Other Books

As we're talking other books here... one to look out for is "Best Seat In The House: Drumming In The '70s with Marriott, Frampton, & Humble Pie" by Jerry Shirley.

It's available now, but Amazon have yet to stock it... you can find out more here

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$24.99 6x9 paperback, 320 pages.

Jerry Shirley's recently published Memoir, edited by Tim and Jon Cohan. Here is a hard rock memoir – essentially an authorized bio on the endearing British rock band Humble Pie – as told from the drum throne and backstage hallways during the emerging days of the Seventies classic rock era.

In 1969, Jerry Shirley was chosen to drum in a new band led by Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton. He had just turned 17. Along with bassist Greg Ridley, and manager Dee Anthony, the Pie started a 6-year journey that stormed the US and defined Arena Rock – bigger sound, bigger contracts, and bigger parties.

Along the way Jerry meets with future legends that make for a star-studded bio and rare glimpse into the rock music industry. Written in his own voice and with a wicked musician sense of humor, Jerry details the vibrant scene that created the explosive sound of heavy rock. He explains how sessions were conducted by iconic engineers like Glyn Johns and Eddie Kramer, describes his session work with Syd Barrett and George Harrison and tells amusing tales like drum shopping with the Who's Keith Moon. What was it like to perform a sold-out show at Shea Stadium, play for 250,000 in Hyde Park, charter a private jet for tour, record the trend-setting live record at the Fillmore East (that spawned the FM radio staple “I Don't Need No Doctor”), get hyped for the stage by Dee Anthony, and deal with the drugs and excesses of this inhibitive era of rock?

This book definitely answers those questions as well as “What was it like to meet, play, record, tour, party, and fight with cult hero Steve Marriott?” No other book can cover it like this.

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On My radar is the Iommi book, a new one I found on Evel Knievel,

www.amazon.com/Evel-High-Flying-Knievel-American-Daredevil/dp/0385527454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319275420&sr=8-1

GH's of course and there's a highly acclaimed Bowie book out as well.

www.amazon.com/David-Bowie-Starman-Paul-Trynka/dp/0316032255/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319275465&sr=1-2

All have to be tons better than the horrible Michael Schumacher book by Christopher Hilton I bought recently and am trying to finish.

Quote from JohnH

All have to be tons better than the horrible Michael Schumacher book by Christopher Hilton I bought recently and am trying to finish.

The new -oh god I started typing Bill Gates... ahem, cough, sorry- the New Steve Jobs biography sounds good as well.

www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1451648537

And also, at 254 pages I just hope that GH's book isn't an all too brief two hour read like Sammy Hagar's similar length book. Books like that are over in a blink of an eye!

Duff's book also sounds good and is almost 400 pages.

www.amazon.com/Its-So-Easy-other-lies/dp/145160663X

Apart from Glenn's I have read quite a few music biographies this year!

Jon Hiseman's Playing The Band, and Jack Bruce's Composing Himself (from Jawbone Press ) are standouts, two of the best music biographies I have ever read!



Also a recommended read comes Graham Bond - The Mighty Shadow by Harry Shapiro, which is luckily available again via print on demand in the UK, but still very hard to find! A fantastic musician, but a very difficult character to put it mildly. You could also call him a real a**h**e!

Just started Ozzy's Trust Me, I'm Dr. Ozzy, which is hilarious!!!



Tons of other books I have read and can recommend, let alone fiction...
Well, it's part of my job, and I like it!

Cheers,
Christian

P.S. Thanks for pointing to Jerry Shirley's book, David. Will look out for that. Hasn't somebody on here mentioned Guy Pratt's book in another thread...?

Quote from David

As we're talking other books here... one to look out for is "Best Seat In The House: Drumming In The '70s with Marriott, Frampton, & Humble Pie" by Jerry Shirley.

It's available now, but Amazon have yet to stock it... you can find out more here

Here's Chad with his copy of the book

http://twitter.com/#!/JerryShirley1/status/129596361199976449/photo/1/large

Yeah Lioness! I typically have a current new book I'm reading at any given time, my reading slowed to just reading on trips a few years ago, now I'm always reading a book whether Im on a trip or not. Having Borders close has been very painful- I sometimes feel the USA is in a race to the bottom of stupidity and having almost no bookstores sure doesn't help my thoughts on that. Those afternoons spent in Borders while on cruise ships (especially in 2001 while far away from home in Puerto Rico) absolutely were life savers. I've started in on the Iommi book and it's already caused me to laugh my head off yesterday in public. Another good one I got this year was Steven Tyler's. The best one recently was Keith Richard's- almost 500 pages and never boring. I watched a very good band tear into Start Me UP last night and as I heard them butcher the chords I mmediately thought of something in the book: No bar band ever gets it right, because they don't tune their guitars to the correct Keith tuning. If I ever do this song again, I will be bringing a spare guitar or at the very least Ill tune my one guitar Keith's way! Another good one I read a couple of years ago was Don Felder's Eagles memoir.

It's funny back when I was 17 and read that Charlesworth book, I thought reading about the Come Taste the Band era the turmoil at the time meant the music must be awful, now it's just about my favorite Purple album. I never imagined it was as good as it turned out to be and I would rather listen to it or MK 3 than what I liked at 17-Machine Head, Perfect Strangers, Made In Japan.

thanx for that tipp about the "Rocks" Yvonne, i'll go and get me one.
And the "Ozzy" book seems to be interesting too, ey!
The DVD "God Bless Ozzy Osbourne" is great too, enjoy it!
A lot of material of old Sabbath days and of course all the crazy stuff, i laughed a lot.
But it shows Ozzy's other sides, he's into painting, and he's into Leonardo da Vinci art.
And the story of his father brought tears in my eye, must have been a great man. I had a wonderful father too, i know what it's like.

greets
Sigurd

The website has been telling me I haven't posted in a while, so here is a short one

Currently reading Miles - The Autobiography by Miles Davis.

Quote from Chip

The website has been telling me I haven't posted in a while, so here is a short one

Currently reading Miles - The Autobiography by Miles Davis.

Chip who?

I was just reading on a Rhoads forum. Bob Daisley is finishing his book, it apparently will be long. He's worked for Blackmore, Malmsteen, Rhoads, Ozzy, Moore, Iommi...this will be a great book!


I did get the Evel Knievel book and it was great reading. Currently reading American Icon about Alan Mullally saving Ford. It's brilliant. He's my hero. Hart life is here as well, reading on next trip to Vegas this weekend.

Read the last couple of months

- Colin Hart - A Hart Life
- Glenn Hughes
- Tony Iommi - Iron Man
and now

My Boy by Philomena Lynott.
Originally released in 1996 (or 1995). This is an updated version with stories about the brother and sister of Phil.
Phil didn't know about their exsistence.