, Big Mal continued in their employ as each embarked upon solo careers. By 1974, he was determined to make his name as a songwriter and record producer, setting off for a new life in Los Angeles, where he penned his memoirs. But in January 1976, on the verge of sharing his book with the world, Evans's story came to a tragic end during a domestic standoff with the LAPD. For Beatles devotes, Mal's life and untimely death have always been shrouded in mystery. For decades, his diaries, manuscripts, and vast collection of memorabilia was missing, seemingly lost forever...until now. Working with full access to Mal's unpublished archives and having conducted hundreds of new interviews, Beatles' scholar and author Kenneth Womack affords readers with a full telling of Mal's unknown story at the heart of the Beatles' legend. Living the Beatles' Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans is the missing puzzle piece in the Fab Four's incredible storyBy Victor Yellin. 1990
George Whitefield Chadwick, like most classically trained musicians before World War II, received a German education. Upon his return to…
the United States, his music was performed more frequently than that of most Americans of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This biography traces his life and work as an innovative teacher and a composer of music with a distinctly American twist