Nonfiction / Music Best Sellers

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER Heart Life Music is a love letter to the journey: all the places I’ve gone and how we got here. This book takes you on the ride. Knoxville. Moscow. Myrtle Beach. The Virgin Islands. Plentywood, Montana. Holmdel, New Jersey. Key West. New England. The Road. No Shoes Nation. Beyond. We’ve had a lot of fun, a bunch of challenges, a few moments of wondering “what the hell?”—and more love than any artist deserves. You’re gonna meet so many people, some you’d never expect to see crossing my path, whether it’s the Wailers, Willie Nelson, John Madden, or Grace Potter. Maybe you won’t be surprised at all. I just know this: A whole lot has happened. For anyone who’s found a piece of your life in any of my songs, this is for you. Open a cold drink, get out on your deck or your boat or wherever your happy space is, jump in, and live them along with me. And if you’ve got dreams, whatever they are, know they don’t always come easy. But if you believe, do the hard work, and keep coming back, you’d be amazed at what can happen. I’m a pretty average guy, so look at this—know you might could do it, too. It’s been a helluva trip around the sun.

Shocking, bitterly hilarious and surprisingly life-affirming, the brutally honest and unflinching memoir from rock'n'roll hellraiser Ozzy Osbourne. People say to me, if you could do it all again, knowing what you know now, would you change anything? I'm like, f*** no. If I'd been clean and sober, I wouldn't be Ozzy. If I'd done normal, sensible things, I wouldn't be Ozzy. Look, if it ends tomorrow, I can't complain. I've been all around the world. Seen a lot of things. I've done good... and I've done bad. But right now, I'm not ready to go anywhere. At the age of sixty-nine, Ozzy Osbourne was on a triumphant farewell tour, playing to sold-out arenas and rave reviews all around the world. Then disaster. In a matter of just a few weeks, he went from being hospitalised with a finger infection to having to abandon his tour - and all public life - as he faced near-total paralysis from the neck down. Last Rites is the shocking, bitterly hilarious, never-before-told story of Osbourne's descent into hell. Along the way, he reflects on his extraordinary life and career - including his turbulent marriage to wife Sharon, his regrets over Black Sabbath's reunion, encounters with fellow hellraisers including Slash, Bon Scott, John Bonham and Keith Moon and the harrowing final moments he spent with Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister. Last Rites demonstrates once again why Ozzy has transcended his status as 'The Godfather of Metal' and 'The Prince of Darkness' to become a modern-day folk hero and national treasure.

An exploration of Taylor Swift's life and career, detailing her rise to fame in the music industry.

In the first part of her memoir, the multiple award-winning pop culture icon traces her childhood and forays into the world of entertainment. Read by Stephanie J. Block and the author. 15 hours, 47 minutes unabridged.

The #1 New York Times Bestseller * Named one of Variety's Best Music Books of 2021 * Included in Audible's Best of The Year list * A Business Insider Best Memoirs of 2021 * One of NME's Best Music Books of 2021 So, I've written a book. Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities ("It's a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!") I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I've recorded and can't wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child. This certainly doesn't mean that I'm quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it's like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.

Jessica reveals for the first time her inner monologue and most intimate struggles. Guided by the journals she's kept since age fifteen, and brimming with her unique humor and down-to-earth humanity, Open Book is as inspiring as it is entertaining. This was supposed to be a very different book. Five years ago, Jessica Simpson was approached to write a motivational guide to living your best life. She walked away from the offer, and nobody understood why. The truth is that she didn't want to lie. Jessica couldn't be authentic with her readers if she wasn't fully honest with herself first. Now, Americas Sweetheart, preachers daughter, pop phenomenon, reality TV pioneer, and the billion-dollar fashion mogul invites readers on a remarkable journey, examining a life that blessed her with the compassion to help others but also burdened her with an almost crippling need to please. Open Book is Jessica Simpson using her voice, heart, soul, and humor to share things shes never shared before. First celebrated for her voice, she became one of the most talked-about women in the world, whether for music and fashion, her relationship struggles, or as a walking blonde joke. But now, instead of being talked about, Jessica is doing the talking. Her book shares the wisdom and inspirations shes learned and shows the real woman behind all the pop-culture cliche s "chicken or fish," "Daisy Duke," "football jinx," "mom jeans," "sexual napalm" and more. Open Book is an opportunity to laugh and cry with a close friend, one that will inspire you to live your best, most authentic life, now that she is finally living hers. Five years ago Simpson was approached to write a motivational guide to living your best life. She walked away from the offer because she believed she couldn't be authentic with her readers if she wasn't fully honest with herself first. Now she examines her life: blessed with the compassion to help others but also burdened with an almost crippling need to please. First celebrated for her voice, she became famous for music and fashion, her relationship struggles-- and as a walking blonde joke. Here she shares the wisdom and inspirations she has learned, and shows the real woman behind all the pop-culture cliche s. -- adapted from jacket

The Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller The global icon, award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, actress, mother, daughter, sister, storyteller, and artist finally tells the unfiltered story of her life in The Meaning of Mariah Carey It took me a lifetime to have the courage and the clarity to write my memoir. I want to tell the story of the moments - the ups and downs, the triumphs and traumas, the debacles and the dreams, that contributed to the person I am today. Though there have been countless stories about me throughout my career and very public personal life, it’s been impossible to communicate the complexities and depths of my experience in any single magazine article or a ten-minute television interview. And even then, my words were filtered through someone else’s lens, largely satisfying someone else’s assignment to define me. This book is composed of my memories, my mishaps, my struggles, my survival and my songs. Unfiltered. I went deep into my childhood and gave the scared little girl inside of me a big voice. I let the abandoned and ambitious adolescent have her say, and the betrayed and triumphant woman I became tell her side. Writing this memoir was incredibly hard, humbling and healing. My sincere hope is that you are moved to a new understanding, not only about me, but also about the resilience of the human spirit. Love, Mariah

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, from his rollercoaster lifestyle as shown in the film Rocketman, to becoming a living legend. Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt, and boots with wings. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again. His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with song-writing partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation to conquering Broadway with Aida, The Lion King, and Billy Elliot the Musical. All the while Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade. In Me, Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble, and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you by a living legend.

"The brilliant coming-of-age-and-into-superstardom story of one of the greatest artists of all time, in his own words--featuring never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, and the exquisite memoir he began writing before his tragic death." -- amazon.com An acclaimed musician, Prince Rogers Nelson was a visionary with an imagination deep enough to whip up whole worlds. But his most ambitious creative act was turning himself into one of the greatest pop stars of any era. Before his death Prince was writing a memoir, taking us into his childhood world. The second part of the book takes us through his early days as a musician through a scrapbook of writing and photos. We then follow Prince's evolution through candid images, before turning to his handwritten treatment for Purple Rain-- a retelling of the first three pars as a heroic journey. Piepenbring's introduction, and annotations throughout, provide context to the book's images. -- adapted from jacket

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer, and six-time Grammy winner opens up about faith, sexuality, parenthood, and a life shaped by music in “one of the great memoirs of our time” (Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed). “If anyone ever has a doubt in their mind that the wildest of dreams can be realized from complicated circumstances, they should read Brandi’s story. I absolutely loved it.”—Elton John NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND AUTOSTRADDLE Brandi Carlile was born into a musically gifted, impoverished family on the outskirts of Seattle and grew up in a constant state of change, moving from house to house, trailer to trailer, fourteen times in as many years. Though imperfect in every way, her dysfunctional childhood was as beautiful as it was strange, and as nurturing as it was difficult. At the age of five, Brandi contracted bacterial meningitis, which almost took her life, leaving an indelible mark on her formative years and altering her journey into young adulthood. As an openly gay teenager, Brandi grappled with the tension between her sexuality and her faith when her pastor publicly refused to baptize her on the day of the ceremony. Shockingly, her small town rallied around Brandi in support and set her on a path to salvation where the rest of the misfits and rejects find it: through twisted, joyful, weird, and wonderful music. In Broken Horses, Brandi Carlile takes readers through the events of her life that shaped her very raw art—from her start at a local singing competition where she performed Elton John’s “Honky Cat” in a bedazzled white polyester suit, to her first break opening for Dave Matthews Band, to many sleepless tours over fifteen years and six studio albums, all while raising two children with her wife, Catherine Shepherd. This hard-won success led her to collaborations with personal heroes like Elton John, Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Pearl Jam, Tanya Tucker, and Joni Mitchell, as well as her peers in the supergroup The Highwomen, and ultimately to the Grammy stage, where she converted millions of viewers into instant fans. Evocative and piercingly honest, Broken Horses is at once an examination of faith through the eyes of a person rejected by the church’s basic tenets and a meditation on the moments and lyrics that have shaped the life of a creative mind, a brilliant artist, and a genuine empath on a mission to give back.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A panoramic experience that tells the story of Beastie Boys, a book as unique as the band itself—by band members ADROCK and Mike D, with contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more. The inspiration for the Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ “live documentary” Beastie Boys Story, directed by Spike Jonze NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Rolling Stone • The Guardian • Paste Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam “ADROCK” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the debut album that became the first hip hop record ever to hit #1, Licensed to Ill—and the album’s messy fallout as the band broke with Def Jam; their move to Los Angeles and rebirth with the genre-defying masterpiece Paul’s Boutique; their evolution as musicians and social activists over the course of the classic albums Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and Hello Nasty and the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits conceived by the late Adam “MCA” Yauch; and more. For more than thirty years, this band has had an inescapable and indelible influence on popular culture. With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir. Alongside the band narrative you will find rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a map of Beastie Boys’ New York, mixtape playlists, pieces by guest contributors, and many more surprises. Praise for Beastie Boys Book “A fascinating, generous book with portraits and detail that float by in bursts of color . . . As with [the band’s] records, the book’s structure is a lyrical three-man weave. . . . Diamond’s voice is lapidary, droll. Horovitz comes on like a borscht belt comedian, but beneath that he is urgent, incredulous, kind of vulnerable. . . . Friendship is the book’s subject as much as music, fame and New York.”—The New York Times Book Review “Wild, moving . . . resembles a Beastie Boys LP in its wild variety of styles.”—Rolling Stone

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Washington Post Notable Book Excerpted in The New Yorker A work of unparalleled candor and splendorous beauty, The Lyrics celebrates the creative life and the musical genius of Paul McCartney through 154 of his most meaningful songs. From his early Liverpool days, through the historic decade of The Beatles, to Wings and his long solo career, The Lyrics pairs the definitive texts of 154 Paul McCartney songs with first-person commentaries on his life and music. Spanning two alphabetically arranged volumes, these commentaries reveal how the songs came to be and the people who inspired them: his devoted parents, Mary and Jim; his songwriting partner, John Lennon; his “Golden Earth Girl,” Linda Eastman; his wife, Nancy McCartney; and even Queen Elizabeth, among many others. Here are the origins of “Let It Be,” “Lovely Rita,” “Yesterday,” and “Mull of Kintyre,” as well as McCartney’s literary influences, including Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, and Alan Durband, his high-school English teacher. With images from McCartney’s personal archives—handwritten texts, paintings, and photographs, hundreds previously unseen—The Lyrics, spanning sixty-four years, becomes the definitive literary and visual record of one of the greatest songwriters of all time.

In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl's half-time show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That's how this extraordinary autobiography began. Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life, bringing to these pages the same honesty, humour, and originality found in his songs. He describes growing up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey, amid the poetry, danger, and darkness that fueled his imagination, leading up to the moment he refers to as "The Big Bang": seeing Elvis Presley's debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. He vividly recounts his relentless drive to become a musician, his early days as a bar band king in Asbury Park, and the rise of the E Street Band. With disarming candour, he also tells for the first time the story of the personal struggles that inspired his best work, and shows us why the song "Born to Run" reveals more than we previously realized.

Hagar tells of his tear through rock, from his first break with Montrose to his role as the front man of Van Halen.

The Rolling Stones guitarist\'s revealing autobiography is also a portrait of the era when rock \'n\' roll came of age.

Winner of the 2010 Non-Fiction National Book Award Patti Smith's definitive memoir is an evocative, honest and moving coming-of-age story of her extraordinary relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe. 'Sharp, elegiac and finely crafted' Sunday Times 'Terrifically evocative ... The most spellbinding and diverting portrait of funky-but-chic New York in the late '60s and '70s that any alumnus has committed to print' New York Times 'Render, harrowing, often hilarious' Vogue In 1967, a chance meeting between two young people led to a romance and a lifelong friendship that would carry each to international success never dreamed of. The backdrop is Brooklyn, Chelsea Hotel, Max's Kansas City, Scribner's Bookstore, Coney Island, Warhol's Factory and the whole city resplendent. Among their friends, literary lights, musicians and artists such as Harry Smith, Bobby Neuwirth, Allen Ginsberg, Sandy Daley, Sam Shepherd, William Burroughs, etc. It was a heightened time politically and culturally; the art and music worlds exploding and colliding. In the midst of all this two kids made a pact to always care for one another. Scrappy, romantic, committed to making art, they prodded and provided each other with faith and confidence during the hungry years--the days of cous-cous and lettuce soup. Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. Beautifully written, this is a profound portrait of two young artists, often hungry, sated only by art and experience. And an unforgettable portrait of New York, her rich and poor, hustlers and hellions, those who made it and those whose memory lingers near.

An iconic figure of the 1960s and '70s, Pattie Boyd breaks a forty-year silence in Wonderful Tonight, and tells the story of how she found herself bound to two of the most addictive, promiscuous musical geniuses of the twentieth century and became the most famous muse in the history of rock and roll. She met the Beatles in 1964 when she was cast as a schoolgirl in A Hard Day's Night. Ten days later a smitten George Harrison proposed. For twenty-year-old Pattie Boyd, it was the beginning of an unimaginably rich and complex life as she was welcomed into the Beatles inner circle--a circle that included Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, Jeff Beck, and a veritable who's who of rock musicians. She describes the dynamics of the group, the friendships, the tensions, the musicmaking, and the weird and wonderful memories she has of Paul and Linda, Cynthia and John, Ringo and Maureen, and especially the years with her husband, George. It was a sweet, turbulent life, but one that would take an unexpected turn, starting with a simple note that began "dearest l." I read it quickly and assumed that it was from some weirdo; I did get fan mail from time to time.... I thought no more about it until that evening when the phone rang. It was Eric [Clapton]. "Did you get my letter?"... And then the penny dropped. "Was that from you?" I said....It was the most passionate letter anyone had ever written me.For the first time Pattie Boyd, former wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, a high-profile model whose face epitomized the swinging London scene of the 1960s, a woman who inspired Harrison's song "Something" and Clapton's anthem "Layla," has decided to write a book that is rich and raw, funny and heartbreaking--and totally honest and open and breathtaking. Here is the truth, here is what happened, here is the story you've been waiting for.From the Hardcover edition.

"Journals" by Kurt Cobain is a collection of the Nirvana frontman's personal writings, drawings, and reflections. The book provides readers with insights into Cobain's thoughts, creative process, and experiences. As an autobiographical work, "Journals" offers a glimpse into the mind of a musical icon and the challenges he faced.

"Here, for the first time in print, is the history of the Beatles--by the Beatles. The extraordinary project has been made possible because Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr have agreed to tell their combined story especially for this book. Together with Yoko Ono Lennon, they have also made available the full transcripts (including all the outtakes) of the television and video series 'The Beatles anthology' ... "--Dust jacket. Includes primary source material in the form of photographs, transcripts, etc.

For fans of the box office hit, Michael - The ONLY book Michael Jackson ever wrote about his life – Discover the King of Pop in his own words in the New York Times bestselling autobiography. One of the most successful entertainers of all-time, this personal and intimate memoir sees Michael Jackson chronicle his life from his humble beginnings in the Midwest and his early days with the Jackson 5, to his unprecedented solo success, Giving unrivalled insight into the King of Pop's life, it details his songwriting process for hits like Beat It, Rock With You, Billie Jean, and We Are the World; describes how he developed his signature dance style, including the Moon Walk; and opens the door to his very private personal relationships with his family, including sister Janet, and stars like Diana Ross, Berry Gordy, Marlon Brando, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, and Brooke Shields. At the time of its original publication in 1988, MOONWALK broke the fiercely guarded barrier of silence that surrounded Michael Jackson. Candidly and courageously, Jackson talks openly about his wholly exceptional career and the crushing isolation of his fame, as well as the unfair rumours that have surrounded it. Illustrated with rare photographs from Jackson family albums and Michael's personal photographic archives, as well as a drawing done by Michael exclusively for the book, MOONWALK reveals and celebrates, as no other book can, the life of this exceptional and beloved musician.

"Elvis and Me" is a memoir by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, the former wife of Elvis Presley. The book provides insights into their relationship, Elvis's life, and the challenges faced by Priscilla. The memoir offers a personal perspective on the King of Rock and Roll and the complexities of fame. Readers gain a behind-the-scenes look at the life of one of the most iconic figures in music history.