Musician biography books

Do you want to start by giving an introduction to how you chose these biographies? I think you have quite strong views about how to approach the history of music as a writer. Maybe you could start by telling us about that. 

It’s very difficult to write about music because, as one of my favorite musicologists, Wilfrid Mellers, once said, if you’re not writing technically about music, you’re not writing about music at all. You’re writing about something else. I’ve always taken that to heart and tried to keep it in mind when I write about music.

The problem is that in order to write technically about music, there is all of this jargon, and most readers don’t understand the jargon. So you have to try, somehow, to either explain the jargon along the way or avoid it and try to use everyday terms. The jargon is a time saver for people who understand it. That’s why it’s there, it’s a series of shortcuts. But there’s no point in using it if you’re writing for a general audience, which isn’t going to understand it. And it’s really only general audiences that I’m interested in writing for.

So biography was important to your approach in writing The Shortest History of Music?

I wrote about what I thought were the important ways we have used music as a society and the way in which music has developed in different ways, in different places, at different times. All you can do is give some examples, and a lot of those examples are biographical. I needed to hit upon some key figures, not necessarily the greatest musicians who ever lived, not necessarily even the most interesting ones, but the ones who helped me to tell the story, because they were doing something at a particular moment that exemplified what other people were doing.

It was the same with pieces of music. There are so many famous pieces of music that are not mentioned in the book. The ones that I chose are not my favorites and not the ones that I think are the greatest. Some

Like words, music moves us. Most of us have a song or an artist that will instantly take us back decades, bring us to tears or make us dance in our seats. With such a close tie to our heartstrings, it’s no wonder music makes us want to learn more about it’s creator.

And most musical artists have quite a story to tell—from humble beginnings to glittering stardom to the tough realities of life on the road. When you combine the magic of music with the power of storytelling, readers get a VIP pass into the green room and a look at the life behind the lyrics.

Spanning classic rock n’ roll, country, pop, blues, hip hop and more, these memoirs and biographies from famous music legends take us on a wild ride through the highs and lows of their careers and will strike a chord with anyone wanting to learn more about their favorite stars.

Borrow them on the Libby reading app from your library.

Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones by Dolly Parton (2023)

Global superstar Dolly Parton shares, for the first time, the full story behind her lifelong passion for fashion, including how she developed her own, distinctly Dolly style, which has defied convention and endeared her to fans around the world.

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (2023)

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice— her truth— was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono (2022)

In his unique voice, Bono takes us from his early days growing up in Dublin to U2’s unlikely journey to become one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than 20 years of activism dedicated to the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty. Writing with ca