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I Am the Warrior: My Crazy Life Writing the Hits and Rocking the MTV Eighties
by Holly KnightHolly Knight&’s singular music career included crafting a good part of the soundtrack to the MTV eighties with mega-hits for Tina Turner (&“The Best&”), Pat Benatar (&“Love Is A Battlefield&”), and Patty Smyth (&“The Warrior&”)—songs that celebrated female empowerment and shaped pop and rock for years to come.&“Holly Knight wrote some of the best and toughest songs for female artists. Her songs helped pave the way for women in rock. Not to mention a few dudes.&” —Patty Smyth As a writer and musician, Holly Knight worked hard and played hard with the likes of KISS, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and Heart. She showed the boys how it was done when many women were still struggling to get a foot in the door. Starting in the late 1970s in post-punk New York, Knight, a gifted keyboardist, joined the band Spider—which quickly ascended to buzzworthy status before things began to disintegrate. Fortunately, her song &“Better Be Good to Me&” found its way to Tina Turner and became the second single on her landmark solo album, Private Dancer, launching Holly into rarified air. Soon she was being sought out to write for other artists in search of the big hit or their lead single. Coinciding with the birth of MTV, Knight&’s powerful lyrics, hooks, and melodies became a staple on the channel as it exploded into a cultural force. &“People who grew up in the eighties tell me that MTV was the soundtrack to their lives. Holly Knight deserves much of the credit. Few songwriters have written such a diverse collection of songs for such a broad range of superstars.&” —Alan Hunter But it was an often lonely journey to success. Not only was Holly a woman in a male-dominated industry that didn&’t welcome women warmly into the inner sanctum, she carried with her the baggage of a difficult childhood and a fraught relationship with her mother, the substance of which informed the themes that made her songs so anthemic. I Am the Warrior is a story of survival, perseverance, and triumph laced with ample amounts of sex, drugs, and rock &’n&’ roll. Backstage, onstage, in the studio, and on the road, this book is a revealing, bang-bang tale that welcomes you along for a look back at one of the most adventurous and colorful periods in music history. &“I Am the Warrior takes readers on a wild ride through the eighties world of rock &’n&’ roll from a strong female&’s perspective. Songwriters Hall of Fame-inductee Holly Knight delivers the goods and stands out as a creative, gutsy woman who made her way through a field dominated by men, ultimately coming out on top. If you love music like I do, this is a must-read!&” —Cassandra Peterson (AKA Elvira, Mistress of the Dark)
I Am the Wolf: Lyrics and Writings
by Mark LaneganA collection of lyrics and autobiographical commentary by singer Mark Lanegan, with a preface by John Cale and a foreword by MobyWith a voice that Pitchfork has called "as scratchy as a three-day beard yet as supple and pliable as moccasin leather," former Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age vocalist Mark Lanegan draws frequent comparisons to masters like Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. Lanegan's voice is one of the most distinct and recognizable in rock, but his talents aren't limited to his vocal skills. Lanegan's lyrics are on par with the best of them, exploring with Blake-like insight the stark and scorched emotional terrain that exists somewhere beyond sadness, addiction, trauma, and spiritual longing.With a body of work that now includes seven albums with the Screaming Trees, eleven acclaimed solo albums, three albums of duets with Belle and Sebastian's Isobel Campbell (including the Mercury Prize-shortlisted Ballad of the Broken Seas), and collaborative albums and singles with the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Moby, Soulsavers, Twilight Singers, and countless others, Mark Lanegan occupies a singular space in rock music.Now, for the first time ever, the reclusive singer presents a comprehensive look at his lyrics, the stories behind them, and the making of his albums. I Am the Wolf is a rare and candid glimpse into the inner workings and creative process of a legend.
I and I Bob Marley
by Tony MedinaA poetic biography of the Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley, providing a glimpse into significant moments and themes from his life, such as his mixed-race background, Rastafarian faith, and passion for music. The book includes end notes with additional biographical details about the poems.
I and I Bob Marley
by Tony MedinaA biography in verse of reggae legend Bob Marley, exploring the influences that shaped his life and music on his journey from rural Jamaican childhood to international superstardom.Born in the Jamaican countryside in 1945, Bob Marley seemed special from birth. The curious, intuitive boy had an extraordinary gift for absorbing and interpreting the world around him. Influenced by his biracial heritage, his island home, and the injustices he observed in everyday life, Bob went on to become a musician and messenger; a poet and prophet of reggae culture. His music echoed from Jamaica all the way across the globe, spreading his heartfelt message of peace, love, and equality to everyone who heard his songs. Brimming with imagination and insight, I and I Bob Marley, is a multifaceted tribute befitting this international musical legend. Soulful, sun-drenched paintings transport readers to Bob Marley's Jamaica, while uniquely perceptive poems bring to life his fascinating journey from boy to icon.
I Believe I'll Go Back Home: Roots and Revival in New England Folk Music
by Thomas S. CurrenBetween 1959 and 1968, New England saw a folk revival emerge in more than fifty clubs and coffeehouses, a revolution led by college dropouts, young bohemians, and lovers of traditional music that renewed the work of the region's intellectuals and reformers. From Club 47 in Harvard Square to candlelit venues in Ipswich, Martha's Vineyard, and Amherst, budding musicians and hopeful audiences alike embraced folk music, progressive ideals, and community as alternatives to an increasingly toxic consumer culture. While the Boston-Cambridge Folk Revival was short-lived, the youthful attention that it spurred played a crucial role in the civil rights, world peace, and back-to-the-land movements emerging across the country. Fueled by interviews with key players from the folk music scene, I Believe I'll Go Back Home traces a direct line from Yankee revolutionaries, up-country dancers, and nineteenth-century pacifists to the emergence of blues and rock 'n' roll, ultimately landing at the period of the folk revival. Thomas S. Curren presents the richness and diversity of the New England folk tradition, which continues to provide perspective, inspiration, and healing in the present day.
I Die Each Time I Hear the Sound: A Memoir
by Mike DoughtyA precise yet disorienting look at the exhilaration of music, the process of memory, and the moments when the world becomes new, by the acclaimed songwriter and author of The Book of Drugs "[Mike Doughty's writing is] astonishingly vital, energized, and natural. . . . acerbic and sometimes lacerating."--RICK MOODY, author of The Long Accomplishment and The Ice Storm In this highly original gathering of autobiographical stories, the musician and writer Mike Doughty, in his inimitable voice, sends dispatches from a touring musician's peripatetic life, vividly recalling moments when profound musical experiences made him see the world anew.I Die Each Time I Hear the Sound consists of sometimes-surreal tales, drawing from conflations of memory, especially formative moments in New York City in the 1990s. It looks at how the avid nostalgia of fans is both a boon and a burden for an artist working to stay vital, and what it is to age while touring, and prolifically releasing new music. He examines the struggle to keep relationships alive while living on the road, and the strangeness of the disconnect between performer and audience. A unique narrative, unstuck in time, and an unforgettable examination of what it is to be an artist in this cultural moment, I Die Each Time I Hear the Sound is funny, vulnerable, and unsparing.
I, Doll: Life and Death with the New York Dolls
by Arthur Killer KaneWhen the New York Dolls' bassist died suddenly at age 55 in 2004, he left behind not only their timeless music--and many thousands of fans and friends--but a memoir of the Dolls' early years. This distinctive and extroverted voice of an undisciplined showman is presented with an introduction and epilogue by his widow, Barbara. This up close and personal perspective of the band's early days and late nights--including an instance where he locks himself out of the studio in full drag while tripping on LSD--chronicles the glorious, glamorous era of high times, high drama, and low comedy that captures the music, the style, and the life of the all-too-brief existence of the New York Dolls.
I Don't Like the Blues: Race, Place, and the Backbeat of Black Life
by B. Brian FosterHow do you love and not like the same thing at the same time? This was the riddle that met Mississippi writer B. Brian Foster when he returned to his home state to learn about Black culture and found himself hearing about the blues. One moment, Black Mississippians would say they knew and appreciated the blues. The next, they would say they didn't like it. For five years, Foster listened and asked: "How?" "Why not?" "Will it ever change?" This is the story of the answers to his questions.In this illuminating work, Foster takes us where not many blues writers and scholars have gone: into the homes, memories, speculative visions, and lifeworlds of Black folks in contemporary Mississippi to hear what they have to say about the blues and all that has come about since their forebears first sang them. In so doing, Foster urges us to think differently about race, place, and community development and models a different way of hearing the sounds of Black life, a method that he calls listening for the backbeat.
I Don't Sound Like Nobody: Remaking Music in 1950's America
by Albin J. Zak IIIThe 1950s marked a radical transformation in American popular music as the nation drifted away from its love affair with big band swing to embrace the unschooled and unruly new sounds of rock 'n' roll. The sudden flood of records from the margins of the music industry left impressions on the pop soundscape that would eventually reshape long-established listening habits and expectations, as well as conventions of songwriting, performance, and recording. When Elvis Presley claimed, "I don't sound like nobody," a year before he made his first commercial record, he unwittingly articulated the era's musical Zeitgeist. The central story line of I Don't Sound Like Nobody is change itself. The book's characters include not just performers but engineers, producers, songwriters, label owners, radio personalities, and fans---all of them key players in the decade's musical transformation. Written in engaging, accessible prose, Albin Zak's I Don't Sound Like Nobody approaches musical and historical issues of the 1950s through the lens of recordings and fashions a compelling story of the birth of a new musical language. The book belongs on the shelf of every modern music aficionado and every scholar of rock 'n' roll. Albin J. Zak III is Professor of Music at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He is the editor of The Velvet Underground Companion and the author of The Poetics of Rock: Cutting Tracks, Making Records, a groundbreaking study of rock music production. Zak is also a record producer, songwriter, singer, and guitarist.
I Don't Want to Go Home: The Oral History of the Stone Pony
by Nick CorasanitiA captivating oral history of the iconic music venue the Stone Pony and of the rise, fall, and rebirth of Asbury Park, New Jersey—featuring interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, Southside Johnny, members of the E Street Band and Asbury Jukes, the Ramones, the Jonas Brothers, Jack Antonoff, and other legendary musicians.Featuring exclusive, never-before-seen photos from Danny ClinchIn 1970, Asbury Park, New Jersey, was ripped apart by race riots that left the once-proud beach town an hour away from Manhattan smoldering, suffering and left for dead.Four years later, a few miles down the coast in Seaside Heights, two bouncers, Jack Roig and Butch Pielka, tired of the daily grind, dreamt of owning their own place. Under-prepared and minimally funded, the two bought the first bar they considered, in a city where no one wanted to be, without setting one foot in the place. They named it the Stone Pony, and turned it into a rock club that Bruce Springsteen would soon call home and a dying town would call its beating heart.But the bar had to fight to survive. Despite its success in launching and attracting rockers like Stevie Van Zandt, “Southside” Johnny Lyon, and Springsteen, the Stone Pony—like everything in Asbury Park for the past half century—could only weather the drags of a depressed city for so long.How did the Stone Pony beat the odds to survive? How did it become an international rock pilgrimage site, not just for fans of Springsteen, but for punk rockers, jam bands, pop, indie, alternative and many other musicians as well? And how did it continue to inspire and influence a hall-of-fame list of New Jersey and national rock stars? The story of the Stone Pony—thrillingly charted in this detailed oral history—is the chronicle of a proud and unique cultural mecca blooming in a down-but-not-yet-out tough town. As Nick Corasaniti reveals, the stories of Asbury Park and the Stone Pony are that of modern America itself—a place of battered hopes, big dreams, and dogged resilience.
I Dream He Talks to Me: A Memoir of Learning How to Listen
by Allison MoorerWhen Allison&’s son, John Henry, stopped using his growing vocabulary just before his second birthday, she knew in her bones that something was shifting. In the years since his autism diagnosis, Allison and John Henry have embarked on an intense journey filled with the adventure, joy, heartbreak, confusion, and powerful love lessons that are the hallmarks of a quest for understanding.In I Dream He Talks to Me, Allison details the meltdowns and the moments of grace, and how the mundane expectations of a parent turn into extraordinary achievements. The saying goes, &“If you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism&”; no two stories are alike, and yet there are universal truths that apply to all parent-child relationships. With gorgeous prose, Allison shares her and John Henry&’s experience while also creating a riveting narrative that will speak to anyone who parents—and who has questioned their own ability to do so. An exploration of resilience and compassion—both for ourselves and for others—I Dream He Talks to Me is also a moving meditation on our place in the world and how we get there; what words mean, what they don&’t; and, ultimately, how we truly express ourselves and truly know those whom we love.
I Dream of Joni: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell in 53 Snapshots
by Henry AlfordThe eternal singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is seen anew, portrayed through a witty and comprehensive exploration of anecdotes, quotes, and lyrics by Henry Alford, &“the most graceful of humorists&” (Vanity Fair) and a writer for The New Yorker.Joni Mitchell&’s life, psyche, and evolving legacy are explored here in vivid technicolor—from her childhood in Saskatoon, Canada, to her arrival in Laurel Canyon that turned her into, as Alford puts it, &“the bard of heartbreak and longing.&” Each period of Mitchell&’s life is observed via the artists, friends, family, and lovers she encountered along the way, including James Taylor, Leonard Cohen, Georgia O&’Keefe, Prince, and, most significantly, Kilauren, the daughter Mitchell gave up for adoption at birth but then reconnected with decades later. Presented in the impressionistic vein of Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret, I Dream of Joni explores in fifty-three essays, with the author&’s trademark wit and verve, the life of the legendary singer-songwriter.
I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp: An Autobiography
by Richard HellThe autobiography of Richard Hell, icon of an indelible era of rock and roll and “rueful, battle-scarred, darkly witty observer of his own life and times” (The New York Times).From an early age, Richard Hell dreamed of running away. He arrived penniless in New York City at seventeen; ten years later he was a pivotal voice of the age of punk, cofounding such seminal bands as Television, The Heartbreakers, and Richard Hell and the Voidoids—whose song "Blank Generation" remains the defining anthem of the era, an era that would forever alter popular culture in all its forms.How this legendary downtown artist went from a bucolic childhood in the idyllic Kentucky foothills to igniting a movement that would take over New York and London’s restless youth culture—cementing CBGB as the ground zero of punk and spawning the careers of not only Hell himself, but a cohort of friends such as Tom Verlaine, Patti Smith, the Ramones, and Debbie Harry—is a mesmerizing chronicle of self-invention, and of Hell’s yearning for redemption through poetry, music, and art. An acutely rendered, unforgettable coming-of-age story, I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp evokes with feeling, lyricism, and piercing intelligence both the world that shaped him and the world he shaped.“In his poetic memoir, Hell takes us on a tour of a lost world and stakes out his place in cultural history.” —Los Angeles Times“There are very few books that make me want to start writing my own; this is one of them.” —Kathleen Hanna“Not only an absorbing cultural history but also a clear-eyed story that superbly channels the attitude expressed in the first blurt to his best-known song ‘Blank Generation’: ‘I was saying let me out of here before I was even born.’” —The Boston Globe
I Drum, Therefore I Am: Being and Becoming a Drummer (SEMPRE Studies in The Psychology of Music)
by Gareth Dylan SmithDespite their central role in many forms of music-making, drummers have been largely neglected in the scholarly literature on music and education. But kit drummers are increasingly difficult to ignore. While exponents of the drum kit are frequently mocked in popular culture, they are also widely acknowledged to be central to the musical success and aesthetic appeal of any musical ensemble in which they are found. Drummers are also making their presence felt in music education, with increasing opportunities to learn their craft in formal contexts. Drawing on data collected from in-depth interviews and questionnaires, Gareth Dylan Smith explores the identities, practices and learning of teenage and adult kit drummers in and around London. As a London-based drummer and teacher of drummers, Smith uses his own identity as participant-researcher to inform and interpret other drummers' accounts of their experiences. Drummers learn in multi-modal ways, usually with a keen awareness of exemplars of their art and craft. The world of kit drumming is highly masculine, which presents opportunities and challenges to drummers of both sexes. Smith proposes a new model of the 'Snowball Self', which incorporates the constructs of identity realization, learning realization, meta-identities and contextual identities. Kit drummers' identities, practices and learning are found to be intertwined, as drummers exist in a web of interdependence. Drummers drum; therefore they are, they do, and they learn - in a rich tapestry of means and contexts.
I Found a Job!
by Marcia Heroux PoundsThis uplifting book explores the most relevant and pressing issues in the current labor market to show readers what job search techniques are working right now.
I Found My Friends: The Oral History of Nirvana
by Nick SoulsbyI Found My Friends recreates the short and tempestuous times of Nirvana through the musicians and producers who played and interacted with the band. The guides for this trip didn't just watch the life of this legendary band—they lived it. Soulsby interviewed over 150 musicians from bands that played and toured with Nirvana, including well-known alternative and grunge bands like Dinosaur Jr., The Dead Kennedys, and Butthole Surfers, as well as scores of smaller, but no less fascinating bands.In this groundbreaking look at a legendary band, readers will see a more personal history of Nirvana than ever before, including Nirvana's consideration of nearly a dozen previously unmentioned candidates for drummer before settling on David Grohl, a recounting of Nirvana's famously disastrous South American shows from never-before-heard sources on Brazilian and Argentine sides, and the man who hosted the first ever Nirvana gig's recollections of jamming with the band at that inaugural event.I Found My Friends relives Nirvana's meteoric rise from the days before the legend to through their increasingly damaged superstardom. More than twenty years after Kurt Cobain's tragic death, Nick Soulsby removes the posthumous halo from the brow of Kurt Cobain and travels back through time to observe one of rock and roll‘s most critical bands as no one has ever seen them before.
I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story
by Ingrid Croce Jimmy RockJim Croce, singer-songwriter of the #1 hitsBad Bad Leroy BrownandTime in a Bottle, was at the height of his career when his life was cut short in a plane crash while on tour. Just 30 years old on September 20, 1973, Jim was revered by an adoring audience for his gentle melodies and everyman demeanor. Now, for the first time, this memoir reveals the man behind the denim jackets and signature mustache, a hard-working, wry charmer who was also beset with exhaustion at the sheer magnitude of his own success. I Got a Name, told with full access to everyone who knew and loved Jim Croce, is at once a revealing portrait of a great artist and a moving love story.
I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival (Music/interview Ser.)
by Rick MassimoThe first-ever book exclusively devoted to the history of the Newport Folk Festival, I Got a Song documents the trajectory of an American musical institution that began more than a half-century ago and continues to influence our understanding of folk music today. Rick Massimo’s research is complemented by extensive interviews with the people who were there and who made it all happen: the festival's producers, some of its biggest stars, and people who huddled in the fields to witness moments—like Bob Dylan’s famous electric performance in 1965—that live on in musical history. As folk has evolved over the decades, absorbing influences from rock, traditional music and the singer-songwriters of the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Newport Folk Festival has once again become a gathering point for young performers and fans. I Got a Song tells the stories, small and large, of several generations of American folk music enthusiasts.
I Got Something to Say: Gender, Race, and Social Consciousness in Rap Music
by Matthew OwareWhat do millennial rappers in the United States say in their music? This timely and compelling book answers this question by decoding the lyrics of over 700 songs from contemporary rap artists. Using innovative research techniques, Matthew Oware reveals how emcees perpetuate and challenge gendered and racialized constructions of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality. Male and female artists litter their rhymes with misogynistic and violent imagery. However, men also express a full range of emotions, from arrogance to vulnerability, conveying a more complex manhood than previously acknowledged. Women emphatically state their desires while embracing a more feminist approach. Even LGBTQ artists stake their claim and express their sexuality without fear. Finally, in the age of Black Lives Matter and the presidency of Donald J. Trump, emcees forcefully politicize their music. Although complicated and contradictory in many ways, rap remains a powerful medium for social commentary.
I Got the Rhythm
by Connie Schofield-Morrision Frank MorrisonOn a simple trip to the park, the joy of music overtakes a mother and daughter. The little girl hears a rhythm coming from the world around her- finally busting out in an impromptu dance, which all the kids join in on!
I Got the Rhythm
by Connie Schofield-MorrisonOn a simple trip to the park, the joy of music overtakes a mother and daughter. The little girl hears a rhythm coming from the world around her- from butterflies, to street performers, to ice cream sellers everything is musical! She sniffs, snaps, and shakes her way into the heart of the beat, finally busting out in an impromptu dance, which all the kids join in on! Award-winning illustrator Frank Morrison and Connie Schofield-Morrison, capture the beat of the street, to create a rollicking read that will get any kid in the mood to boogie.
I Got You Babe (Orca Currents)
by Paul CocciaThis year’s fun fair will have a Pride Carnival theme and twelve-year-old Mac couldn’t be more excited. Mac convinces his best friend, Amy, to do a Sonny and Cher drag number. He has their outfits all planned out, right down to the bellbottoms and fur vests. And he wants their performance to be perfect too so he pushes Amy to rehearse every day. Every step, every wave of the hand, every lyric has to be spot on. But Amy has had enough—the day before the event, she reveals that she never wanted to be Sonny. Why can’t she be Cher? Mac refuses to even consider it. There can only be one diva! With no time to recast, Mac plans to go solo. But he's miserable without his best friend. Can the two of them patch things up in time?
I Got You Babe: A Celebration of Cher
by Annie ZaleskiCovering her life and sixty-year career from Sonny & Cher to show-stopping solo performer, award-winning actress, fashion icon, and beyond, this is a glorious retrospective of one of the world&’s most enduring entertainers, Cher. Featuring a foreword by Cyndi Lauper! Commemorating six decades since her first #1 hit in 1965, I Got You Babe captures Cher&’s one-of-a-kind life. Written by award-winning writer and editor Annie Zaleski, this celebration of the fearless, down-to-earth &“Goddess of Pop&” explores key moments in her life and career in words and photos. Among the topics covered: Her 50-year friendship with fellow diva Tina Turner, which began in 1975 when they performed &“Shame, Shame, Shame&” together. Her story of creating a &“revenge dress&” with designer Bob Mackie for the 1986 Oscars after being snubbed for a nomination for her performance in Mask. The night in 1989 she made the Navy wish it could &“Turn Back Time&” by arriving at the USS Missouri to film her video not wearing the coveralls they expected but a barely-there fishnet bodysuit. Cher&’s unfiltered social media presence. From classic posts like &“BREAKING NEWS: IM BEING BURIED IN MY FISHNETS&” to weighing in on issues she believes in. When Cher learned about Kaavan, dubbed &“the world&’s loneliest elephant.&” The creature was kept in chains in a zoo in Pakistan and forced to perform for decades. After fans brought the problem to her attention, Cher eventually helped get him moved in 2021, and her efforts were captured in a Smithsonian documentary. Amid these moments are photo after photo of some of the most eye-popping outfits ever worn in life and on stage. As an avid clothes horse who wasn&’t afraid to wear a see-through dress to the Met Gala in 1974, Cher&’s many looks will be given their due in this engaging, career-spanning retrospective.
I Got Your Back: A Father and Son Keep It Real About Love, Fatherhood, Family, and Friendship
by Eddie Levert Gerlad Levert Lyah Beth LefloreThe final collaboration from Eddie and Gerald Levert is an intimate glimpse into their lives, their passions, and their musical legacy. But most important, this book gets inside the special and rare father-son bond that these two R & B legends shared.
I Hear a Symphony: Motown and Crossover R&B
by Andrew FloryI Hear a Symphony opens new territory in the study of Motown’s legacy, arguing that the music of Motown was indelibly shaped by the ideals of Detroit’s postwar black middle class; that Motown’s creative personnel participated in an African-American tradition of dialogism in rhythm and blues while developing the famous “Motown Sound.” Throughout the book, Flory focuses on the central importance of “crossover” to the Motown story; first as a key concept in the company’s efforts to reach across American commercial markets, then as a means to extend influence internationally, and finally as a way to expand the brand beyond strictly musical products. Flory’s work reveals the richness of the Motown sound, and equally rich and complex cultural influence Motown still exerts.