"An intimate, revealing look at one artist's journey from self-censorship to full expression As one of the most celebrated musicians of our time, Alicia Keys has enraptured the nation with her heartfelt lyrics, extraordinary vocal range, and soul-stirring piano compositions. Yet away from the spotlight, Alicia has grappled with private heartache-over the challenging and complex relationship with her father, the people-pleasing nature that characterized...

The first definitive biography of guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan, with an Epilogue by Jimmie Vaughan, Foreword by drummer Chris Layton, and Afterword by bassist Tommy Shannon. Despite the cinematic scope of Vaughan's life and death, there has never been a truly proper accounting of his story--until now.

A personal account by the late musician and poet traces the story of his life, career, and history-making 1981 tour at the side of Stevie Wonder to raise support for the establishment of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

"Decades before Elvis Presley was dubbed the King of Rock and Roll, before Billy Haley played 'Rock Around the Clock,' and before the Beatles revolutionized popular music, there was Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a Black guitar player from Cotton Plant, Arksansas."--

From the man who made a name for himself as a founding member and lead guitarist of Jefferson Airplane comes a memoir that offers a rare glimpse into the heart and soul of a musical genius--and a vivid journey through the psychedelic era in America. “Music is the reward for being alive,” writes Jorma Kaukonen in this candid and emotional account of his life and work. “It stirs memory in a singular way that is unmatched.” In a career that has...

"A revelatory look at the tumultuous life of a jazz legend and American cultural icon"--

"King of the Blues presents the vibrant life and times of a trailblazing giant. Witness to dark prejudice and lynching in his youth, B.B. performed incessantly (some 15,000 concerts in ninety countries over nearly sixty years)-in some real way his means of escaping his past. Several of his concerts, including landmark gigs at Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco and Chicago's Cook County Jail, endure in legend to this day. His career...

According to Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and the late Stevie Ray Vaughn, Buddy Guy is the greatest blues guitarist of all time. An enormous influence on these musicians as well as on Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck, he is the living embodiment of Chicago blues. Guy's epic story stands at the absolute nexus of modern blues. He came to Chicago from rural Louisiana in the fifties—the very moment when urban blues were electrifying our culture....

Bessie Smith's transformation from a struggling young singer into 'The Empress of the Blues', who became one of the most successful recording artists of the 1920s and is an enduring icon today.

An introductory biography of musician and actress Beyoncé.