The Guardian's Musicians and writers choose their favourite book about music

Elvis as a young man, the size of Mick Jagger’s genitalia, Kristin Hersh’s miracle year, Berlioz in love … As festivalgoers crowd the stages at Glastonbury, Brian Eno, Beck, Lavinia Greenlaw, James Wood and a host of other stars select their favourite books about rock, pop, jazz and classical

flag

All Votes Add Books To This List

1	As serious as your life: John Coltrane and beyond by Val Wilmer 4.35 avg rating — 450 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
1	Tunes of the Twenties and All That Jazz by Robert Rawlins it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 9 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday by Angela Y. Davis 4.25 avg rating — 1,463 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century by Greil Marcus 3.98 avg rating — 3,582 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick 4.09 avg rating — 8,371 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick 4.35 avg rating — 3,490 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Hallo Sausages: The Lyrics of Ian Dury by Ian Dury 4.57 avg rating — 21 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie by Pamela Des Barres 3.68 avg rating — 17,659 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Wreckers of Civilisation: The Story of COUM Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle by Simon Ford 4.30 avg rating — 467 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Life by Keith Richards 3.87 avg rating — 89,980 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	But Beautiful: A Book about Jazz by Geoff Dyer (Goodreads Author) 4.26 avg rating — 2,516 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Things The Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett 4.26 avg rating — 7,184 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Tao of Wu by The RZA 4.09 avg rating — 4,112 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Paradoxical Undressing by Kristin Hersh 4.34 avg rating — 292 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop by Bob Stanley 4.17 avg rating — 1,515 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Folk Song Style and Culture by Alan Lomax (Editor) 3.40 avg rating — 10 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	England's Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond by Jon Savage 4.06 avg rating — 6,733 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	The Memoirs by Hector Berlioz 4.31 avg rating — 311 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Shout: The True Story Of The Beatles by Philip Norman 4.03 avg rating — 5,447 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Tune In (The Beatles: All These Years, #1) by Mark Lewisohn 4.71 avg rating — 3,249 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Records and the Sixties by Ian MacDonald 4.25 avg rating — 5,148 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Madcap: The Half-Life of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's Lost Genius by Tim Willis 3.38 avg rating — 89 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	Will Oldham on Bonnie "Prince" Billy by Will Oldham 4.13 avg rating — 386 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of Hampton Hawes by Hampton Hawes 4.34 avg rating — 131 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Magic Circles: The Beatles in Dream and History by Devin McKinney (Goodreads Author) 3.86 avg rating — 66 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Haunted Weather: Music, Silence, and Memory by David Toop 3.96 avg rating — 363 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Essential Welty: Why I Live at the P.O., A Memory, Powerhouse and Petrified Man by Eudora Welty 3.92 avg rating — 137 ratings score: 75, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Essays on Music by Theodor W. Adorno 4.02 avg rating — 238 ratings score: 74, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	I am a composer by Arthur Honegger 4.12 avg rating — 8 ratings score: 73, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars