Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket
Published Apr 2016
Offering a unique analysis and discussion of her life, career, and work, this is the true story of Patti Smith. Widely acknowledged as one of the most significant American artists of the rock age, an acclaimed poet, and a figurehead for many liberal political causes, Patti Smith went from an ugly-duckling childhood in postwar New Jersey to become queen of the 1970s New York art scene. Not a tell-all biography, this measured, accurate, and enthusiastic account of Smith’s career is written for her loyal fans as well as for neophytes hungry for a great rock 'n' roll story. Guided by interviews with those who have known her—including Ivan Kral, Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, John Cale, and Jim Carroll—it relies most of all on Patti’s own words.
Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket
Published May 2009
The summer of 1976 through the summer of 1977 was the most significant year in British rock history, when punk rock rose from a murmur on the streets to a roar of defiance that still reverberates today. This collection of vivid memories of concerts and cultural flash points focuses on what was happening on the streets and in the clubs, answering questions like What brought punks together with London’s disenfranchised Rasta community? What made Teddy Boys—middle-aged men who dressed like 1950s rockers—hate punks so much that they roamed in packs looking for teenagers to beat up? What was it like to be in the now legendary Roxy Club? and Were the Sex Pistols really any good as a live band? Memories from others who were there—including members of the Damned, the Adverts, the Patti Smith Group, the Maniacs, and the Tom Robinson Band—add to this story of punk rock as it happened, stripped of hindsight and future legend, and laid bare.