Uncommon People cover art

Uncommon People

The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars 1955-1994

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Uncommon People

By: David Hepworth
Narrated by: David Hepworth
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About this listen

The age of the rock star, like the age of the cowboy, has passed. Like the cowboy, the idea of the rock star lives on in our imaginations.

What did we see in them? Swagger. Recklessness. Sexual charisma. Damn-the-torpedoes self-belief. A certain way of carrying themselves. Good hair. Interesting shoes. Talent we wished we had.

What did we want of them? To be larger than life but also like us. To live out their songs. To stay young forever. No wonder many didn't stay the course.

In Uncommon People, David Hepworth zeroes in on defining moments and turning points in the lives of 40 rock stars from 1955 to 1995, taking us on a journey to burst 100 myths and create 100 more. As this tribe of uniquely motivated nobodies went about turning themselves into the ultimate somebodies, they also shaped us, our real lives and our fantasies. Uncommon People isn't just their story. It's ours as well.

©2017 David Hepworth (P)2017 Random House Audiobooks Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity Cowboy
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This is an awesome book, with a great theme, interesting glimpses into rock n roll legend and some of the best characters of all time. It’s thought provoking for the aspiring creative, and sheds light on the trials and tribulations of stage performers. The messages transfer into everyone’s lives in some way or another, even if you’re not famous nor devoted to the rock n roll dream.

A perspective to cherish

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Excellent and insightful. Good narration by author. A reminder of how we grew up , or not, on music.

Elegy for an era

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delivered with wit abd knowledge, this was a wonderfully informative wander through rock from the fifties to the early nineties in short chapters.

fascinating walk through rock music's eras

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Anyone who grew up with rock music (particularly those of born between about 1950 and 1965) will adore this funny, acerbic, yet affectionate telling of the era of the rock star, starting from Little Richard in the mid-50s to Kurt Cobain in the early ‘90s. The writer, veteran UK rock journalist David Hepworth, is perfectly placed to tell the story, having had a Zelig-like presence at so many of the key moments described within. Each chapter covers a year at a time from 1955-1995, each focusing on one star at a pivotal point in their careers - whether on the up or on the long slide down. In each vignette, Hepworth takes one point in time to extrapolate out to the bigger themes of the book - the obsessive, highly insecure, hugely ambitious nature of the ‘rock star’ and the unbearable expectations we placed on them. There are some monsters in this book (the Led Zeppelin machine), some pathetically sad and lonely people (Cobain) and some outright psychopaths (Keith Moon). But as Hepworth says, that was how it had to be. That was why they were there and we are here. If you were only to read one book about the now long gone ‘rock era’, make it this one.

Endearingly Cynical Boomer Take on Rock Era

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a must read/listen for those who lived through any of this period
and 20 somethings music lovers

great trip through contemporary music

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