Want to Recommend a Book About Music

Also check out, This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band

This is one of the best music books I've ever read.


The Birth of Loud
Book by Ian S. Port

The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll is a 2019 book by Ian S. Port that chronicles the rivalry between Leo Fender and Les Paul, two key figures in the development of the solid-body electric guitar, and how their innovations fueled the rise of rock music. The book details their contrasting personalities—the quiet, self-taught Fender and the flamboyant pop star Paul—and their competition to create the instruments that would define the sound of 1950s and 1960s music, influencing artists like Muddy Waters, Buddy Holly, and the Beatles.
Key aspects of the book:

Subject: The invention of the electric guitar and its impact on rock and roll.
Main figures: Leo Fender (radio repairman) and Les Paul (musician).
Core conflict: Their competition to design the ultimate electric guitar, with Fender focusing on affordability and Paul on a more refined instrument.
Historical context: Explores the post-war American era and the cultural shift brought about by amplified music.
Musicians featured: Includes profiles of legendary musicians who adopted these new instruments, such as Muddy Waters, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton.
Author: Ian S. Port, a music critic and writer.

That sounds fantastic.

Books about music made me think of movies about music. I have a friend that was in a movie, Novem, about a band that records an album and then driving from the studio they crash their van and die. 30 years later their music is discovered.

The Uncool by Cameron Crowe

Gotta add The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band to that list.