I have recently gotten into musicians' memoirs and have really enjoyed them. My list is below, any other suggestions?
Story Teller by Dave Grohl – Such a fun book. You don't need to be a fan of Nirvana or Foo Fighters to enjoy this book. If you like music even a little, you will enjoy it. My biggest issue with this book was it took me too long to read because I kept looking up clips of events he described. Not a terrible problem. This was one of the best memoirs I have ever read.
Waiting on the Moon by Peter Wolf – Again, you don't need to be a big fan of Peter Wolf or J Geils Band. A lot of fun stories with iconic musicians and celebrities. I would have liked more stories about when J Geils blew up in the 80s with " Centerfold " and "Freeze Frame," but still very enjoyable.
My Cross To Bear by Gregg Allman – I am a huge fan of the Allman Brothers, so I loved this more than most. It was not particularly well written, but it showed how ABB came to prominence, had a lot of great stories, really showed the dynamics of the band and their relationships. Because of my ABB love, I loved this book, but I would recommend to others even if they are casual fans.
Brothers by Alex Van Halen – I am also a big fan of Van Halen, so I really enjoyed this. I would really only recommend to other VH fans. I wish it went into more about their time with Sammy, but from childhood through the end of the Dave years, this was a great telling of VH
Uncool by Cameron Crowe – Not a musician but about music and some awesome bands, including ABB (see above). If you are a fan of Almost Famous, you will like this book. You'll recognize several stories and this goes deeper, and there are more. I pictured Patrick Fugit as Cameron (he played William Miller in the movie) and Frances McDormand as the mom.
Only God wiill Judge Me (Tupac Shakur) by Jeff Pearlman – Not a memior, more of a biography and I am only about 25% through, but its very interested so far. Learning about who Tupac was, his impact on the music industry and his relationships. I am looking forward to the rest.
What recommendations does everyone else have?
by Consistent-Water-887
2 Comments
picked up “born to run” by springsteen a few years back and that one hit pretty hard 🔥 dude really digs into his depression and how music basically saved him from himself, plus all the stories about growing up in jersey and the early e street band days. also grabbed “life” by keith richards which is exactly what you’d expect – absolute chaos but written surprisingly well for someone who should’ve died like 47 times
been eyeing “just kids” by patti smith too but haven’t pulled the trigger yet, heard good things though. your grohl rec is spot on btw, that book made me go down a rabbit hole of watching old nirvana bootlegs for like three hours 💀
side note – that tupac bio you mentioned sounds interesting, pearlman usually does solid research on his subjects so probably worth finishing
You certainly listed everything on my list. My fav was Uncool.