This intimate story of Lynyrd Skynyrd tells of how a band of lost souls and self-destructive misfits with uncertain artistic objectives clawed their way to the top of the rock 'n' roll world. Based on interviews with surviving band members, Whiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars shares how lead singer and front man Ronnie Van Zant guided the band's hugely successful five-year run and, in the process, created not only a new country rock idiom, but a new Confederacy in constant conflict...

The first and only definitive biography of legendary Motown group, the TemptationsThe Temptations are an incomparable soul group, with dozens of chart-topping hits such as My Girl and Papa Was a Rollin Stone. From the sharp suits, stylish choreography, and distinctive vocals that epitomized their onstage triumphs to the personal failings and psycho-dramas that played out behind the scenes, Ain't Too Proud to Beg tells the complete story o...

The first definitive biography of music legend Stevie WonderStevie Wonder's achievements as a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer are extraordinary. During a career that has spanned almost fifty years, he has earned more than thirty Top 10 hits, twenty-six Grammy Awards, and a place in both the Rock and Roll and Songwriter Halls of Fame—and he's not finished yet. On the verge of turning sixty, he is still composing, still touring, and still attra...

The definitive biography of James Taylor, exploring his life, music, and cultural impact.In 1970, James Taylor emerged with a comforting yet biting new sound, quickly becoming a reluctant leader in pop music. Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines delves into Taylor's remarkable journey, from his early struggles to his enduring success. It explores his relationships, battles with addiction, and his influence on the singer-songwriter era.Based on fresh in...

"This entertaining, fast-paced biography" of the legendary singer-songwriter "will thrill fans of Little Richard and early rock and roll" ( Publishers Weekly).Richard Wayne Penniman, known to the world as Little Richard, blazed the trail for generations of musicians: The Beatles, James Brown, the Everly Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Prince . . . the list seems endless. He was "The Originator," "The Innovator," and the self-anointe...

Chet Atkins was one of the most legendary country guitarists of the 1950s, but his influence spans both instruments and time.The Country Gentleman developed a distinctive picking style that helped pioneer "the Nashville Sound." Atkins's musical prowess impacted the jazz, blues, and folk styles of the 1950s and expanded country music appeal to pop music fans. In the more than two decades since his death, Nashville has remained his not-so-humble-anymore domain, but th...

Bill Withers entered the music fray as hardly an afterthought, rewrote the rules for a decade, earned a fortune, then, unable to square himself with the requisites of the music business, took his leave. When he died in 2019 at eighty-one, he was every bit the mystery he was when he started.Born and raised in Slab Fork, West Virginia—his father a coal miner, his childhood spent in a pit of racism, and a shy kid who was asthmatic and stuttered—Withers had every reason to say, "People...

The Everly Brothers—aka Don and Phil to fans with an intimate appreciation for them—seemed to exist almost as an apparition. Emerging within the formative era for young Baby Boomers during the blandly regimented ‘50s, they were a ubiquitous presence, clad in snug suits and skinny ties, hair neatly Brylcreemed, never raising their voices when they sang. The two prim-looking country boys with dark, curiously penetrating eyes and perfectly merged, honey-dipped harmonies, were oddly but comfor...

The Supremes is a sprawling tale of unforgettable music, cutthroat ambition, and heartbreaking betrayal. Mark Ribowsky explodes Dreamgirl fantasies by taking the reader behind the closed doors of Motown to witness the rise of group leader Diana Ross, the creation of timeless classics like "Where Did Our Love Go?," and the dramatic power struggles within Detroit's fabled music factory. Drawing on firsthand, intimate recollections from knowledgeable sources such as the Temp...

"A compassionate yet clear-eyed" (Washington Post) portrait of country music’s founding father and "Hillbilly King."Mark Ribowsky’s Hank has been hailed as the "greatest biography yet" (Library Journal, starred review) of the beloved icon. Hank Williams, a frail, flawed man who had become country music’s first real star, instantly morphed into its first tragic martyr when he died in the backseat of a Cadillac at the age of twenty-nine. Si...

“Black men could finally stand up and be men because here's Black Moses; he's the epitome of Black masculinity. Chains that once represented bondage and slavery now can be a sign of power and strength and sexuality and virility.” —Isaac HayesWithin the stoned soul picnic of Black music icons in the ’60s and ’70s, only one could bill himself without a blush as Moses, demanding liberation for Black men with his notions of life and self—Isaac Lee Hayes Jr., the beautifully sheen, shad...

An action-packed biography of a man, his team, and the league he helped create—in the tradition of Maraniss’s When Pride Still Mattered.Tom Landry, the coach during professional football's most fabled era, transformed the gridiron from a no-holds-barred battlefield to the technical chess match it is today. With his trademark fedora and stoic facade, "God’s Coach" was a man of faith and few words, for twenty-nine years guiding "America's Team" from laughingstock to...