I, Doll

Sample

Benjamin Nugent

"It is rare for a recording artist to move fans so deeply that news of his death sparks instant tributes and concerts across oceans and continents - from Dublin to Boston, Manhattan to Nashville, Toronto to L.A. But that is exactly what happened soon after October 21, 2003, the day Elliott Smith died in Los Angeles of two stab wounds to the chest." "Known best for his Oscar-nominated song "Miss Misery" from the Good Will Hunting soundtracking, Elliott Smith was catapulted to the status of indie rock star after performing at the 1997 Academy Awards. Some of his albums, XO and Either/Or among them, would become '90s classics, helping to define an understated aesthetic that owed as much to the melodic emphasis of The Beatles as it did to punk." "Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing begins with Smith's childhood outside Dallas and his years in Portland, Oregon, where he first became known locally as a singer and guitarist with the band Heatmiser. But even as a teenager Smith was composing solo material, writing songs that would bring instant attention to his homemade debut Roman Candle. His music soon caught the ear of another Portland auteur, Gus Van Sant, the director of Good Will Hunting." "In the afterglow of the success of "Miss Misery," Smith's fame grew - alongside his struggles with depression and substance abuse. First relocating to Brooklyn, and then finally to L.A., he fell into a downward spiral evident to friends and fans alike, even as he continued to write such beautifully realized songs as "Walts #2 (XO)."" "Drawing on interviews with those who knew and loved Smith, and focusing on the crucial interplay between Smith's life and music, Benjamin Nugent portrays an enormously gifted, yet troubled, artist."--BOOK JACKET.

Sample

Jimmy Guterman

"Over the course of a career now in its fourth decade, Bruce Springsteen has earned one of the most passionate, devoted followings in all rock 'n' roll. He's selling more records and concert tickets in his fifties than he sold in his twenties." "Yet to many fans he remains an enigma." "How has Springsteen produced such a consistent body of work and retained his currency while other top rock 'n' rollers have gone by the wayside? Jimmy Guterman has been writing about Springsteen since the 1970s. In Runaway American Dream, he delves deep into dramatic and crucial moments from every phase of Springsteen's career, intepreting the songs and commenting on the man and the culture at large to deliver a nuanced portrait of The Boss from the earliest days right up to Springsteen's 2005 album, Devils & Dust."--Jacket.

Sample

Tom Weschler [photographer], Gary Graff

Product Description: A photo-driven insider's look at Bob Seger's career from the early days to his breakthrough as a world-famous musician. Tom Weschler spent more than ten years from the late 1960s through the 1970s in the Bob Seger camp, working as tour manager and photographer during Seger's hard-gigging, heavy-traveling, reputation-making early days. Weschler's behind-the-scenes photographs document the frustrations and triumphs of recording, performing, songwriting, and building the Seger Empire before the breakthroughs of "Live Bullet" and "Night Moves". "Travelin' Man" collects Weschler's early photos with additional images leading into the present. Weschler and award-winning music journalist Gary Graff annotate the images with Weschler's recollections of the events and Graff provides additional background on Seger's career in an introduction, time line, and cast of characters section.^ Weschler's photographs and stories pull back the curtain on seldom-seen aspects of Seger's career, including time in the studio recording Mongrel, early struggles to get radio airplay, and small shows at schools and shopping malls. Weschler captures Seger's personality on stage and at home and reveals the colorful personalities of those people he worked and performed with, including Alice Cooper, Bruce Springsteen, Glenn Frey, and Kiss. He takes readers inside Seger headquarters in Birmingham, Michigan, and practice space in Rochester, Michigan, introducing them to renowned manager Punch Andrews and the various members of Seger's bands. Weschler's photos feature highlights like Seger's show at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1976, his first gold record in 1977, the first meeting between Seger and Bruce Springsteen in 1978, and Seger's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.^ "Travelin' Man" also contains art from eight Seger album covers that Weschler designed, a foreword by John Mellencamp, an afterword by Kid Rock, and a comprehensive discography. Seger fans and readers interested in music and biography will enjoy the one of a kind story in "Travelin' Man."

Sample

Richard Wootton

Presents the life of John Lennon, from his early years through the rise of the Beatles and their formation of Apple Records to his final days in New York after the group broke up.