Most popular Music: styles & genres books

The first and only official autobiography by the much-loved global icon Elton John

Originally handcrafted in 1971 as a gift for friends, this edition of Joni Mitchell's best-loved poems, illustrations, watercolours and hand-lettered song lyrics is now publicly available for the first time

Rihanna invites you into her world with this stunning visual autobiography.

The Thunder Girls by Melanie Blake is a lavish tale of friendship and scandal, rivalry and betrayal.

A fascinating insight into the golden-age of 1970s and 80s rock and roll told through the eyes of music legend Bernie Marsden and, most notably, his role in establishing one of the world's most famous rock bands of all time - Whitesnake.

The perfect Christmas gift for any music lover . 'Hepworth has more insider knowledge and knows more rock anecdotes than any man alive' The Herald'Unmissable for music enthusiasts' Woman & HomeThe Rock and Roll A Level is here to rescue the pop quiz from the grip of bores who know the chart position of everything and the value of nothing.

In an intimate and eye-opening story, roundly praised as the best available insight on Queen, Peter Hince recounts twelve years on the road with Freddie Mercury, Brian May and co. This truly is the definitive book on the 20th century's most iconic rock band.

A companion piece to The Lost Words - A Spell Book by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, this beautifully presented CD features exclusive new spells and artwork and a CD of new music from an incredible collaboration between Julie Fowlis, Karine Polwart, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Kerry Andrew, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter, Jim Molyneux.

The remarkable autobiography of Christy Dignam, lead singer of Aslan and one of Ireland's legendary rock stars

An extraordinary history of the punk movement in East Germany, perfectly timed for the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 3 October 2019.

The second novel from the internationally acclaimed author of A Different Drummer

Despite his death in 1993, Zappa's estate has continued to release several albums per year of archive material. Zappa has inspired musicians from many genres - including electronic music pioneer Brian Eno, composer Bob Gluck and musical satirist 'Wierd Al' Yankovic . The first book to look at this period of Zappa's work in detail.

One Two Another is a collection of the very best lyrics by lead singer of The Charlatans, Tim Burgess, with added commentary and memoir.

Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom.

Winner of the 2010 Non-Fiction National Book Award Patti Smith's evocative, honest and moving coming-of-age story of her extraordinary relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe

Flea, the iconic bassist and co-founder, alongside Anthony Kiedis, of the immortal Red Hot Chili Peppers finally tells his fascinating origin story, complete with all the dizzying highs and the gutter lows you'd expect from an LA street rat turned world-famous rock star. With a foreword by punk rock legend, Patti Smith.

Perfect for music lovers of all ages, the NOW That's What I Call Music Quiz Book is jam-packed with puzzles to get your toes tapping to the last 35 years of pop music!

A journey to the American South in search of friendship, life lessons and bluegrass.

A unique, moving and dazzlingly researched exploration of the places, people, musicians, writers and filmmakers that inspired David Jones to become David Bowie, what we can learn from his life's work and journey, and why he will always matter.

Acting in Musical Theatre remains the only complete course in approaching a role in a musical. It covers fundamental skills for novice actors, practical insights for professionals, and even tips to help veteran musical performers refine their craft. Updates in this expanded and revised second edition include: * A brand new companion website for students and teachers, including Powerpoint lecture slides, sample syllabi, and checklists for projects and exercises., * Learning outcomes for each chapter to guide teachers and students through the book's core ideas and lessons * New style overviews for pop and jukebox musicals * Extensive updated professional insights from field testing with students, young professionals, and industry showcases * Full-colour production images, bringing each chapter to life Acting in Musical Theatre's chapters divide into easy-to-reference units, each containing group and solo exercises, making it the definitive textbook for students and practitioners alike.

Publishing on the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's formation, this is the first book to tell the authorized, in-depth and uncensored story of their infamous manager Peter Grant, a music industry giant and 'the fifth member of Led Zeppelin'.

REVISED EDITION WITH FIVE THOUSAND WORDS BONUS MATERIAL AND NEW PHOTOGRAPHS M Train begins in the tiny Greenwich Village cafe where Smith goes every morning for black coffee, ruminates on the world as it is and the world as it was, and writes in her notebook. Through prose that shifts fluidly between dreams and reality, past and present, and across a landscape of creative aspirations and inspirations, we travel to Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul in Mexico; to a meeting of an Arctic explorer's society in Berlin; to a ramshackle seaside bungalow in New York's Far Rockaway that Smith acquires just before Hurricane Sandy hits; and to the graves of Genet, Plath, Rimbaud and Mishima. Woven throughout are reflections on the writer's craft and on artistic creation., Here, too, are singular memories of Smith's life in Michigan and the irremediable loss of her husband, Fred Sonic Smith. Braiding despair with hope and consolation, illustrated with her signature Polaroids, M Train is a meditation on travel, detective shows, literature and coffee. It is a powerful, deeply moving book by one of the most remarkable artists at work today.

A rich and evocative account of the life and work of Britain's favourite composer from one of our finest conductors.

All Gates Open presents the definitive story of arguably the most influential and revered avant-garde band of the late twentieth century: CAN. Book Two, Can Kiosk, has been assembled by Irmin Schmidt, founding member and guiding spirit of the band, as a 'collage - a technique long associated with CAN's approach to recording.

'Journalist Amy Raphael talks to 18 incredible women about their experiences as musicians and the music industry with fascinating and illuminating results' Stylist

From the early days of his music with Stockton's Wing to training at Ballymaloe Cookery School, food and music have been parallel lines that have kept Mike Hanrahan on track his entire life.

WINNER OF THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZE 2018In the 1950s and 1960s, Memphis, Tennessee, was the launch pad of musical pioneers such as Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Al Green and Isaac Hayes, and by 1968 was a city synonymous with soul music.

A photographic portrait of Elton John, by iconic photographer Terry O'Neill.

The exquisite sound of a lone chorister singing Once in Royal David's City amid the candlelit chapel of King's College, Cambridge, marks the start of the Christmas festivities for millions of people round the globe.

It's a story of why you know your birth sign, why you have friends called Willow, why sex and drugs and rock'n'roll once mattered more than money, why dance music stopped the New-Age Travellers from travelling, and why you need to think twice before taking the brown acid.

Paul Morley's short biographical portrait of Michael Jackson looks at how we turned the most outrageous child star talent of the late 20th century into a monster; This is a rare piece of pop cultural alchemy that cuts through the myth in a way that only a writer as great as Paul Morley could do.

A raucous and vividly dishy memoir by the only woman on the masthead of Rolling Stone Magazine in the Sixties. A female Almost Famous.

Reissue of a riotous chronicle of one of the UK's greatest punk rock bands - the Clash

The vibrant story of how the sound of British pop music was shaped by its industrial cities