Gram Parons lived hard and died young, and left behind a musical legacy that has influenced generations of rock and country legends. Ben Fong-Torres's moving account of his story--from his poor-little-rich-kid childhood; through his seminal time with the Byrds and his own bands, the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Fallen Angels; to days and nights spent with the likes of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Emmylou Harris--is a classic of rock biography. This newly expanded edition updates the text and discograph, adds rare new photographs, and concludes with an intriguing epilogue that answers some lingering questions about Gram's untimely death--and raised a few more.
This four-volume work provides provocative critical analyses of 160 of the best popular music albums of the past 50 years, from the well-known and mainstream to the quirky and offbeat. The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations contains critical analysis essays on 160 significant pop music albums from 1960 to 2010. The selected albums represent the pop, rock, soul, R&B, hip hop, country, and alternative genres, including artists such as 2Pac, Carole King, James Brown, The Beatles, and Willie Nelson. Each volume contains brief sidebars with biographical information about key performers and producers, as well as descriptions of particular music industry topics pertaining to the development of the album over this 50-year period. Due to its examination of a broad time frame and wide range of musical styles, and its depth of analysis that goes beyond that in other books about essential albums of the past and present, this collection will appeal strongly to music fans of all tastes and interests.
“A terrific biography of a rock innovator that hums with juicy detail and wincing truth. . . . Page after page groans with the folly of the ’60s drug culture, the tragedy of talent toasted before its time, the curse of wealth and the madness of wasted opportunity.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES • NAMED ONE OF THE FIVE BEST ROCK BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ROLLING STONE As a singer and songwriter, Gram Parsons stood at the nexus of countless musical crossroads, and he sold his soul to the devil at every one. His intimates and collaborators included Keith Richards, William Burroughs, Marianne Faithfull, Peter Fonda, Roger McGuinn, and Clarence White. Parsons led the Byrds to create the seminal country rock masterpiece Sweetheart of the Rodeo, helped to guide the Rolling Stones beyond the blues in their appreciation of American roots music, and found his musical soul mate in Emmylou Harris. Parsons’ solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel, are now recognized as visionary masterpieces of the transcendental jambalaya of rock, soul, country, gospel, and blues Parsons named “Cosmic American Music.” Parsons had everything—looks, charisma, money, style, the best drugs, the most heartbreaking voice—and threw it all away with both hands, dying of a drug and alcohol overdose at age twenty-six. In this beautifully written, raucous, meticulously researched biography, David N. Meyer gives Parsons’ mythic life its due. From interviews with hundreds of the famous and obscure who knew and worked closely with Parsons–many who have never spoken publicly about him before–Meyer conjures a dazzling panorama of the artist and his era. Praise for Twenty Thousand Roads “Far and away the most thorough biography of Parsons . . . skewers any number of myths surrounding this endlessly mythologized performer.”—Los Angeles Times “The definitive account of Gram Parsons’ life–and early death. From the country-rock pioneer’s wealthy, wildly dysfunctional family through his symbiotic friendship with Keith Richards, Meyer deftly illuminates one of rock’s most elusive figures.”—Rolling Stone “Meticulously researched . . . Though Meyer answers a lot of long-burning questions, he preserves Parsons’ legend as a man of mystery.”—Entertainment Weekly “Meyer gives Parsons a thorough, Peter Guralnick-like treatment.”—New York Post
An insightful and wide-ranging look at one of America’s most popular genres of music, Walking the Line: Country Music Lyricists and American Culture examines how country songwriters engage with their nation’s religion, literature, and politics. Country fans have long encountered the concept of walking the line, from Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” to Waylon Jennings’s “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line.” Walking the line requires following strict codes, respecting territories, and, sometimes, recognizing that only the slightest boundary separates conflicting allegiances. However, even as the term acknowledges control, it suggests rebellion, the consideration of what lies on the other side of the line, and perhaps the desire to violate that code. For lyricists, the line presents a moment of expression, an opportunity to relate an idea, image, or emotion. These lines represent boundaries of their kind as well, but as the chapters in this volume indicate, some of the more successful country lyricists have tested and expanded the boundaries as they have challenged musical, social, and political conventions, often reevaluating what “country” means in country music. From Jimmie Rodgers’s redefinitions of democracy, to revisions of Southern Christianity by Hank Williams and Willie Nelson, to feminist retellings by Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton to masculine reconstructions by Merle Haggard and Cindy Walker, to Steve Earle’s reworking of American ideologies, this collection examines how country lyricists walk the line. In weighing the influence of the lyricists’ accomplishments, the contributing authors walk the line in turn, exploring iconic country lyrics that have tested and expanded boundaries, challenged musical, social, and political conventions, and reevaluated what “country” means in country music.
On September 19, 1973, Gram Parsons became yet another rock-and-roll casualty in an era of excess, a time when young men wore their dangerous habits like badges of honor. Unfortunately, his many musical accomplishments have been overshadowed by a morbid fascination with his drug overdose in the Joshua Tree desert at the age of twenty-six. Known as the father of country rock, Parsons played with the International Submarine Band, The Byrds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. In the late 1960s and early 70s, he was a key confidante of Keith Richards. In 1972, he gave Emmylou Harris her first big break. When Tom Petty re-formed his Florida garage band Mudcrutch, he invoked the name of Gram Parsons as an inspiration. Musicians as diverse as Elvis Costello, Dwight Yoakam, Ryan Adams, Patty Griffin, and Steve Earle have also paid homage to alt-country's patron saint. In Calling Me Home, Kealing traces the entire arc of Parsons's career, emphasizing his Southern roots. Drawing on dozens of new interviews as well as rare letters and photographs provided by Parsons's family and legendary photojournalist Ted Polumbaum, Kealing has uncovered facts that even the most stalwart Parsons fans will find revealing. Travelling from Parsons' boyhood home in Waycross, Georgia, to the southern folk mecca of Coconut Grove, Florida, from the birthplace of outlaw country in Austin, Texas, to the Ryman auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee Kealing celebrates Parsons's timeless and transformative musical legacy.
Conveying Lived Experience through Rock and Pop Music Lyrics explores seven decades of lyrics to elucidate themes about the human experience. The opening chapters discuss romantic relationships and break ups. Subsequent chapters consider lyrics describing nostalgia, as well as those about leaving home, going on the road, and returning home. Then, successive chapters examine the outsider in society, those experiencing mental illness, and alcohol and drug use. Next, songs of social and political critique are surveyed, followed by an examination of utopian and dystopian lyrics. The final chapters analyze songs using prophetic voices and those about the afterlife. This survey shows how lyrics convey the lived experience of people in contemporary society.
The Little Black Book Of 6-Chord Songs follows on from the successful 5-chord book, offering over seventy songs for the beginner guitarist which won’t require you to memorise a ream of obscure, hard to finger chords. Every one of these pieces can be played with only six chords! Each piece is presented with Guitar chord diagrams and full lyrics. The song list includes: - The A Team [Sheeran, Ed] - A House Is Not A Motel [Love] - Bird On A Wire [Leonard Cohen] - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap [AC/DC] - Empire State Of Mind [Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys] - Enter Sandman [Metallica] - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) [The Buzzcocks] - Father And Son [Cat Stevens] - God Put A Smile Upon Your Face [Coldplay] - Golden Brown [The Stranglers] - Hand In Glove [The Smiths] - Happy Together [The Turtles] - Heart Of Glass [Blondie] - Like A Rolling Stone [Bob Dylan] - Live Forever [Oasis] - The Man Comes Around [Johnny Cash] - Respect [Aretha Franklin] - Rock The Casbah [The Clash] - Smells Like Teen Spirit [Nirvana] - Somebody Told Me [The Killers] - Son Of A Preacher Man [Dusty Springfield] - Teenage Kicks [The Undertones] - Torn [Natalie Imbruglia] - Toxic [Britney Spears] - You Really Got Me [The Kinks] And many more!
The Little Black Songbook Of Acoustic Songs For Ukulele is a bumper songbook, packed to the brim with chords for over 70 acoustic songs from the biggest names in rock and pop. Each song has been carefully arranged for Voice and Ukulele, in the same key as the original recordings, with complete lyrics and a handy chord-box reference sheet. This little book includes: - A Day In The Life [The Beatles] - American Pie [Don McLean] - Angie [The Rolling Stones] - Army Dreamers [Kate Bush] - Babylon [David Gray] - Blue Jeans [Lana Del Rey] - Boulder To Birmingham [Emmylou Harris] - Chasing Cars [Snow Patrol] - Come On Eileen [Dexy's Midnight Runners] - Cosmic Dancer [T. Rex] - Dog Days Are Over [Florence + The Machine] - End Of A Century [Blur] - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall [Coldplay] - Everyday [Buddy Holly] - First We Take Manhattan [Leonard Cohen] - Get Lucky [Daft Punk] - Go Your Own Way [Fleetwood Mac] - God Only Knows [The Beach Boys] - Ho Hey [The Lumineers] - I Say A Little Prayer [Franklin, Aretha] And many more!
A fascinating account of the music and epic social change of 1973, a defining year for David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Eagles, Elvis Presley, and the former members of The Beatles. 1973 was the year rock hit its peak while splintering—just like the rest of the world. Ziggy Stardust travelled to America in David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane. The Dark Side of the Moon began its epic run on the Billboard charts, inspired by the madness of Pink Floyd's founder, while all four former Beatles scored top ten albums, two hitting #1. FM battled AM, and Motown battled Philly on the charts, as the era of protest soul gave way to disco, while DJ Kool Herc gave birth to hip hop in the Bronx. The glam rock of the New York Dolls and Alice Cooper split into glam metal and punk. Hippies and rednecks made peace in Austin thanks to Willie Nelson, while outlaw country, country rock, and Southern rock each pointed toward modern country. The Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, and the Band played the largest rock concert to date at Watkins Glen. Led Zep’s Houses of the Holy reflected the rise of funk and reggae. The singer songwriter movement led by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell flourished at the Troubadour and Max’s Kansas City, where Bruce Springsteen and Bob Marley shared bill. Elvis Presley’s Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite was NBC’s top-rated special of the year, while Elton John’s albums dominated the number one spot for two and a half months. Just as U.S. involvement in Vietnam drew to a close, Roe v. Wade ignited a new phase in the culture war. While the oil crisis imploded the American dream of endless prosperity, and Watergate’s walls closed in on Nixon, the music of 1973 both reflected a shattered world and brought us together.
