Showing results by publisher "Simon & Schuster Audio" in Music

In this widely praised book, Annik LaFarge presents a very different Frédéric Chopin from the melancholy, sickly, Romantic figure that has predominated for so long. The artist she discovered is, instead, a purely independent - and endlessly relevant - spirit: an innovator who created a new musical language; an autodidact who became a spiritually generous, trailblazing teacher; a stalwart patriot during a time of revolution, pandemic, and exile.

By the early 1960s nearly everybody paying attention to country music agreed that George Jones was the greatest country singer of all time. After taking honky-tonk rockers like “White Lightning” all the way up the country charts, he revealed himself to be an unmatched virtuoso on “She Thinks I Still Care,” thus cementing his status as a living legend. That’s where the trouble started.

From one of rap’s most evocative writers comes a stirring memoir and “masterpiece of a book” (Snoop Dogg) about how Boosie Badazz, one of the industry’s most controversial figures, was able to overcome insurmountable odds to make his music dreams a reality.

By 22 years old, Aaliyah had already accomplished a staggering amount: hit records, acclaimed acting roles, and fame that was just about to cross over into superstardom. Like her song, she was already “more than a woman” but her shocking death in a plane crash prevented her from fully growing into one.

Since the early ’80s, Teddy Riley has revolutionized the music industry, from his creation of New Jack Swing to his work in R&B, hip-hop, gospel, soul, and pop that forever changed the industry. His profound influence still resonates today, and he has been inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame, awarded the Soul Train Legend Award and given his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now, Riley—with coauthor, award-winning biographer Jake Brown—lifts the curtain on his fascinating and inspiring journey with this unforgettable memoir.

The first ever biography focused on the formative and highly influential early years of “rock’s first supergroup” (Rolling Stone) Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young - when they were the most successful, influential, and politically potent band in America - in honor of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock and the formation of the band itself.

And After All gives the mic to the fans that launched Oasis to stratospheric fame and takes a deep dive into the band’s formation, history, and reunion. Through the lens of the fans who were there for all the songs, feuds, and incredible shows, journalist Melissa Locker examines the path Oasis charted as they cemented their place in modern rock history.

New York Times best-selling author Dr. Sha offers a musical treasure straight from the divine in Divine Soul Symphony of Yin Yang.

In The Voice in Your Head Is God, 2 Chainz tells the story of how he walked away from the trap and found his purpose: not by fame or fear, but by faith. With his unmistakable voice and unflinching honesty, he reflects on the hardest moments of his life and the quiet revelations that shaped him. From the spiritual alarms he couldn’t ignore to the mentors who showed up at the right time, he explores how his music and verses poured out when he finally listened to the voice that had been there all along.

“Opera breeds fanatics. There are opera groupies. Opera diehards. Opera obsessives. I’m not one of them.” With these words, Caitlin Vincent—who admits to a lifelong love-hate relationship with opera—pulls us into a thrilling, high-stakes world that few ever see. It’s all here—both edge-of-the-seat drama and cultural clashes that often spill beyond the stage and get audiences and critics thoroughly riled up.

There are moments throughout our lives when we discover an artist, an album, a film, or a cultural artifact that leaves a lasting impression, helping inform how we understand the world, and ourselves, moving forward. In No Sense in Wishing, Lawrence Burney explores these profound interactions with incisive and energizing prose, offering us a personal and critical perspective on the people, places, music, and art that transformed him.

Joni Mitchell’s life, psyche, and evolving legacy are explored here in vivid technicolor—from her childhood in Saskatoon, Canada, to her arrival in Laurel Canyon that turned her into, as Alford puts it, “the bard of heartbreak and longing.” Each period of Mitchell’s life is observed via the artists, friends, family, and lovers she encountered along the way. Presented in the impressionistic vein of Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret, I Dream of Joni explores in fifty-three essays, with the author’s trademark wit and verve, the life of the legendary singer-songwriter.

Spanning three decades worth of astute, acerbic, and overall astounding music writing, Kick Out the Jams is the first large-scale anthology of the work of renowned critic Dave Marsh. Ranging from Elvis Presley to Kurt Cobain, from Nina Simone to Ani DiFranco, from the Beatles to Green Day, the book gives an opinionated, eye-opening overview of 20th-century popular music—offering a portrait not just of an era but of a writer wrestling with the American empire.

Released in 1998, Lauryn Hill’s first solo album is often cited by music critics as one of the most important recordings in modern history. Artists from Beyoncé to Nicki Minaj have claimed it as an inspiration, and it was recently included in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, as well as named the second greatest album by a woman in history by NPR (right behind Joni Mitchell’s Blue). Award-winning feminist author and journalist Joan Morgan delivers an expansive, in-depth, and heartfelt analysis of the album and its enduring place in pop culture.

Just as his music career was taking off, Juan Vidal received life-changing news: He’d soon be a father. Throughout his life, neglectful men were the rule - his own dad struggled with drug addiction and infidelity - a cycle that, inevitably, wrought Vidal with insecurity. At age 26, with only a bare grip on life, what lessons could he possibly offer a kid? Determined to alter the course for his child, Vidal did what he’d always done when confronted with life’s challenges. He turned to the counterculture.

Rock and roll thrives on rhythm, but the drummers who drive that pulse often stay in the shadows. In Backbeats, acclaimed music historian John Lingan brings these unsung heroes into the spotlight, delivering a fascinating journey through six decades of rock history. Lingan’s deep research and vivid storytelling explores the lives of fifteen pathbreaking drummers and their fellow timekeepers—men and women who together laid down the beat of an era.

On January 1, 1975, struggling young singer-songwriter Lindsey Buckingham was invited to join the veteran blues band Fleetwood Mac. He agreed on the condition that his girlfriend, an equally unknown vocalist named Stevie Nicks, also be included. Within two years, Rumours was born—and went on to become one of the most popular albums of all time. Almost five decades later, it is the only classic rock record that still attracts young listeners and continues to top sales and streaming charts.

Nothing Compares to You is a loving and accessible reconsideration and entry point for understanding the Irish icon. Exploring themes such as gender identity, spirituality, artistic expression, and personal transformation, this collection shows that Sinead’s voice continues to ring on even after her death and brilliantly illustrates the power of creative expression to inspire far beyond any presumed lines of age, culture, or class.

In this unique collection, Literary Witches co-creator Katy Horan unearths the true and fictional stories behind twenty traditional murder ballads, exploring the beauty and horror of the art form through stories, lyrics, and original interpretations. The audiobook includes covers of various folk songs by Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, Marissa Nadler, and Lizzie No.