Music History Events: Books
October 26, 2010 Keith Richards releases his autobiography, Life. His drug use is a big topic - here's a quote: "I loved a good high. And if you stay up, you get the songs that everyone else misses because they're asleep."
October 14, 2000 The Beatles' official autobiography Anthology hits #1 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.
June 9, 1998 Jimmy Buffett's memoir A Pirate Looks At Fifty is released. It reaches #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Nonfiction. The title is taken from his 1974 song "A Pirate Looks At Forty."
October 21, 1992 Madonna's book Sex is released. Everything about it is shocking: the $50 price, the Mylar wrapping, the metal covers, and especially the images inside.More
September 28, 1989 Jimmy Buffett publishes his first book, a collection of short stories called Tales From Margaritaville that blends truth with confabulation.
September 1, 1988 The Rock N' Roll Cuisine cookbook is published, with 95 recipes from various musicians. Selections include Yoko Ono's "Dream Soup" (sunshine in a bowl), Cher's "Boyfriend Approved Macaroni Salad," Mick Jagger's shrimp curry and Weird Al Yankovic's peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
August 15, 1980 George Harrison becomes the first Beatle to release an autobiography when his book I Me Mine is published.
June 30, 1977 Marvel Comics publishes a Kiss comic book with a vial of their blood mixed into the ink.More
November 11, 1970 Bob Dylan publishes his first novel, a poorly received stream-of-consciousness work called Tarantula.
October 24, 2023 Britney Spears publishes her memoir, The Woman In Me, revealing that she was once pregnant with Justin Timberlake's baby but didn't have the child.
February 21, 2007 The movie studio Dreamworks takes out a full-page ad in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter apologizing for (but not exactly admitting to) similarities between their movie Dreamgirls, adapted from the stage musical, and the book Dreamgirl: My Life As a Supreme by former Supreme Mary Wilson. The book gives a look at the behind-the-scenes manipulations at Motown Records, bearing similarities to the stories recounted in Dreamgirls.
November 10, 2003 The paperback version of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain's Journals is released, sparking renewed interest in the dead rock star. A disorganized collection of his writings and drawings, the front cover warns, "if you read, you'll judge."
September 15, 2003 Madonna's first children's book is published in 42 languages in more than 100 countries. The release of The English Roses by Callaway Editions and Penguin Group, in association with various publishers around the world, is touted as the largest simultaneous worldwide release of a book in history.
November 20, 2002 Stevie Wonder threatens to sue his mother, Lula Hardaway, for a passage in her new autobiography where she claims Stevie lost his virginity to a prostitute. The story is deleted from future copies.
October 9, 2000 On what would have been John Lennon's 60th birthday, the book Lennon Remembers, The Complete Rolling Stone Interviews is released, containing material too controversial to publish years earlier.
May 1, 2000 Former Village Voice scribe Jimmy McDonough sues Neil Young for $1.8 million in civil court for allegedly backing down from his agreement to authorize a biography McDonough spent years writing.
September 23, 1996 Agnetha Faltskog, one of ABBA's two female leads, publishes her biography, As I Am.
October 1, 1979 Marvel publishes the first Alice Cooper comic book. The story takes place in a sanitarium and is based on his stay in rehab.
August 12, 1977 Three of Elvis Presley's former bodyguards (members of the "Memphis Mafia") release the book Elvis: What Happened?, which details his drug use for the first time. Four days later, Presley dies.
June 24, 1965 John Lennon's second book of drawings and nonsense rhymes, A Spaniard In The Works, is published.
November 20, 1964 John Lennon acts out his own "Deaf Ted, Danoota, (and me)," taken from his recent book of whimsy In His Own Write, for later broadcast on BBC's comedy show Not Only... But Also, assisted by Dudley Moore and Norman Rossington.
April 27, 1964 John Lennon's first book of prose and poetry, In His Own Write, is published in the US.
March 23, 1964 John Lennon's book In His Own Write is published.
May 5, 2020 Tori Amos releases her second memoir, Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage.
September 10, 2019 John Cooper of Skillet releases the graphic novel Eden, which follows the band's adventure through a dangerous post-apocalyptic world to find a mysterious paradise.
April 14, 2019 Logic (Bobby Hall) becomes the first rapper with a New York Times best seller when his novel Supermarket tops the Paperback Trade Fiction list.
September 27, 2016 Bruce Springsteen publishes his autobiography, Born To Run. He started working on it after his 2009 performance at the Super Bowl halftime show.
May 17, 2016 Moby releases his memoir Porcelain, named because he threw up into a lot of porcelain toilets. It's also the title of a hit single from his landmark album, Play.
December 15, 2015 In an interview with the London commuter freesheet Metro, Carol Decker of T'Pau is asked if her autobiography gave her any insights into her personality. She replies: "It did actually. I'm a bit of a c***."
December 11, 2015 Peter Garrett, frontman for the incendiary Aussie rock band Midnight Oil, publishes his memoir, Big Blue Sky.
©2024 Songfacts®, LLC