You can use our reading lists to find the best music books ever written on a variety of subjects.
Our interviews include discussions include the favourite music books of critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Santigold, the best music books for kids, and the best music-writing books picked by distinguished New Yorker music critic Alex Ross.
The best books on Rock Music, recommended by Peter Lawlor
Successful musicians don’t necessarily need formal training or 10,000 hours of practice under their belt; what they must have is a feel for music, an innate gift. But many of rock’s brightest burning stars were lost to drugs. Here, Peter Lawlor—who combined a career as a senior economic advisor with that of an award-winning songwriter, producer and record label executive—selects five of the best books on rock music, focusing on revelatory biographies that peer behind the veil.
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1
England's Dreaming, Revised Edition: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond
by Jon Savage -
2
Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century
by Greil Marcus -
3
Dead Kennedys' Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (33 1/3)
by Michael Foley -
4
We Were Going to Change the World: Interviews with Women from the 1970s and 1980s Southern California Punk Rock Scene
by Stacy Russo -
5
Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History
by John Patrick Diggins
The best books on Punk Rock (in 80s America), recommended by Kevin Mattson
The best books on Punk Rock (in 80s America), recommended by Kevin Mattson
Punk is more than just a musical genre. It is an ethos. Channelling one’s anger against the triteness of the culture industry’s offerings can be a spontaneous and creative act of resistance and rebellion. Moreover, as Kevin Mattson shows in this selection of books about punk in the 1980s in America, attending a rock concert by a band like the Dead Kennedys was a formative political experience for a generation of citizens, akin to attending a rally or a party convention. It was a spirit of constructive anarchy that can still channel the political anger of the alienated in the 21st century.
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1
Handel: The Man and His Music
by Jonathan Keates -
2
Handel and the English Chapel Royal
by Donald Burrows -
3
Charles Jennens: The Man Behind Handel's Messiah
by Ruth Smith -
4
A General History of Music: From the Earliest Ages to the Present Period
by Charles Burney -
5
The Autobiography and Correspondence of Mary Granville, Mrs Delany
by Mary Delany
The best books on Handel, recommended by Andrew Gant
The best books on Handel, recommended by Andrew Gant
George Frideric Handel was born near Leipzig, became established in Italy, and ended life as England’s national treasure. Andrew Gant—author of a new book on Handel’s most famous composition—selects the five best texts for gaining an understanding of Handel’s life and work, and explains why opera divas were the premiership footballers of the Baroque period.
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1
Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock
by Nik Cohn -
2
British Hit Singles and Albums
ed. David Roberts -
3
John Lennon in My Life
by Nicholas Schaffner & Pete Shotton -
4
Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette
by Ronnie Spector & Vince Waldron -
5
I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie
by Pamela Des Barres
The best books on Rock and Roll, recommended by Craig Brown
The best books on Rock and Roll, recommended by Craig Brown
We might console ourselves with the thought that rock stars are generally miserable, but the truth is that most of them seem to have a great time. Journalist, satirist and Beatles biographer Craig Brown selects five of the best books on that rock and roll lifestyle.
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1
Beethoven: Impressions by his Contemporaries
by Oscar Sonneck (Editor) -
2
Beethoven Variations: Poems on a Life
by Ruth Padel -
3
Beethoven for a Later Age: The Journey of a String Quartet
by Edward Dusinberre -
4
Beethoven: The Man Revealed
by John Suchet -
5
Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph
by Jan Swafford
The best books on Beethoven, recommended by Jessica Duchen
The best books on Beethoven, recommended by Jessica Duchen
He was a much misunderstood man and one of the greatest composers who ever lived. Music critic and novelist Jessica Duchen talks us through the best books about the German composer and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven.
The best books on Verdi, recommended by Francesco Izzo
Nearly everyone knows the photo of Verdi’s funeral, the streets of Milan packed with people paying homage to the great composer. How did the son of an innkeeper from Le Roncole become not only one of the most famous opera composers of all time but also a prominent symbol of Italy’s Risorgimento? Verdi expert Francesco Izzo discusses the books to read to best understand the man, the myths, and the music.
The best books on Wagner, recommended by Michael Tanner
Richard Wagner’s works are as immense as they are influential: the four-part, 15-hour saga Der Ring des Nibelungen is the most analysed opera of all time. And yet, Wagner was arrogant and virulently anti-semitic. Can we separate the musical genius from the man? Opera critic Michael Tanner recommends the best books on Wagner.
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Running with the Devil: Power, Gender and Madness in Heavy Metal Music
by Robert Walser -
2
Queerness in Heavy Metal Music: Metal Bent
by Amber R Clifford-Napoleone -
3
Black Sabbath's Master of Reality
by John Darnielle -
4
Into the Black: The Inside Story of Metallica, 1991-2014
by Ian Winwood and Paul Brannigan -
5
True Norwegian Black Metal
by Peter Beste
The best books on Heavy Metal, recommended by Keith Kahn Harris
The best books on Heavy Metal, recommended by Keith Kahn Harris
Metal music, developed in the sixties and seventies, is notorious for its dark and disturbing imagery and its aggressive sound. But there’s nothing to be afraid of, says sociologist and fan Keith Kahn-Harris: it’s all part of the mythmaking of metal.
The best books on English Church Music, recommended by Andrew Gant
Think you’re not interested in church music? Think again. Read this interview and you’ll soon find yourself ordering some books about it too. And a Happy Christmas from your editors at Five Books.
The best books on The Music of New Orleans, recommended by Keith Spera
The author of Groove Interrupted transports us to the world of Fats Domino and Professor Longhair, and tells us how (and where) to sample the city’s unique music culture
The best books on Rock Music, recommended by Greil Marcus
Time to get out your old CDs and LPs. The music journalist picks five books from Bob Dylan’s hinterland to confessions of a rock ’n roll groupie, and explains why good criticism is like writing fiction
The best books on Opera, recommended by Nikola Matisic
The Scandinavian tenor argues Verdi is the greatest. Also, “the opera house in itself is an instrument. You play on the space between the audience and the stage”
The best books on Classical Music, recommended by Igor Toronyi-Lalic
‘They don’t actually want to know anything, other than that this is a holy great art form beyond any other, that creates these über-geniuses who have no flaws and can do no wrong.’
The best books on The Lives of Classical Composers, recommended by Giles Swayne
From Bach to Stravinsky, British composer Giles Swayne discusses the most insightful books for getting to know the real lives of classical composers. “You can have people who are really extremely mediocre with huge careers, and people who are wonderfully good but don’t have wonderful careers. Bach was one of those.”
The best books on Opera, recommended by Robert Lloyd
The opera singer says most people of his age feel that the quality of singing has given way to the providing of a dramatic spectacle. His book selection spans Italian opera and revelations of an opera manager
Santigold on her Favourite Music Books
The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter took an unusual route to becoming a performer. She tells us how she got started, how to get what you want in the music business and how an extraordinary range of influences continue to inspire her
Best Music Books for Kids, recommended by Meurig and Rachel Bowen
Have you heard that music is good for children but don’t know where to begin? Musicians Meurig and Rachel Bowen recommend the best music books for children.
Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music
New Yorker music critic, Alex Ross, explains why writing about music is, really, nothing like “dancing about architecture.”
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Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music
by Ann Powers -
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The New Analog: Listening and Reconnecting in a Digital World
by Damon Krukowski -
3
All in the Downs: Reflections on Life, Landscape, and Song
by Shirley Collins -
4
Night Moves
by Jessica Hopper -
5
My Thoughts Exactly
by Lily Allen
The Best Music Books of 2018, recommended by Laura Snapes
The Best Music Books of 2018, recommended by Laura Snapes
From a social history of the sexual and racial dynamics at play in American pop music to a meditation on how we consume music in the digital age, deputy music editor at The Guardian, Laura Snapes, picks the best music books of 2018.
The best books on Protest Songs, recommended by Dorian Lynskey
The journalist and author tells us what happens when protest meets pop music, which book inspired Springsteen and where hip-hop is most potent today
The best books on The Ethnography of Music, recommended by Phillip Vannini
The Professor of Communication and Culture enlightens us about musical enthnography — what people do with music, and how they interact with music (and with one another)