Books — Recently Added

Chicago house music was underground right from the start – mostly hosted in secret urban spaces, long before the nightclubs were willing to take a chance on the revolutionary new music! As such, street-level communication was the way that most folks found out about the DJs and events tied to ... Book

A cool little book about the genre of spiritual jazz – that magical music that first sprang forth from the experiments of John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and others in the 60s – and which has given us decades of powerful, meaningful sounds over the years! The book isn't completely ... Book

Way more than just a simple book of record cover images – and instead a love letter to the sound and style of the disco generation – put together from classic album artwork, and augmented by thoughtful musings by the author! The book features full color reproductions of over 250 album ... Book

George Clinton tells his own story – the stuff of musical legend, from his early years in doo wop, through his mega-funk stardom in the 70s at the helm of the P-Funk universe, to his later years embroiled in legal battles and other issues that kept him away from creativity! Clinton's voice ... Book

A heavy-duty look at one of our favorite instruments of all time – the mighty Hammond Organ, a keyboard that forever changed the sound of jazz, soul, and even rock and roll on the US scene of the 50s, 60s, and 70s! The book is huge – a fully-illustrated history of the electric organ in ... Book

A stunning look at the great Mary Wells – one of Motown's first female acts of the 60s, and one of the decade's most important early soul figures as well! Mary's work on record is very well-known, but the story behind the music is completely different, and surprisingly dark at times – ... Book

Stuart Cosgrove has turned us on to plenty of music over the years – we first began reading his NME articles many years back – and this time around, he delivers a wonderfully detailed history about his youth as a fanatic for American soul music on the UK scene! Cosgrove was lucky ... Book

Ralph J Gleason might just be one of the coolest cats to ever write about music – a key part of the San Francisco scene during the postwar years – where his talents helped illuminate both the worlds of art and music during the beat generation – then really helped shine a spotlight ... Book

Lou Reed gave us some mighty fascinating music over his many years of recording – and the man himself also led an equally fascinating life – one that's covered here in very great detail, in a hefty biography that begins with Reed's troubled life as a child, to his early years moving ... Book

The full story of Sandy Denny – one of the most important female voices to rise from the British scene at the end of the 60s – and a singer who left this planet all too soon! Author Mich Houghton previously gave us a fantastic look at Elektra Records, and this time around his writing ... Book

American cities were going through tremendous changes in the 60s and 70s – changes that not only had an impact on local citizens, businesses, and municipal forces – but also on the art community as well! This book showcases a tremendous response to urban upheaval by artists in New York ... Book

The story of Charlie Parker is often draped in hyperbole and exaggeration – which is why it's extra great that this biography is handled by Stanley Crouch – one of the few writers we could trust to get past the hype and really find a way to link Parker's life and music! As you might ... Book

The legendary Iceberg Slim has given us plenty of his own story over the years – but this book is the first to look at the man behind the man – writer Robert Beck, who started as a pimp and became a surprisingly successful author – as well as an underground figure who inspired a ... Book

An incredibly dense book on the psychedelic scene of the 60s – a huge volume that not only looks at an impressive array of music, but also the wider trippy culture, too – but all with a level of text that goes far beyond most of the thinner volumes on the period! Many of the chapter ... Book

One of the greatest soul music TV shows ever (and one that originated in Chicago, too!) – presented here in deep detail with loads of interesting stories and anecdotes too! The book's almost a more personal history of the show than a technical one – but that's OK with us, because it ... Book

An amazing collection of 40s and 50s jazz drawings by Gene Deitch – the complete anthology of his work for legendary jazz magazine Record Changer! Gene was an amazing artist and cartoonist, whose work helped solidify the legacies of some of the most famous cartoon characters in the American ... Book

The story of one of greatest soul singers of all time, and also one who is living a fascinating journey, to say the very least – the great Al Green! The Arkansas born, Memphis soul legend tells his story to music writer Davin Seay, from his years reinventing southern soul music through his ... Book

Kehinde Wiley takes his World Stage format to Brazil – serving up a host of stunning portraits that were painted during a time he had residency overseas! As with other entries in the project, the approach here is beautiful – a mixture of older European portraiture and contemporary ... Book

A wonderfully-written autobiography from Elvis Costello – a book that's not only completely illuminating for any fan of his music, but which stands quite strongly on his own, even if you're not a longtime fan of the man himself! The volume almost sets a new standard for musician ... Book

A decade's worth of funky photographs – served up here in a completely massive book! Photographer Bruce Talamon was clearly the man on the scene in the 70s – able to gain access to some of the best soul and funk artists of the time – both onstage and backstage, with some great ... Book