Take a trip with me as we journey through some of the most loved songs of the 60's and 70's. This is your backstage pass into the lives of the singer-songwriters and the music they created...the very origins of them. It's a behind-the-scenes look at the stories behind the songs. Who wrote them? When? Where? Why? These songs make up a musical landscape that became the soundtrack of a whole generation.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A celebration of American history through the music that helped to shape a nation, by Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham and music superstar Tim McGraw “Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw form an irresistible duo—connecting us to music as an unsung force in our nation's history.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin Through all the years of strife and triumph, America has been shaped not just by our elected leaders and our formal politics but also by our music—by the lyrics, performers, and instrumentals that have helped to carry us through the dark days and to celebrate the bright ones. From “The Star-Spangled Banner” to “Born in the U.S.A.,” Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw take readers on a moving and insightful journey through eras in American history and the songs and performers that inspired us. Meacham chronicles our history, exploring the stories behind the songs, and Tim McGraw reflects on them as an artist and performer. Their perspectives combine to create a unique view of the role music has played in uniting and shaping a nation. Beginning with the battle hymns of the revolution, and taking us through songs from the defining events of the Civil War, the fight for women’s suffrage, the two world wars, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and into the twenty-first century, Meacham and McGraw explore the songs that defined generations, and the cultural and political climates that produced them. Readers will discover the power of music in the lives of figures such as Harriet Tubman, Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and will learn more about some of our most beloved musicians and performers, including Marian Anderson, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington, Carole King, Bruce Springsteen, and more. Songs of America explores both famous songs and lesser-known ones, expanding our understanding of the scope of American music and lending deeper meaning to the historical context of such songs as “My Country, ’Tis of Thee,” “God Bless America,” “Over There,” “We Shall Overcome,” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.” As Quincy Jones says, Meacham and McGraw have “convened a concert in Songs of America,” one that reminds us of who we are, where we’ve been, and what we, at our best, can be.

Don Perry was an “eye-witness” to the birth of Rock and Roll. When Elvis Presley arrived, Rock and Roll exploded and Don knew he wanted to be a part of it. In 1963, he sold his car and armed with enough money to last six months, headed to Hollywood to become a Rock star. Surely that would be enough time. That six months stretched to nearly thirty years and as Rock evolved and changed, so did Don’s career. “Don Perry Produced The Music” traces his journey as a singer/songwriter, recording engineer, record producer, manager, concert promoter and finally, music supervisor for film and TV. It also traces the golden years of Rock and Roll and how they shaped every step of the way.

The first definitive biography of music legend Stevie Wonder Stevie 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 attracting dedicated fans around the world. For the first time, Signed, Sealed, and Delivered takes an in-depth look at Stevie Wonder's life and his evolution from kid-soul pop star into a mature artist whose music helped lay the groundwork for the evolution of hip hop and rap. Explores the life, achievements, and influence of one of America's biggest musical icons, set against the history of Motown and the last fifty years of popular music Based on extensive interviews with Motown producers, music executives, songwriters, and musicians, including founding Temptation Otis Williams, Mickey Stevenson, surviving Funk Brother Eddie Willis, synthesizer genius Malcolm Cecil, guitar legend Michael Sembello, and many others Traces Stevie's personal and musical development through the decades, from the early 1960s R&B of "Fingertips" to the social and political themes of "Living for the City" and other 1970s classics, through periods of musical and personal confusion, uncertainty, and, later, renewal Read Signed, Sealed, and Delivered to explore the life and work of one of pop music's most compelling masters of invention.

I thought my life was in no particular turmoil when I first met Jaichima and Vicente in 1992. Retrospectively, I was lost, confused, and hanging onto life by a thread . . . a thread of delusions spun by suppression and repression and concealed by layers of addiction and denial. Although college educated and successful, I was feeling increasingly frustrated, depressed and unhappy for unknown reasons. Moving from the Midwest to Arizona failed to effectively alter my disposition. Closing my business and quitting my job did not help. The truth remained concealed even after two years of intervention by the Mara'akames. Slowly, via counseling, ceremonies and workshop involvement, the truth began to emerge. Thirty years of repression, addiction, denial and delusion, gradually surrendered their ugly tentacles revealing horrendous untreated childhood sexual and parental abuse. Untreated, the effects of my childhood trauma developed into a severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that has been expressed through unconscious imbalanced entity behaviors most of my life. When counseling began, my life instantly unraveled. I became confused, angry and disconnected with the person I never knew or understood; myself. Though repression and denial saved my life, intervention unlocked the door exposing my damaged entities that were created during childhood, nurtured during teen years and perfected during adulthood absent counseling. These life-saving entities silently and unknowingly controlled my life. Through the Mara'akames nontraditional intervention, guidance and healing techniques, my nonexistent spirituality gradually transformed into deep spiritual awareness. This spirituality became the essential foundation for my healing . . . and was rudimentary for unveiling my horrific past. This candid story reveals how blind adulation of my father led to horrendous childhood sexual and parental abuse with subsequent complete repression and denial. It reveals my atrocious past, defines my entities, and discusses my healing process after thirty years of repression. It also elucidates the non-traditional healing techniques, foremost spirituality, taught by the Mara'akames. Jaichima is a Mara'akame from the Huichol tribe called Wirarika of the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. She has practiced ancient and traditional tribal medicine for many years in Mexico and the United States. She speaks numerous languages and has been a committed medicine woman all of her life. Dominic Maka has been employed as a health care and vocational rehabilitation professional throughout his career. For ten years he owned and operated a successful consulting business. He has been married thirty years and is the father of three children.

Chosen #5 by Billboard Magazine of the Ten Best Music Books of 2018!!!FOR THE ROCK MUSIC FAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING ...from KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Simon's star-studded debut memoir populated with humorous details and matter-of-fact commentary is incredibly readable, with plenty of quote-worthy anecdotes.Over the span of his lengthy career as a music producer, the author worked with some legendary artists, including Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, and The Band. In this remembrance, he details his lifelong engagement with music, which follows the trajectory of American popular music as a whole, from jazz to Broadway musicals to rock 'n' roll. An intriguing memoir about an unusual career involving some celebrated musical figures."Producer John Simon takes you on an incredible journey through his career in music with inside tales and quirky good humor.Celebrated music producer John Simon has produced some of the greatest rock 'n' roll ever recorded including THE BAND's "Music from Big Pink," "The Band," and "The Last Waltz," JANIS JOPLIN's Cheap Thrills, SIMON AND GARFUNKEL's Bookends, and the first albums by LEONARD COHEN and BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS. His contributions to popular music have helped tell the story of a generation in the 1960s and 70s, and now he is sharing his own."WHEN JOHN SIMON JOINED THE BAND'S BROTHERHOOD HE FIT LIKE A GLOVE. I CAN'T IMAGINE ANOTHER RECORD PRODUCER IN THE WHOLE WORLD WHO COULD'VE MATCHED JOHN'S WORK ON: MUSIC FROM BIG PINK AND THE BAND, ALBUMS." - - Robbie Robertson"Reflecting on the amazing life he's led, I found myself thinking he ought to write a book. Then I realized that he did. Now he tells never-before-told tales of those rich, often rollicking years in his colorful new book."--- Steve Israel* * * * * * *Given his truly unique perspective on music and the music business, Simon has been been courted by interviewers for years. With so many anecdotes to choose from, Simon found himself only skimming the surface of his experiences. Now, in writing TRUTH, LIES & HEARSAY, he has drawn on a lifetime of numerous first-hand accounts revealed in this memoir for first time, including: -Getting down the sounds for MUSIC FROM BIG PINK and THE BAND's 2nd album-How everything was changed by a hit record of a PAUL SIMON song that Paul didn't even like-Experiencing the volatile personal dynamics during the recording of CHEAP THRILLS by BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY featuring their new vocalist, JANIS JOPLIN-Living and playing in Woodstock when it was just a small-town safe haven for musicians.-Behind-the-scenes at THE BAND's "farewell concert appearance" -Writing two ballet scores for legendary choreographer TWYLA THARP-Touring with American blues master, TAJ MAHAL-Recording secrets revealed and much, much more!With an unerring ear for music and eye for a good story, John Simon has amassed a collection of remarkable stories to delight any music fan.Read about Leonard Cohen, Levon Helm, Janis Joplin, Robbie Robertson, The Band, Mama Cass, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Gordon Lightfoot, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Wilson Pickett, Peter Yarrow, Gil Evans, Elizabeth Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Les Paul, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Steve Forbert, Marshall McLuhan and The Beatles - -- All of these people and more turn up in the pages of TRUTH, LIES and HEARSAY: A Memoir of a Musical Life In and Out of Rock and Roll.You will really like this book.

These forty-eight powerful stories and poems etch in vivid detail the breakthrough moments experienced by women during the life-changing era that was the ’60s and ’70s. These women rode the sexual revolution with newfound freedom, struggled for identity in divorce courts and boardrooms, and took political action in street marches. They pushed through boundaries, trampled taboos, and felt the pain and joy of new experiences. And finally, here, they tell it like it was. From Vietnam to France, from Chile to England, from the Haight-Ashbury to Greenwich Village, and to the Deep South and Midwest, Times They Were A-Changing recalls the cultural reverberations that reached into farm kitchens and city “pads” alike—and in doing so, it celebrates the women of the ’60s and ’70s, reminding them of the importance of their legacy.