In 1959, Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel wrote and performed “Ne me quitte pas” (Don’t leave me), a visceral and haunting plea for his lover to come back. As a teenager, Maya Angela Smith was so captivated by Nina Simone’s powerful 1965 cover of...

Writing as a scholar, composer, and musician, Jessie Cox foregrounds the experience of Black Swiss through sound and music in his first book, Sounds of Black Switzerland. Cox, himself Black Swiss, affirms the value of Black life through sound while...

In 1981, David Bowie and Queen both happened to be in Switzerland: They met and made “Under Pressure.” Recorded on a lark, the song broke the path for subsequent pop anthems. In Under Pressure, Max Brzezinski tells the classic track’s story, charting the...

A cello has no language, yet it possesses a vocabulary wide enough to tell, bear witness, and make connections across time and continents—a feat brought to life in this brilliant new book.In this luminousnarrative, Kate Kennedy, a writer and cellist...

The incredible true story of a blind musician, a brutal crime, and the making of an American folk legendIn June 1936 James Lee Strother performed thirteen songs at the Virginia State Prison Farm for famed folklorist John Lomax and the Library of Congress...

Learn to compose your own music with this simple, straightforward guide.The songwriting process can seem intimidating at first, but Idiot’s Guides: Music Composition teaches musicians of all skill levels, step by step, how to write music and compose...

The complete history of one of the most long-lived and legendary bands in rock history, written by its official historian and publicist—a must-have chronicle for all Dead Heads, and for students of rock and the 1960s’ counterculture.From 1965 to 1995,...

Winner of the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for CriticismA New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book of the YearTime magazine Top Ten Nonfiction Book of 2007Newsweek Favorite Books of 2007A Washington Post Book WorldBest Book of 2007In this...

The fascinating story behind the making of Bruce Springsteen’s most surprising album, Nebraska, revealing its pivotal role in Springsteen’s career“Brilliant . . . For fans of American music, Deliver Me from Nowhere makes a great ghost story.”—The Boston...

The authorized biography of the quintessential ’80s pop band The Bangles, who scored massive hits with “Manic Monday,” Walk Like an Egyptian,” “Hazy Shade of Winter,” and moreFrom their first meeting in 1981, the Bangles were ambitious, focused, and...

From the founder of the Women of Rock Oral History Project, an exploration of women in the '90s rock scene, featuring original interviews by Shirley Manson, Courtney Love, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Kim Gordon, and more

Preston Lauterbach is author of the American music classic The Chitlin' Circuit (2011) as well as two secret histories of Black culture, Beale Street Dynasty (2015) and Bluff City (2019). Preston has co-authored three memoirs with significant figures in...

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATUREMusic legend Bob Dylan's only work of fiction—a combination of stream of consciousness prose, lyrics, and poetry that gives fans insight into one of the most influential singer-songwriters of our time.Written in...

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATUREA beautiful, comprehensive volume of Dylan’s lyrics, from the beginning of his career through the present day—with the songwriter’s edits to dozens of songs, appearing here for the first time.Bob Dylan is one of the...

Named one of Entertainment Weekly’s 12 biggest music memoirs this fall. “An artful and wildly enthralling path for Bowie fans in particular and book lovers in general.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)“The only art I’ll ever study is stuff that I can...

With unprecedented access and unsparing analysis, this is the definitive investigation into Spotify, weaving interviews with incisive cultural criticism, andilluminating how streaming has reshaped music for listeners and artists alike.Flush with...