BOBBY WHITLOCK PUBLISHES HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY THIS WINTER

Bobby Whitlock will be publishing his autobiography this winter.

Here is a short synopsis of the book:

. Bobby Whitlock comes from Mississippi and as a child suffered harshly at the hands of his abusive father. He recalls the racism in the southern states at the time in candid detail. As a young boy he was sent out to pick cotton to earn money for his family that treated him so badly. He was a country boy with a great voice and a talent for music. He saw this as a way of escaping the awful abuse at the hands of his preacher father. He loved soul music and he was the first white person to be signed to Stax records HIP label. He was the first ‘Friend’ to join the classic Delaney & Bonnie and Friends saga, and recalls this chapter with humour, pathos and occasionally anger.

. Delaney Bramlett died during the course of writing this book and this is the first time that the whole Delaney and Bonnie and Friends story has been told from the inside.

. He talks about how he joined them, living together in a small house, getting a band, moving to a commune of musicians and the funny events that happened there. Recording with Leon Russell and Marc Benno, signing with Elektra records. Bobby recalls the first few album sessions that were sabotaged in one way or another by Delaney. The ups and down of touring with them, their violent fights, the drug taking, sex with Janis Joplin, trouble with Hells Angels, escaping the Vietnam draft.

. Both Eric Clapton and George Harrison were fans and joined their band in 1969. Foolishly, Eric asked the whole band to stay at his country home when they came to England for a tour. They basically trashed it thinking they were superstars. Delaney and Bonnie had every opportunity presented to them to be a huge success. Delaney’s attitude ruined it all, largely due to his abusive nature and a heavy intake of cocaine.

. Eric used the band for his first solo album and flew to Los Angeles to record it. He loved Delaney’s voice and wanted to be able to sing like him. Bobby remembers how those sessions went. A short US tour followed with Eric, but the experience was not a good one. Most of the ‘Friends’ left to join Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour.

After the Friends split, Bobby Whitlock came to England for a break and gather his thoughts. He stayed with Eric at his home and after a few weeks they decided to get a band together. That band was called Derek and the Dominos. They co-wrote the majority of the songs on their debut double album ‘Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs’. It went on to be a hugely successful album. The title song remains a radio favourite and the album is always in the top 100 essential albums charts.

. The thing that impresses us about Bobby is his amazing powers of recollection and great story telling. Yet again, the full story of Derek the Dominos has never been told from a band member. Eric Clapton’s memory of events in the late sixties and early seventies is very sketchy. Many people who bought his biography were very disappointed about the lack of new information on this period. Bobby Whitlock puts that right in this book. The full story behind the ‘Layla’ album is told including how and why the front painting was used as the cover of the album. How the drug fueled sessions produced one of the greatest albums of all time. Their live shows were legendary. Ultimately drugs would destroy the group.

. Elton John was the support act for the Dominos on their US tour in 1970. He proved to be a little too wild and was thrown off the tour after smashing up one hotel room too many.

. Fans have always agreed that George Harrison’s triple album, ‘All Things Must Pass’, is the best solo album by any of the Beatles. Not much is known about the 2 month sessions. Bobby was there with Eric and played on every track. He shares his memories from the recordings as well as revealing who plays on individual tracks. This is something fans have been wanting to know ever since the album was released.

. He was very close to George Harrison, and was engaged to Paula Boyd, George’s sister in law.

. Bobby remembers the tragic events about his band mates in the Dominos, the death of Carl Radle and the declining mental health of drummer Jim Gordon, who killed his mother with a hammer. He recalls in graphic detail the first time Eric took heroin and the effects it had on him.

. After the Dominos split, Bobby stayed in England and took part in various sessions such as ‘Exile On Main Street’ with the Rolling Stones and he has some interesting observations on the recording of that album.

. Bobby has many anecdotes on his associations with The Allman Brothers, Leon Russell, Keith Moon, Stephen Stills and several others.

. Eric Clapton writes a heartfelt foreword.

This will certainly be a must have book for any serious music fan this Christmas.

Pre-order your copy now!
Bobby Whitlock – Autobiography.

Coco Carmel and Bobby Whitlock Website

NEW NEIL YOUNG ILLUSTRATED RETROSPECTIVE BOOK

The first illustrated retrospective of this rock icon s career, one of rock and roll s greatest songwriters and performers. Covers a career from high-school drop-out, through Woodstock, Crosby, Stills and Nash, to headlining Glastonbury 2009 Concert posters, ticket stubs, performance photography, discography, and more. Neil Young has been described as brilliant, cantankerous, enigmatic, vexing. Nevertheless, his generation-spanning fan base and profound musical influence cannot be denied he is cited as a major influence by Curt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Sonic Youth, Radiohead amongst others, and has earned the title ‘Godfather of Grunge’ with his restless musical experimentation that transforms the most obvious music into something revelatory. From dropping out of High School to form his own band, Crazy Horse, he has ridden the ups and downs of the music world, from songs like ‘Ohio’ to commemorate the Kent State Massacre ( re-released after the Tianneman square massacre and dedicated to the Chinese students who died there), ‘Southern Man’, ‘Needle A Day Down’, and ‘Let s Impeach The President’ against George W Bush. Spanning 41 studio albums, 6 live releases, and over forty years as a touring and recording artist, this is the first and only illustrated biography to cover Young s early years, his rise to fame in the radical Sixties, the tenure with Buffalo Springfield, and CSN & Y, and his varied solo career, through the turbulent Seventies, to a difficult and painful obscurity for the Eighties until his re-emergence a decade later, still brilliant, still radical, and possibly more popular that ever with every age of the music-buying public. Packed with rock photography from the Sixties to today, concert posters, memorabilia from around the world, plus commentaries from notable musicians around the world, and a full discography, this is the ultimate tribute to an electrifying performer and will be eagerly received by his legion of fans world-wide.

THE BEATLES BOX OF VISION

THE BEATLES Box Of Vision®
Finally Available in the UK and Europe

Deluxe Companion to the Newly Re-mastered BEATLES CDs Includes First LP Size Book Of Complete Album Artwork And Storage For The Entire Beatles CD Catalogue

Following hot on the heels of the 09 September 2009 release of The Beatles’ digitally
re-mastered catalogue, the highly anticipated THE BEATLES Box Of Vision® is finally available in the UK and Europe through www.BoxOfVision.com and www.HardDaysNightShop.com, plus select retailers this coming Christmas holiday season.

Officially licensed by The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd., the stunning collection, previously only available in North America, includes the following Beatles’ collectible content:

Book One – ‘The LP Sized Album Artwork Book’
The book includes 200 pages of The Beatles’ LP artwork, brilliantly restored in pristine new art prints. This marks the first time all the Beatles U.K. and U.S. album artwork has been collected together in a single LP sized book. From Please Please Me and Meet The Beatles through Love, the book includes front covers, back covers, gatefolds, inserts, and the complete LP booklets from Magical Mystery Tour, Let It Be…Naked and Love.

Book Two – ‘The Catalography’
An extensive, all-new, full color discography guide jam-packed with photos, text and track-listings providing the first-ever side-by-side presentation of the U.K. albums and their U.S. counterparts. A must for all Beatles completists!!

Book Three – ‘The Box of Vision Storage Book’
A highly collectible, unique and stylish way for Beatles fans to organize and display all 32 discs of The Beatles’ core catalog. Beatles fans will have the opportunity to insert CDs and booklets from their existing Beatles collections or the recently released digitally re-mastered versions. The Box of Vision storage book was specifically designed to store and display the digi-pack boxes that house the newly re-mastered CDs.

Ideal for fans, collectors and Christmas gift giving, all three Beatles books are housed in an elegant black, linen-covered box with silver embossed Beatles logos and faux Beatles LP spines. The 13″ x 13″ box features the iconic image of The Beatles photographed by Robert Freeman for the original album cover for With The Beatles.

Once a fan inserts their CDs into the Box of Vision storage book, they’ll be able to store and display the entire body of work of The Beatles in one complete book.

For a “virtual tour” and more information about THE BEATLES
Box Of Vision please visit: www.BoxOfVision.com

THE BEATLES ‘Box of Vision’ was conceived by Jonathan Polk, a music industry veteran with more than 20 years experience. “It’s the ultimate fan piece,” says Polk, who served as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer for Capitol Records during the time when they released The Beatles Love album, Let It Be…Naked, and The Beatles Capitol Albums Vol.1 and Vol.2. “The Beatles invented the rock album format and it was my goal to help ensure that fans can continue to discover and appreciate this single greatest catalog of music the way it was originally created.”

“I have always been frustrated with the available options for organizing and storing CDs,” continues Polk, who is also the inventor of the Box of Vision’s patented CD storage structure. “And, I hated the fact that the beautiful LP artwork I grew up with was reduced to almost postage stamp size on CDs. The Box of Vision gives fans the best of all worlds.”

The first printing of THE BEATLES ‘Box of Vision’ sold out in North America based entirely on pre-orders leading up to the 09 September release, temporarily delaying its worldwide availability. The second printing is now finally available for immediate shipment throughout the UK and Europe.

Early consumer feedback has been outstanding; to see what fans have had to say about THE BEATLES Box of Vision, visit http://store.boxofvision.com/pages/reviews.

What the press are saying about
The Beatles Box of Vision -

“If you’re a Beatles fan – and this is a good time to be one – Box of Vision will keep your eyes full as you listen to the Beatles’ remastered CDs…. Strumming through Box of Vision was a real treat. This is the actual art from the Beatles’ albums, the way the Beatles wanted us to see them – not reduced to baseball-card size and stuck behind hard plastic on a CD.” -
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

“John Polk was thinking ‘inside’ the box when he envisioned The Beatles Box of Vision nearly 10 years ago. His elaborate companion to the newly remastered Beatles CDs holds a 200-page linen-covered book of album artwork, a comprehensive discography and storage for 32 discs, providing a single lavish receptacle for storing and displaying the band’s entire body of work” -
USA TODAY

“Can’t wait to open those new Beatles re-mastered single CDs or box sets that Amazon’s already sold out of? Try opening the extraordinary Beatles ‘Box of Vision’ box. But please, don’t call it a box. According to the much-needed instructional insert that pops out of the box that contains the Box of Vision box, the massive, monumental, 13 x 13-inch 13-pound coffee table slab is a patented “CD Storage Structure.” Once you unravel several layers of bubble wrap and unpeel the protective clear plastic wrapper, you understand why.” – MANHATTAN EXAMINER

CHRIS O’DELL WASN’T FAMOUS. SHE WASN’T EVEN ALMOST FAMOUS. BUT SHE WAS THERE.

She was in the studio when the Beatles recorded The White Album, Abbey Road, and Let It Be, and when Paul recorded “Hey Jude,” she sang in the chorus.

She was at Ringo’s kitchen table when George Harrison said, “You know, Ringo, I’m in love with your wife.” And Ringo replied, “Better you than someone we don’t know.”

She typed the lyrics to George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. She lived with George and Pattie Boyd at Friar Park, developed a crush on Eric Clapton, and unwittingly got involved in the famous love story between Eric and Pattie.

She’s the subject of Leon Russell’s “Pisces Apple Lady,” a song he wrote to woo her. Other rock legends with whom she was intimate include Ringo, Mick Jagger, and Bob Dylan.

She worked with the Rolling Stones as their personal assistant on their infamous 1972 tour and did a drug run for Keith Richards.

She’s “the woman down the hall” in Joni Mitchell’s song “Coyote” about a love triangle on Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour. She’s the “mystery woman” pictured on the back of the Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street. She’s the “Miss O’Dell” of George Harrison’s song about her.

Miss O’Dell is the remarkable story of an ordinary woman who lived the dream of millions — to be part of rock royalty’s trusted inner circle. Illustrated with private photographs and jam-packed with intimate anecdotes, Miss O’Dell is a backstage pass to some of the most momentous events in rock history.

“A riveting, honest, and brave account of life with the most famous names in rock and roll history…hard work, tough love, huge loss, pain and gain. I couldn’t put the book down. I just loved it.”
– Pattie Boyd, author of Wonderful Tonight

“Chris O’Dell knew all the greatest names in sixties and seventies pop, from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan. Nicknamed ‘the Pisces Apple Lady,’ she was the ultimate insider, a uniquely trusted employee and friend in a world where betrayal and backstabbing are the norm. Now at last she tells her story, in devastating detail yet without envy or malice…a rockin’ good read.”
– Philip Norman, author of Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation and John Lennon: The Life

“I enjoyed reading it very much. It is an astonishing look into the backstage of rock and roll.”
– Leon Russell

Buy your copy here if you live in Europe.
Buy your copy here if you live in the USA.

GINGER BAKER PUBLISHES BIOGRAPHY

Peter ‘Ginger’ Baker is a legend. A pioneering drummer who has transcended genres, he did much to popularise world music with his fierce passion for the rhythms of Africa. He is that rare thing, a critically-acclaimed musician who has enjoyed global success with not one but several supergroups to his name, including Cream and Blind Faith. He has also lived a life that has been more rock’n'roll than most. Ginger tells his story for the first time and without any self-censorship. It’s an often harrowing, but honest journey from his humble beginnings in war-torn south London to his adopted home in South Africa’s beautiful Western Cape – complete with polo club. Along the way he tells of his life-long love of jazz, how he discovered the drums and African music for himself, life on the road and he confesses to the heroin use that should have killed him in his colourful 1960s’ prime, working and playing with the biggest names of the time. In the 1970s, he came up with a trans-Saharan trucking scheme, was a successful rally driver and built an ill-fated recording studio. He also discovered a consuming passion for playing polo. He talks candidly of the loss and recovery of his fortune, his three marriages, Cream’s induction into the rock’n'roll hall of fame in 1993, their subsequent successful reunion in 2005 and his hopes for the future.

Ginger Baker was born in Lewisham, London in 1939 and brought up along with his sister and cousin by his mother and aunt. After forging his reputation on the London jazz scene, he found phenomenal success by forming Cream with Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton in 1966. Ginger lives in South Africa, where he is an avid correspondent to the letters pages of various polo publications.

Published by John Blake Publishing Ltd

Due 5 October 2009

NEW ROLLING STONES PHOTO BOOK AND DVD

For more than 40 years, the Rolling Stones have proved themselves as one of history’s greatest rock bands. This nostalgic anthology takes a pictorial journey back to the roots of the group’s rock stardom and captures a long-lost age of music industry innocence. The book has 208 pages featuring an extensive selection of extremely rare photographs—most never previously published—this is a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the band during the 1960s. Selections, including the very first studio photos taken for Mirabelle magazine and pictures of Mick jumping on a piano at the Isle of Man anniversary show in 1965, are accompanied by interviews with many of the photographers. A DVD featuring found footage of the band completes this intimate look at the Stones in action.

Published by Pavilion in early November

Buy your copy here if you live in Europe.
Buy your copy here if you live in the USA.

ETHAN RUSSELL’S ROLLING STONES ‘LET IT BLEED’ BOOK

LET IT BLEED takes you where no Rolling Stones book has before. Author and photographer Ethan Russell was one of only sixteen people–including the Rolling Stones–who made up the 1969 tour. He was with them in their hotel rooms, at rehearsals, and on stage. He tells the story of this monumental and historic tour firsthand, including recollections from band members, crew, security, and other sixties icons–like Abbie Hoffman and Little Richard–they met along the way. And he also includes amazing photos of the performers who toured with the Stones that year: the legendary Tina Turner and B.B. King.

Through vivid quotes taken from his interviews with the band and crew, and through more than 220 revealing photographs, Russell takes you behind the scenes for an uncensored look inside the Rolling Stones’ world at the end of the sixties. It was an idealistic time, with an overarching belief that music could bring us all together. But the events that led to the terrible violence and stabbing death at Altamont would change rock and roll forever.

Ethan Russell is a multi-Grammy nominated photographer and director. He is the only photographer to have shot album covers of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. Ethan produced music videos with Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, kd lang, Rosanne Cash, Hank Williams, Jr. and Randy Travis, among others. He is also an award winning creative director and the author of Dear Mr. Fantasy (Houghton Mifflin 1985)

Published by Springboard Press and due in early November

Buy your copy here if you live in Europe.
Buy your copy here if you live in the USA.

THE STOOGES: THE AUTHORISED AND ILLUSTRATED STORY

“The Stooges” is the first authorized, illustrated book that tells the inside story of the legendary punk rock band formed by Iggy Pop. Formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967, the Stooges are icons of modern rock, influencing the fledgling sounds of punk, heavy metal and hard core. From the beginning, lead singer and provocateur Iggy Pop (b. James Osterberg) astounded audiences with his outrageous stage performances, accompanied by guitarist Ron Asheton, his drummer brother Scott Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander with their raw and bracing sound. The group disbanded in 1974, but reunited in 2003 and continues to tour today. In this book, rock photographer Robert Matheu compiles the first ever authorized book about the band, including iconic photographs, classic interviews and vintage articles and ephemera dating from the band’s breakout performances in Detroit in the late 1960s through to their most recent shows in 2009. With new interviews from every significant member of the Stooges, past and present, a Stooges discography and the transcribed lyrics to all of their songs, “The Stooges” is the definitive book about this trailblazing band.

Robert Matheu is a rock photographer based in Los Angeles. He photographed the Stooges at some of their earliest shows and has maintained a close working relationship with the group. His photos have graced more than 100 album covers and countless magazine covers around the world.
Published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in October 2009

Buy your copy here if you live in Europe.
Buy your copy here if you live in the USA.

JACK BRUCE ‘COMPOSING HIMSELF’ AUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY

When Cream broke up in 1968 it was by no means a foregone conclusion that it would be Eric Clapton who would enjoy continued commercial success. After all, it was Jack Bruce who had the looks, and who co-wrote and sang all the band’s major hits, including “Sunshine of Your Love”, “I Feel Free” and “White Room”. But he was a singular talent who wanted to be a pioneer, not just a pop star, and he was never happy resting on his reputation. Cream split in their prime but their influence endured, and when they reformed in 2005 tickets were selling for nearly GBP 2000 on e-bay. In the 40 years since Cream split Bruce has continued his musical adventures with the likes of John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Carla Bley and Mick Taylor, never quite achieving the success and recognition he deserves. It has been an often troubled life – heroin addiction, management rip-offs, family tragedy, and a failed liver transplant, all of which he speaks about frankly in this book, telling a story that is sometimes funny, sometimes bleak, and always honest.

Eric Clapton has written the foreword.

Harry Shapiro an author, journalist and lecturer who has written widely on the subjects of drugs, popular music and film. He is the author of Waiting For The Man: The Story of Drugs and Popular Music, Shooting Stars: Drugs, Hollywood and The Movies, Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy and biographies of Graham Bond and Alexis Korner.

Buy your copy here if you live in Europe.
Buy your copy here if you live in the USA.

WHITE LIGHT WHITE HEAT THE VELVET UNDERGROUND DAY BY DAY

By turns fiercely confrontational, literate, primitive and sweetly melodic, The Velvet Underground remain one of the most influential bands in the history of rock. The ultimate cult band and the ultimate art rock experience, the VU’s music and style have served as a blueprint for everyone from David Bowie to The Jesus and Mary Chain. Yet for all their enduring importance, they were unsuccessful in their day, selling minute numbers of records, their monochrome look and photo-realist lyrics at odds with the garish colours and peace fantasies of the hippy era. It was only when David Bowie started to champion the band in the early 70s, after they has split up, that the VU’s reputation started to spread. In “White Light/White Heat”, noted rock writer and historian Richie Unterberger analyses the band’s career and influence in forensic detail, drawing on many new interviews with band members and associates, previously undiscovered archive sources and a vast knowledge of the music of the times. The result is a comprehensive, articulate, immensely detailed history, the most thorough work on the band yet published.

Richie Unterberger is an acclaimed author and music historian, renowned for his meticulous research. A regular contributor to the All Music website, Mojo, Record Collector and many other publications, he has also written dozens of liner notes for CD reissues of classic 60s and 70s albums. His previous books include Unknown Legends of Rock’n'Roll, Eight Miles High and Turn! Turn! Turn!

Published by Jawbone on 1 Mar 2009

Buy your copy here if you live in Europe.
Buy your copy here if you live in the USA.

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