An all-star lineup of rock-n-rollers relay the uproariously wild, sentimental, and unexpected pre-stardom stories behind their favorite records. Rock Stars on the Record is a collection of first-hand tales by artists of all ages, backgrounds, and musical influences, remembering the meaning behind the records that mattered most to them. From Laura Jane Grace to Ian MacKaye, Don McLean to Cherie Currie, Alice Bag to Mac DeMarco, Perry Farrell to Suzi Quatro and Verdine White, and many more, bestselling author Eric Spitznagel talks to rock stars across the sonic spectrum about the albums that changed them in ways only music can change someone. Everyone’s most cherished childhood record―be it a battered piece of vinyl, torn cassette tape, or scratched CD―has a story, and those stories can be more revealing about their owners than you might expect. Read about how “Weird Al” Yankovic refined his accordion skills by playing along to Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, or how Fishbone’s Angelo Moore saved his life with a boombox and a Bad Brains album. Or about how Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman of Prince’s longtime band, The Revolution, fell in love while trading mixtapes. Each profile is more emotional, fascinating, and hilarious than the last. So place that needle in the groove, and prepare to hear something revelatory from your favorite rockers past and present. “Absolutely fascinating. It’s hard to believe that no one has done this before, but now that I’ve read it, it seems totally obvious―except that most journalists wouldn’t be able to get people to talk so openly and compellingly about something that, to an artist, may feel very private. I know these great musicians and their music better now. Thank you, Eric.” —Daniel J. Levitin, bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music, professor of Neuroscience and Music at McGill University in Montreal “In asking a slew of rock stars about the record that changed their lives, Eric Spitznagel also ferrets out fascinating backstories and unexpected anecdotes. Who knew that Tommy Roe’s granddaughter calls him ‘the Justin Bieber of the ‘60s’? Or that Perry Farrell entertained his older siblings’ friends’ by dancing the Hully Gully at their parties? Rock Stars on the Record is so much fun, and more illuminating that you’d expect.” —Caroline Sullivan, author of Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with the Bay City Rollers

Filled with memorable photographs, Rock Star will appeal to anyone interested in modern American popular culture or music history.

The story behind rockmusics most famous record covers as told by some of music business' most profilic rockstars.

A Hudson Booksellers Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year, with foreword by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy High Fidelity meets Killing Yourself to Live when one man searches for his lost record collection. As he finds himself within spitting distance of middle-age, journalist Eric Spitznagel feels acutely the loss of… something. Freedom? Maybe. Coolness? Could be. The records he sold in a financial pinch? Definitely. To find out for sure, he sets out on a quest to find the original vinyl artifacts from his past. Not just copies. The exact same records: The Bon Jovi record with his first girlfriend's phone number scrawled on the front sleeve. The KISS Alive II he once shared with his little brother. The Replacements Let It Be he’s pretty sure, 20 years later, would still smell like weed. As he embarks on his hero's journey, he reminisces about the actual records, the music, and the people he listened to it with—old girlfriends, his high school pals, and, most poignantly, his father and his young son. He explores the magic of music and memory as he interweaves his adventures in record-culture with questions about our connection to our past, the possibility of ever recapturing it, and whether we would want to if we could. "Memories are far more indelible when married to the physical world, and Spitznagel proves the point in this vivid book. We love vinyl records because they combine the tactile, the visual, the seeable effects of age and care and carelessness. When he searches for the records he lost and sold, Spitznagel is trying to return to a tangible past, and he details that process with great sensitivity and impact."—Dave Eggers, New York Times bestselling author of The Circle

Daisy Jones & the Six meets Nick Hornby in this uplit debut novel about a young musician who auditions for a band and is suddenly catapulted into the wild world of rock and roll stardom, where nothing is quite what it seems. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom on your way to the top. It’s 1974. The music world is rocking with bellbottoms, platform shoes, and lots and lots of drugs. This year’s sensation is an American band called Downtown Exit and their latest album has just gone gold. For high school dropout Levi Jaxon, things aren’t so great. After bouncing around foster homes for years, he’s living in his best friend’s basement. His dream is to someday be a rock star, but he has a problem—his own band has just broken up. In an uncanny stroke of luck, Levi lands an audition for Downtown Exit, who are now recording their second album at Abbey Road Studios. He arrives in London and aces his audition, only to learn he’s not really in the band. No, Levi’s job is to sit in the wings and cover for the band’s real guitarist when he inevitably starts tripping on stage. Levi sticks with it, hoping to step into the role he’s always dreamed of. But he must first navigate egos, jealousies, and deceptions. Frankie, the band’s front man, has it out for him. And Levi has fallen for Ariadne, the band’s photographer. All of them have their secrets, Levi included. And as the band tours through Europe and struggles to finish their new album, Levi comes face to face with unanswered questions from his past and the impossible price that fame demands. Utterly magical and transporting, Bootleg Stardust is a one-of-a-kind joyride about the power of music to bring people together—and break them apart—and the courage it takes to find your own voice.

Named one of the best music books of 2017 by The Wall Street Journal An elegy to the age of the Rock Star, featuring Chuck Berry, Elvis, Madonna, Bowie, Prince, and more, uncommon people whose lives were transformed by rock and who, in turn, shaped our culture Recklessness, thy name is rock. The age of the rock star, like the age of the cowboy, has passed. Like the cowboy, the idea of the rock star lives on in our imaginations. What did we see in them? Swagger. Recklessness. Sexual charisma. Damn-the-torpedoes self-belief. A certain way of carrying themselves. Good hair. Interesting shoes. Talent we wished we had. What did we want of them? To be larger than life but also like us. To live out their songs. To stay young forever. No wonder many didn’t stay the course. In Uncommon People, David Hepworth zeroes in on defining moments and turning points in the lives of forty rock stars from 1955 to 1995, taking us on a journey to burst a hundred myths and create a hundred more. As this tribe of uniquely motivated nobodies went about turning themselves into the ultimate somebodies, they also shaped us, our real lives and our fantasies. Uncommon People isn’t just their story. It’s ours as well.

Using the essentially rhetorical (some might say theological) question: "What was the first rock 'n' roll record?" as its starting point, this unique book nominates 50 records for the honor, beginning with an early live recording, "Blues, Part 2" (1944) and ending with Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" (1956). Forewords by Billy Vera and Dave Marsh.