Originally published in 1978 as The Beach Boys and the California Myth, this groundbreaking study was both the first full-length book on the band and the first to recognize Brian Wilson as one of the most significant and influential artists of the 20th century. Covering the turbulent family strife and internal conflicts as well as giving proper attention to the remarkable music, the book was an instant classic. An intimate look at Brian’s rollercoaster of a life and career, it’s told throu...

Originally published in 1978 as The Beach Boys and the California Myth, this groundbreaking study was both the first full-length book on the band and the first to recognize Brian Wilson as one of the most significant and influential artists of the 20th century. Covering the turbulent family strife and internal conflicts as well as giving proper attention to the remarkable music, the book was an instant classic. An intimate look at Brian’s rollercoaster of a life and career, it’s told throu...

Originally published in 1978 as The Beach Boys and the California Myth, this groundbreaking study was both the first full-length book on the band and the first to recognize Brian Wilson as one of the most significant and influential artists of the twentieth century. Covering the turbulent family strife and internal conflicts as well as giving proper attention to the remarkable music, the book was an instant classic. An intimate look at Brian's rollercoaster of a life and career, i...

"Brian Wilson. SMILE: Excellent! The man is my hero. I love him. I weep when I hear his band, I hear him sing. I love him." —Paul McCartneyThe story of the Brian Wilson's legendary SMiLE album from Beach Boys authority David Leaf. The story of SMiLE is a story without precedent, appropriate for music that was and remains groundbreaking."This is the first book to tell the full story of Brian Wilson and SMiLE

For almost 40 years, from its genesis in 1967 to its eventual live unveiling at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 2004, the album SMiLE has been written into music mythology.SMiLE: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Brian Wilson documents the history of the album, drawing on interviews with collaborator Van Dyke Parks, Brian’s band (especially Darian Sahanaja), close friends, family, and many others who were part of its story.In this book Beach Boys aficionado David Leaf, pre...

Most famous as the author of "Gulliver's Travels", Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was one of the most important propagandists and satirists of his day. This study seeks to contextualize Swift within the political arena of his day.

Keith Moon was more than just rock's greatest drummer, he was also its greatest character and wildest party animal. Fuelled by vast quantities of drink, drugs, insecurities and confusion, Moon destroyed everything with gleeful abandon: drum kits, houses, cars, hotels, relationships and, finally, himself.In Dear Boy, Tony Fletcher has captured lightning in a bottle – the essence of a totally incorrigible yet uniquely generous boy who never grew up, and who changed t...

THE EXTRAORDINARY, HEARTFELT MEMOIR OF THE LATE MUSICAL GENIUS'My life has been written about over and over again, and that's mostly okay with me. Other people can talk about my life. Sometimes they'll get it right and sometimes they'll get it wrong. For me, when I think back across my own life, there are so many things that are painful. Sometimes I don't like discussing them. Sometimes I don't even like remembering them. But as I get older, the shape of that pain ...

A GROUNDBREAKING RECKONING WITH THE WORLD'S GREATEST ROCK 'N' ROLL BAND FROM THE AWARD-WINNING, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF CLASSIC HISTORIES OF THE BEATLES AND LED ZEPPELIN.AN OBSERVER BEST BIOGRAPHY OF 2026A NEW YORK TIMES MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026'Epic' THE TIMES***'***Electrifying' OBSERVER'The definitive (and debauched) history of the band'...

SCOTT YOUNG chronicles his son’s early years in and around Toronto and Winnipeg and his rise from journeyman, musician to superstar in the 1960s and 1970s. The frequent occasions when Scott and Neil’s paths have crossed – from backstage meetings and family get-togethers to a sold-out appearance at Carnegie Hall – give a fascinating portrait of an enigmatic star.

Now the subject of the movie Love & Mercy, starring John Cusack!Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, along with Mike Love and Al Jardine--better known as the Beach Boys--rocketed out of a working-class Los Angeles suburb in the early sixties, and their sun-and-surf sound captured the imagination of kids across the world. In a few short years, they rode the wave all the way to the top, standing with the Beatles as one of the world's biggest bands.Despite their utopian vi...

Along with the Beatles, The Rolling Stones were the major group of the sixties; headline makers, style icons, trend setters but most of all the force behind a string of brilliant singles and albums that have come to define the era. This illustrated biography features many rare photographs and also includes a complete retrospective review of every Stones album from 1963-1969 with a track-by-track analysis.