Secondhand Music Books

Charles Mingus is one of the most important-and most mythologized-composers and performers in jazz history. Classically trained and of mixed race, he was an outspoken innovator as well as a...

'My own private world is in this diary.' - Ronnie WoodBefore he was a Rolling Stone, a Face, or a member of the Jeff Beck Group, Ronnie Wood flew the...

One Direction: One & Only, an unofficial biography. From X-Factor to wow-factor: adored at home and provoking a Beatlemania-style reaction in the US and Canada - the boys have conquered...

'Call it 'charm', call it 'magic', call it 'Maria'' - Dorle Soria'The new face of Maria Callas ... is even more dramatic than how History (with a capital H) has...

Every generation or so an opera singer attains the kind of public adulation and affection usually reserved for film stars or pop singers. Luciano Pavarotti reached this level of fame:...

From March 1965 to May 1966, photographer Bent Rej enjoyed unique access to The Rolling Stones, having become one of the trusted inner circle of friends and associates, accompanying them...

The history of Irish traditional music, song and dance from the mythological harp of the Dagda right up to Riverdance. Exploring an abundant spectrum of historical sources, music and folklore,...

Britain in the late 1990s. Post Britpop. The dawn of the rock and roll apocalypse. If it feels like there's nothing new under the sun, that's because there is nothing...

'Hello, I'm Stephen the Fry. Now time for the first outing of a brand, spanking new feature here on "The Incomplete and Utter History of Classic Music"...putting some unsuspecting figure...

The strange tale of a boy named Flea starts in Rye, NY. It was all very normal. But soon his parents divorced and his mother Patricia remarried a jazz musician....

The Encyclopedia of Popular Music is universally recognized as the most comprehensive and authoritative reference work available on popular music. This new updated Concise Edition of the eight-volume library edition...

An innovative biography of the master of jazzOne of the most romantic, flamboyant and charismatic figures in the colourful world of jazz, Duke Ellington rose in five years from signwriter,...

One of the defining rock groups of the 20th Century, Thin Lizzy began life in Dublin in 1969 when childhood friends Phil Lynott and Brian Downey were approached by two...

From the storied ache of mbube harmonies of the '40s to the electronic boom of kwaito and the amapiano and house explosion of the '00s, this book explores vignettes taken...

An intimate, autobiographical poetry collection from legendary artist and activist, Joan Baez.Joan Baez shares poems for or about her contemporaries (such as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and Jimi Hendrix), reflections...

The Sunday Times' Music Book of the Year 2017Allan Jones launched Uncut magazine in 1997 and for 15 years wrote a popular monthly column called Stop Me If You've Heard...

Julia Crowe interviews the world's leading guitarists, from Les Paul, Carlos Santana, Peter Frampton and Jimmie Vaughan, Joe Satriani, Melissa Etheridge, to Lee Ranaldo, George Benson and Jimmy Page. In...

***Nominated for the 2024 Penderyn Music Book Prize***A Times Book of the YearA Financial Times Book of the YearA Waterstones Book of the Year'Reading the book made me want to...

The first biography written with Paul McCartney's approval and with access to family members and friends closest to him. Superbly evoking half a century of popular music and culture, Paul...

'Ever since the war I have thought about gathering the bits of paper with my song lyrics scattered around and about. Two drunkards cornered me in a hotel room near...

*** Accompanies BBC2's major new TV series and The Story of Music in 50 Pieces on Radio 3 *** In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric...

Before there was Madonna or Beyonce, there was Googoosh. For the first time, one of the biggest pop stars of the 20th century tells her remarkable story: her rise to...

From bestselling biographer Sean Smith comes the fascinating and tumultuous true story behind Sir Tom Jones, the nation's treasure, sage of The Voice and living music legend. Celebrating his 75th...

I was six or seven when I noticed the music in my head. It was there in the classroom, on the football pitch, at the dinner table, when I went...