Biographical sketches of German, French, and Italian composers for the "general music-loving public, and not merely to the critic and scholar."

This is the story of New Jersey favorite rock and roll band Bon Jovi, who survives three decades of trial and tribulations. We go back to the early years of the band, and how frontman Jon Bon Jovi gets a record deal and kept the band going for three decades. Classic rags-to-riches story, what kept the band going strong, and will it be the end of the crossroad?

Curtis Mayfield was one of the seminal vocalists and most talented guitarists of his era, and his music played a vital role in the civil rights movement: "People Get Ready" was the black anthem of the time. In Traveling Soul, Todd Mayfield tells his famously private father's story in riveting detail. Born into dire poverty, raised in the slums of Chicago, Curtis became a musical prodigy, not only singing like a dream but growing into a brilliant songwriter....

"Drake is a Canadian hip hop, rap artist who has also had several acting roles, the main one being a key role in Degrassi: The Next Generation. After being discovered by Lil Wayne, Drake has gone on to become one of the best known hip hop, rap stars. The Simple Guide To Drake takes a brief look into the man behind the persona. Where is he from? What do his parent do? What kind of man is he? We look at his move into the music industry and look at some...

"Nobody knows Dolly like Dolly," declares Dolly Parton. Dolly's is a rags-to-riches tale like no other. A dirt-poor Smoky Mountain childhood paved the way for the buxom blonde butterfly's metamorphosis from singer-songwriter to international music superstar. The undisputed "Queen of Country Music," Dolly has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and has conquered just about every facet of the entertainment industry: music, film, television,...

Everyone knows the price of fame. Hitless Wonder measures the price of obscurity. What happens when you chase a dream into middle age and, in doing so, risk losing the people you love? This book recounts the two-week tour that forces Joe Oestreich-singer, songwriter, and bassist of the band Watershed-to decide if he and his longtime bandmates still have a future together. In the mid-90s, Watershed's large Midwest following led to a six-figure deal...

Leonard Cohen, one of the most admired performers of the last half century, has had a stranger-than-fiction, roller-coaster ride of a life. Now, for the first time, he tells his story in his own words, via more than 50 interviews conducted worldwide between 1966 and 2012. In Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen--which includes a foreword by singer Suzanne Vega and eight pages of rarely seen photos--the artist talks about "Bird on the Wire," "Hallelujah,"...

"A chatty, entertaining account . . . funny and fearless. -Janet Maslin, New York Times Book Review "Bursting with candor and bittersweet warmth." -Rolling Stone Pamela Des Barres, celebrated "queen of the groupies," chronicled her adventures with rock stars in her bestseller I'm with the Band. This book picks up where that one left off, with Pamela embarking on marriage and motherhood, all the while sharing quarters and making friends with stars:...

Aled Jones was a choirboy with a remarkable voice, whose prodigious talent propelled him to international stardom. Before he was sixteen, he had already sold more than six million records and had become a fixture on television and radio. He has worked alongside such greats as Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sir Neville Marriner, Howard Blake, and Mike Oldfield. Some of the high points of his early career include performances at the Hollywood...

"A superb meditation on a rare American figure . . . an elegant and passionate book." -Jonathan Lethem Blind Willie McTell (1903-1959) was one of the most gifted musicians of his generation, with an exquisite voice and a sublime talent for the 12-string guitar. As Bob Dylan wrote, "Nobody can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell"-yet his repertoire was infinitely wider than just the blues. Michael Gray has traveled throughout the South and beyond...