Guitarist Autobiographies

andyoz · March 2015

Any recommendednded good reads? Here's my favourites so far.

1. Slash: The Autobiography - essentially both the story of Slash and GnR in one book

2. Ronnie (Woods) - I enjoyed this more than Keith's for some reason

3. Le Freak (Nile Rodgers) - amazing story

Elx · March 2015

http://www.amazon.co.uk/As-Above-Below-Unauthorized-Biography-ebook/dp/B00COUA2VG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427580681&sr=8-1&keywords=yngwie+biography

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Relentless-Memoir-Yngwie-J-Malmsteen/dp/1118517717/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1427580681&sr=8-2&keywords=yngwie+biography

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Knight-Blackmore-Jerry-Bloom/dp/1846097576/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427580728&sr=8-1&keywords=ritchie+blackmore+black+knight

As Above so below is a much better book than the one written by Yngwie himself.

Black Knight is a great book if you're into Ritchie...

UnclePsychosis · March 2015

The nile Rodgers one is really fantastic.

xSkarloey · March 2015

Slash's is okay.

Ronnie's is alright but only goes up to the bit where supposedly he was on the straight and narrow before he met a certain young Russian lady. I want the book updated so I can read the juicy bits.

Keef's I sort of cherry picked. I didn't read it continuously all the way through. I just skipped to various stories etc.

The best guitarist's autobiog Ive read is without doubt Tony Iommi's because it's basically a collection of (mostly) very, very funny and eye opening anecdotes.

I recently read the 'autobiography' of INXS which is interesting for many reasons and not just for fans. In an oblique way you can see it as an insider's guide to how the music biz works.

Ray Davies's X-Ray from the 90s is an interesting read.

The Mark E Smith autobiography is very funny. He';s not a guitar player though so you may be put off.

I think the best rock autobiography without question is Morrssey's. There is genuine quality to the writing in places, but he really needed a very, very strong editor who would grab him and the book by the scruff of the neck, for the simple (and frequently stated) reason, that the narrative gets mired in the bitter minute of the Mike Joyce court case and hardly ever gets back on track.

The problem is, that there was something of a bidding war on for that book, and had an editor got heavy with him, I suppose the fear was that he'd flounce off to a competitor. A shame really, for had the modern world an equivalent of a TS Eliot, he'd have kicked that book into shape and taken it up several more notches.

Edit: I forgot Jimmy Pages's which I haven't bothered with to date. The idea of doing it as photos is okay I suppose, but it conveniently allows him to avoid the more...er...delicate parts of his private life.

The man whose life would make for a very, very interesting book indeed is Vini Reilly of the Durutti Column.

John_P · March 2015

If you include bass players then Guy Pratt's book "My bass and other animals" is a great read.

RocknRollDave · March 2015

Andy Summers - One Train Later

Philly_Q · March 2015

To be honest I'm not a big fan of biographies or autobiographies and I haven't read very many, but for what it's worth I really enjoyed the Guy Pratt and Keith Richards books.

The Tony Iommi one I found disappointing, it was more like a football bio - "we did this, then we did that..." - just a load of facts, nothing I didn't already know and I don't think it gave any insight into his personality.

andyoz · March 2015

Will buy Tony Iommi's book as I'd like to read the Sabbath story from his point of view.

I'm looking forward to Johnny Marr's autobiography next year.

simonk · March 2015

Don Felder's is pretty good.

UnclePsychosis · March 2015

@Skarloey

Train, heave on to Euston. Awaiting the launch of my Autobiography, Penguin Books have incarcerated me in a tawdry penthouse flat at 6 Grosvenor Square. The harsh London light through the floor-to-ceiling windows peels my eyeballs, my feet wince at the coarse touch of the cashmere and angora carpet, and as I numb the pain with a third Grey Goose, my mind drifts back to Nan's tenement at 69 Saddleworth Cuttings, Strangeways. Here, behind the rainy Salford Road, I would watch the damp grey wallpaper peeling slowly off the walls, licking my wounds after yet another day of casual brutality from the callous, sadistic teachers of Rusholme Secondary Modern, where the education was never modern, and my needs and feelings were always secondary.

The doorbell rings. Is it Jobraith? Is it The New York Dolls, on bended knee, begging me to become their lead singer? No, alas, it is the frightful and blancmange-like Debbie, my PA from Penguin, clutching an advance copy of my book. My heart sinks from wounds already inflicted and wounds still to come. Already the Penguin philistines have rejected my glamorous cover art (a black and white Alain Delon posing naked over Oscar Wilde's grave, drinking a glass of milk). Typical. I tear disinterestedly at the brown paper, fearing the worst. The cover is predictably a travesty. Although it mentions my name (in an insultingly small typeface) and features a dismissively small photograph of me, over 50% of the surface area is utterly wasted and makes no reference to me at all. Not one. It is yet another nail hammered through my palm by the uncaring powers that be. I disdainfully hand the feeble effort back to the vile Debbie, who understands nothing, and who still reeks of the sizzling flesh which she has oh-so-obviously been cramming into her flabby chops at - shudder- MacDonalds. The yawning grave opens its maws, awaiting me. Then I snatch the book back, and inspect the flyleaf, magnifying glass in hand. And there it is - THERE IT IS. 'The moral right of the author has been asserted'. Yet will Judge John Weeks deign to listen? Inevitably, Mick Joyce will 'assume' he is due 25% of the revenue, and justice will once again crush my limp white body beneath its cruel, remorseless wheels. And where is Johnny Marr? Nowhere to be seen, as usual, but smirking as he exits yet again through the rear door.

David Bowie says my Autobiography is 'wonderful', and for me this is the apotheosis of a journey that began amidst the slums and loafing oafs of sixties Stretford. Penguin assure me it will be Number 1 on the Amazon bestsellers chart, and yet they have made no effort to promote it, and my name is to all intents invisible in the uncaring and hostile national press. I check my computer, and then I recoil aghast. My Autobiography is Number 2, behind Sir Alex Ferguson's. Oh Manchester, Manchester, so much to answer for! At last my corpse is ready for the abattoir. Heaven knows, I'm miserable now.

---

can't take the credit for that, its from the Amazon reviews

I enjoyed it a lot actually, but I wouldn't recommend it be read in isolation if anyone actually wants an insight into him (or the Smiths).

breakstuff · March 2015

Enjoyed Morrisseys book but he does subscribe to the notion of why use one word when one hundred will do.

ftumch · March 2015

I've read very few biographys, slash's was interesting and pretty funny in places. The absolute best though was 'wonderland avenue' by Danny Sugarman, not a guitarist but he became the manager for the doors, fantastic read and highly recommended.

Philly_Q · March 2015

I thought of another one - he's not a guitarist and the book's not much to do with his day job, but I found Neil Peart's Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road fascinating and moving. I should get round to reading his other books.

JookyChap · March 2015

Julian Cope's are brilliant reads, not read the Morrissey one, might have to dig that out

andyoz · March 2015

The Dirt - Motley Crew is a down and dirty story. Even my wife read that one and her idea of rock is Gloria Estefan

darcym · March 2015

Read Alex James - bass player from Blur's story, it's good

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bit-Blur-Autobiography-Alex-James/dp/0349119937/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427590883&sr=8-1&keywords=alex+james

Slash's is good, as mentioned before, so is Claptons

speshul91 · March 2015

Again not a guitarist but both duff mckagen and Steven adlers books are good reads and offer different sides to the guns n roses story

DulcetJones · March 2015

Add my kudos for Keef's "Life" and Tony Iommi's bio. Both are a bit scattered but interesting because of the bands they were in and the era they came up through. Most of the bio books I've read so far have been "band" oriented and I seem to like all of them.

dindude · March 2015

I read Pete Townsends on hols last year. Good read, don't expect much humour, he comes across as a bit of a selfish, craggy git, but he has a proper story to tell and writes it well.

mudslide73 · March 2015

Not a guitatist but Ian McLagan's "All the Rage" is excellent. Great insight into two massive bands and his stints touring with the Stones.

RocknRollDave · March 2015

Philly_Q said:

I thought of another one - he's not a guitarist and the book's not much to do with his day job, but I found Neil Peart's Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road fascinating and moving. I should get round to reading his other books.

Argh, I MUST get round to reading this! Thanks for the reminder!

I have to say, Morrissey's book was rubbish. One sentence on the Smiths split, what felt like 100 pages on the judge's verdict in the case against Mike Joyce, most of it repetition, all of it self-pitying and biased, IMO. Also, whilst he mentions past lovers (of both gender), he fails to shed any light on who he is, really, and what bearing his sexuality has had on his life - odd given how much it has featured in his lyrics. In short, a big tease with no pay-off.

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