26 Oct Our Top 10 Music Autobiographies!

Did you know that there are only 59 days left till Christmas! That has made us in the SOLE office think about presents and what to give to those we love!

As I child I loved to read, and not just sheet music! Every Christmas morning there would be a Beano Annual wrapped up under the tree for me! Nowadays sadly no Beano annual however all of us at Sole Agency love to read books and we love music. I read somewhere once that, reading & music are to the mind, what exercise is to the body. Sadly we just don’t have enough time to read or exercise. However I hope you enjoy the list of some of our favourite music autobiographies below;

1. Morrissey – For being such a wonderful songwriter this was a slightly rambling and long winded in parts but it is still a really good read. Not one of the all-time bests but well worth giving it a go, even of you are not a Morrissey fan.
2. Steven Tyler – Does The Noise In My Head Bother You? – A little bit crazy to read, and feels very much like you are having a conversation with Steven Tyler. A really great read with a really interesting insight. Underneath all the showmanship, Steven Tyler reveals a lot about himself, his demons, mistakes, and his family. I read this on holidays a few years ago in about 2 days, I couldn’t put it down!
3. Bob Dylan – Chronicles Volume 1. – Not just an autobiography, it can be poetic in parts and blunt in others. A great musician and great story teller. Our office have mixed feelings about this one.
4. Motley Crue – The Dirt – To be perfectly honest, Motley Crue is a bit like Marmite, you either love them or hate them. The Dirt makes you primarily question, how on earth are they still alive? It contains a great mixture of the highs and the lows, a lot of mention of groupies, drug abuse & some incredibly sad parts which make you want to cry & really emphasise for these guys even if you are not a fan.
5. Neil Young – Waging Heavy Peace – Fascinating and engaging. It is an easy read that flows well and is really interesting, a real Saturday afternoon read on the sofa.
6. Johnny Cash – The Autobiography – A wonderful life story. A heart breaking read about his many battles with drugs and self-destruction, yet told with a sense of humour at times. A true legend. After reading this I had to watch Walk The Line to get more of a Johnny Cash fix.
7. Miles Davis – Miles – The Autobiography – Written with the help of Quincy Troupe, this is written in a straightforward way. The racism that Miles endured is heart breaking to read, as is reading about his personal battles with drugs. Although personally it would have been good to read a bit more about his musical life I think it was written in such a way so to pull in a bigger audience and not just jazz aficionados.
8. Patti Smith – Just Kids – This book recounts the romance & friendship of Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe. A pretty deep read and really made the image of boho New York come alive.
9. Paul McCartney – Many Years from Now – A really interesting read, that helps provide a good insight into who the man really is.
10. One Direction – Who We Are – Just kidding, have not actually read this yet. Though the autobiography in 10 years may make a good read.

With over 16,000 autobiographies available in the music section alone on Amazon, looks like there are still many more to be read and enjoyed.

The question is – does music speak louder than words?