Life stories good reading
If you love music as much as I do, it’s always interesting finding out the stories behind the songs and the singers, and to my way of thinking, one of the best ways to do this is reading autobiographies that the music stars have written.
I absolutely love reading music autobiographies and there are some amazing publications in the bookshops now.
For Christmas last year I received Elton John’s book titled Me. I picked it up on Boxing Day and couldn’t put it down. An absolute compelling story about Elton John from growing up in the London suburb of Pinner to becoming one of the biggest music stars on the planet.
I had seen the Elton John biopic Rocket Man which was amazing and reading his story filled in a lot more details about his incredibly complicated life. A compelling read.
The moment I closed the book on page 354 I went looking for the next read and found it.
Not Dead Yet is the title of Phil Collins’ book. I am a big fan of Genesis and Collins. He is one of only three musicians to sell over 100 million records both in a group and as a solo artist.
There is a lovely line in the opening prologue of the book that reads, “My name is Phil Collins and I’m a drummer, and I know I’m not indestructible. This is my story.”
What a story it is. I loved the story of how he auditioned for and got the drumming gig in the band Genesis and how that led to huge success and eventually a solo career.
Again, like Elton John’s story, his life is filled with highs and lows and at time close-to-death experiences. It’s a compelling read and in a way a very sad story.
Closer to home the story of Split Enz bass player Mike Chunn, called A Sharp Left Turn, which is a great read.
It tells the story, in Mike’s own words, of growing up in New Zealand in the 50s and 60s and how a bunch of school mates from Sacred Heart College in Auckland went on to become one of this country’s greatest rock bands.
But the book is more than that. It covers how he overcame crippling mental health issues and then went on to become one of this country’s most influential music identities. Another must read.
There are plenty of great books out there about our favourite groups and artist. A couple of others that come to mind, Mick Fleetwood’s Play On, Keith Richards’ Life and Rod Stewart’s Rod.
And now let’s start on my next. Eric Clapton’s The Autobiography.
I absolutely love reading music autobiographies and there are some amazing publications in the bookshops now.