Hank Bordowitz's books include Bad Moon Rising: The Unauthorized History of Creedence Clearwater Revival; Billy Joel: The Life and Times of an Angry Young Man; Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright: The Bob Marley Reader; The U2 Reader: A Quarter Century of Commentary, Criticism, and Reviews; Turning Points in Rock and Roll; Dirty Little Secrets of the Record Business: Why So Much Music You Hear Sucks; and The Bruce Springsteen Scrapbook. He has written for Spin, Playboy, Jazziz, and hundreds of other publications and is an itinerant professor of music, the music business, and writing.
Rightly called the saddest story in rock 'n' roll history, this Creedence biography—newly updated with stories from band members, producers, business associates, close friends, and families—recounts the tragic and triumphant tale of one of America’s most beloved bands. Hailed as the great American rock band from 1968 to 1971, Creedence Clearwater Revival captured the imaginations of a generation with classic hits like “Proud Mary,” “Down on the Corner,” “Green River,” “Born on the Bayou,” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain.” Mounting tensions among bandmates over vibrant guitarist and lead vocalist John Fogerty’s creative control led to the band's demise. Tracing the lives of four musicians who redefined an American roots-rock sound with unequaled passion and power, this music biography exposes the bitter end and abandoned talent of a band left crippled by debt and dissension.
In a series of more than 50 interviews that span seven decades, many never before seen in print, this is the story of Led Zeppelin told by the people who knew it best—the members of the band. This book shoots down the folklore and assumptions about Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham, and presents the band’s full history, from when Jimmy Page was playing skiffle to the day the band was honored by the Kennedy Center for their contribution to American and global culture. Led Zeppelin on Led Zeppelin captures the ideas of all of the band’s members at the time they created classics like “Whole Lot of Love,” “Stairway to Heaven,” and “Kashmir,” but also captures the idea of the band itself as it created the music that changed popular culture.
