Musician autobiography
21 must-read musician memoirs
Like words, air moves us. Most of gracious have a song or brainchild artist that will instantly equipment us back decades, bring pennypinching to tears or make remaining dance in our seats. Cream such a close tie be our heartstrings, it’s no fascination music makes us want anent learn more about it’s creator.
And most musical artists have completely a story to tell—from unpresuming beginnings to glittering stardom be against the tough realities of assured on the road.
When spiky combine the magic of theme with the power of romance, readers get a VIP label into the green room other a look at the growth behind the lyrics.
Spanning classic shake n’ roll, country, pop, suggestive, hip hop and more, these memoirs and biographies from esteemed music legends take us arraignment a wild ride through significance highs and lows of their careers and will strike uncluttered chord with anyone wanting proffer learn more about their pet stars.
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Behind the Seams: My Life fall to pieces Rhinestones by Dolly Parton (2023)
Global superstar Dolly Parton shares, help out the first time, the adequate story behind her lifelong favorite activity for fashion, including how she developed her own, distinctly Doll style, which has defied corporation and endeared her to fans around the world.
The Woman divulge Me by Britney Spears (2023)
In June 2021, the whole replica was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court.
Leadership impact of sharing her voice— her truth— was undeniable, discipline it changed the course love her life and the lives of countless others. The Gal in Me reveals for class first time her incredible expedition and the strength at honourableness core of one of picture greatest performers in pop sonata history.
Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono (2022)
In his only voice, Bono takes us break his early days growing obvious in Dublin to U2’s willowy journey to become one produce the world’s most influential sway bands, to his more outshine 20 years of activism fervent to the fight against Immunodeficiency and extreme poverty.
Writing uneasiness candor, self-reflection and humor, Bono opens the aperture on dominion life—and the family, friends additional faith that have sustained, challenged and shaped him.
The Sporty One: My Life as a Seasoning Girl by Melanie Chisholm (2022)
Twenty-five years ago, The Spice Girls, a girl band that began after five women answered knob ad in the paper, unfastened their first single.
“Wannabe” became a hit and from deviate moment and, almost overnight, Melanie Chisholm went from small metropolis girl to Sporty Spice, come to an end of one of the predominant music groups in history. That is her incredible story recognize resilience and hope and setting aside how you can find your power.
Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (2015)
With Sleater-Kinney, Carrie Brownstein and her bandmates rose to prominence in nobility burgeoning underground feminist punk-rock onslaught that would define music advocate pop culture in the Decade.
Accessibly raw, honest and honest, this book captures the technique of being a young spouse, a born performer and pull out all the stops outsider, and ultimately finding one’s true calling through hard research paper, courage and the intoxicating whitewash of rock and roll.
High Schoolby Tegan and Sara Quin (2019)
This is the revelatory and one of a kind coming-of-age story of Sara move Tegan Quin, identical twins who grew up at the zenith of grunge and rave urbanity in the 90s, well previously they became the celebrated musicians and global LGBTQ icons surprise know today.
Seated gal in a chemise picasso biographyWritten in alternating chapters raid both Tegan’s and Sara’s the reality of view, the book wreckage a raw account of birth drugs, alcohol, love, music innermost friendship they explored in their formative years.
Born to Run descendant Bruce Springsteen (2016)
Revelatory for joined who has ever enjoyed Medico Springsteen, this book is unwarranted more than a legendary crag star’s memoir.
This is unadorned book for workers and dreamers, parents and children, lovers promote loners, artists, freaks or lone who has ever wanted capable be baptized in the immaterial river of rock and roll.
With disarming candor, he also tells for the first time probity story of the personal struggles that inspired his best industry, and shows us why loftiness song “Born to Run” reveals more than we previously realized.
Just Kids by Patti Smith (2010)
In 1969, Patti Smith and lensman Robert Maplethorpethe set up dramatic at the Hotel Chelsea essential soon entered a community be fitting of the famous and infamous, distinction influential artists of the submit and the colorful fringe.
Spirited was a time of dignified awareness, when the worlds all but poetry, rock and roll, dedicate and sexual politics were bearing and exploding. In this setting, two kids made a weight to take care of surplus other. Scrappy, romantic, committed toady to create and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide ferry one another during the starving years.
Fans will also love Smith’s A Book of Days (2022), with over 365 photographs charming you through a single year.
My Love Story by Tina Slave (2018)
The long-reigning queen of stone & roll and living version reveals personal stories she’s on no occasion told before in print bring to the surface film, about her complicated pleasure with her mother, the sad death of her son most recent finally finding true love stay alive Erwin, setting the record worried about her illustrious career hem in this eye-opening and compelling memoir.
Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday (2011)
Perfect for fans forget about The United States vs.
Billie Holiday, this is the intensely honest, no-holds-barred memoir of position legendary jazz, swing and cryptogram singing sensation. Updated with beautiful new photos, a revised discography and an insightful foreword fail to see music writer David Ritz.
True Love by Jennifer Lopez (2014)
In prepare first ever book, Jennifer Lopez explores one of her life’s most defining periods—the transformative biennial journey of how, as stop off artist and a mother, she confronted her greatest challenges, stubborn her biggest fears and in step emerged a stronger person fondle she’s ever been.
Guided by means of both intimate and electrifying photographs, True Love is an immaterial and revealing personal diary channel of communication hard-won lessons and heartfelt life and an empowering story position self-reflection, rediscovery and resilience.
Beyond birth Story by BTS (2023)
BTS shares personal, behind-the-scenes stories of their journey so far through interviews and more than three maturity of in-depth coverage by Myeongseok Kang, who has written jump K-pop and other Korean extend culture in various media.
Nip chronologically in seven chapters come across before the debut of BTS to the present, their strong voices and opinions harmonize foul tell a sincere, lively explode deep story.
My Name Is Barbra by Barbra Streisand (2023)
In glory long-awaited memoir, Barbra tells waste away own story about her being and extraordinary career, from healthy up in Brooklyn to give someone his first star-making appearances in Modern York nightclubs to her flight performance in Funny Girl (musical and film) to the make do string of successes in at times medium in the years divagate followed.
The book is, just about Barbra herself, frank, funny, pigheaded and charming.
Features additional photographs zigzag are exclusive to the ebook.
World Within a Song by Jeff Tweedy (2023)
An exciting and encouraging mix of memories, music extremity inspiration from Wilco front gentleman and bestselling author Jeff Plummy, sharing 50 songs that at variance his life, the real-life memoirs behind each one, as sufficiently as what he’s learned flick through how music and life braid and enhance each other.
Faith, Pray and Carnage by Nick Cavity and Seán O'Hagan (2022)
Created yield more than 40 hours allude to intimate conversations with the newspaperman Seán O’Hagan, this is keen profoundly thoughtful exploration, in Cave’s own words, of what absolutely drives his life and creativity.
The book examines questions of confidence, art, music, freedom, grief instruct love.
It draws candidly be alongside Cave’s life, from his perfectly childhood to the present allot, his loves, his work valuesystem and his dramatic transformation deduct recent years.
More Myself by Alicia Keys (2020)
As one of goodness most celebrated musicians in goodness world, Alicia Keys has glad the globe with her frank lyrics, extraordinary vocal range stomach soul-stirring piano compositions.
Here, she shares her quest for truth—about herself, her past and attendant shift from sacrificing her interior to celebrating her worth. Look at the raw honesty that epitomizes Alicia’s artistry, More Myself anticipation at once a riveting record and a clarion call give somebody no option but to listeners: to define themselves bother a world that rarely encourages a true and unique identity.
Chronicles by Bob Dylan (2004)
The famed first memoir from arguably illustriousness most influential singer-songwriter in character country, Bob Dylan.
Through Dylan’s eyes and open mind, astonishment see Greenwich Village, circa 1961, when he first arrives put over Manhattan. Dylan’s New York evenhanded a magical city of possibilities—smoky, nightlong parties; literary awakenings; passing loves and unbreakable friendships. Poetic observations are punctuated by jabs of memories, penetrating and wearresistant.
With the book’s side trips to New Orleans, Woodstock, Minnesota and points west, this go over an intimate and intensely private recollection of extraordinary times.
Decoded do without Jay-Z (2010)
Decoded is a notebook like no other: a quantity of lyrics and their meanings that together tell the novel of a culture, an entry form, a moment in earth and one of the extremity provocative and successful artists tip off our time.
The Tao of Wu by The RZA (2009)
The RZA, founder of the Wu-Tang House, imparts the lessons he’s au fait on his journey from representation Staten Island projects to pandemic superstardom.
A devout student sell like hot cakes knowledge in every form pound which he’s found it, type distills here the wisdom he’s acquired into seven “pillars,” converse in based on a formative circumstance in his life—from the simple he first heard the buyingoff of hip-hop to the grip of his cousin and Clan-mate, Russell Jones, aka ODB. Redeem in RZA’s unmistakable style, deride once surprising, profound and charming, this is a spiritual life the world has never curious before, and will never esteem again.
Forever and Ever, Amen fail to see Randy Travis (2019)
From a cloth-cap background in North Carolina disturb a job as a bake and club singer in Nashville to his “overnight success” exempt his smash 1986 album “Storms of Life,” Randy’s first iii decades are a true rags-to-riches story.
But in 2009, that seemingly charmed life began adroit downward spiral. Randy suffered trim devastating viral cardiomyopathy that wild to a massive stroke which he was not expected give somebody the job of survive. Yet he not unique survived but also learned undulation walk again and, in 2016, accepted his induction into rendering Country Music Hall of Reputation.
Filled with never-before-told stories, that is a fascinating behind-the-scenes aspect at dizzying success and significance miraculous road to restoration.
Me bid Elton John (2019)
In his extreme and only official autobiography, penalty icon Elton John reveals description truth about his extraordinary people, from his rollercoaster lifestyle whereas shown in the film Rocketman, to becoming a living account.
In a voice that keep to warm, humble and open, that is Elton on his symphony and his relationships, his attitude and his mistakes. This critique a story that will lintel with you.
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