Skydog: The Duane Allman Story – Randy Poe (Backbeat Books)

Despite his short career Duane Allman is one of the most influential slide guitarists in music history.  In �Skydog� Randy Poe details the career of Allman from his days in the clubs to his session work for other artist to the glory days of the Allman Brothers Band.  Using interviews with former band mates and friends as well as the few interviews conducted with Duane himself, Poe constructs a detailed account of Allman�s life and the effect he had on the music.  Poe also includes a detailed discography and for the gearheads in the audience, a detailed section on the guitars of Allman.
Pressing On: The Roni Stoneman Story – Roni Stoneman and Ellen Wright (University of Illinois Press)

Most people know of Roni Stoneman not by name, but by the character she played for many years on Hee-Haw, The Ironing Board Lady.  The character was crusty, unkempt, loud and a little on the hateful side at times – in other words the complete opposite of Roni Stoneman herself.  In �Pressing On� Stoneman recounts her life growing up in the Appalachians mountains to a family that had tasted fame and seen it slip away in the Depression (her father, Ernest V. �Pop� Stoneman was one of the earliest hillbilly artists recorded, pre-dating the Carters and Jimmie Rodgers by a couple of years).  The book, as is noted in the foreword, is a transcript of an oral history.  The text reads as if Stoneman was sitting with you and telling you the often heartbreaking story of her life.  Suffering cruelty from other kids and abuse from husbands, Stoneman persevered and in the end the story is one of determination and hope.
Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry – Holly George-Warren (Oxford University Press)

Gene Autry is arguably the most successful and popular singing cowboy of all time, despite the attempts of studio heads to replace him with Roy Rogers and bury Autry�s career when he made the decided to go off to serve the country during wartime.  That story and a host of others are included in this exhaustively documented and researched book.  George-Warren does an impeccable job of presenting the facts of Autry�s life and career detailing his early attempts at making records through his most successful periods.  Autry served as an inspiration to many legendary country music performers through the years.  Artist like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash spent their childhoods in front of movie screens dreaming of riding alongside Autry and singing his songs as they made their way in to music history with songs of their own.  For fans of the singing cowboy, country music or general pop culture this book is highly recommended.
Shout, Sister, Shout: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Gayle F. Wald (Beacon Press)

As time moves us farther from the roots of the music we listen to today influential artists such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe can slide in to obscurity.  In �Shout, Sister, Shout� Gayle Wald makes a case for Tharpe�s place in music history, a place that has often been overlooked due to the often racist and sexiest revisionist history that often surrounds music history and the history of rock �n� roll in particular.  With her exuberant singing style and great guitar playing Tharpe influenced artists from Johnny Cash to Little Richard, Ginger Baker to Bonnie Raitt.  Books like this will help rewrite music history in the coming decades.
Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man, an Unauthorized Biography – George Case (Hal Leonard)

In this unauthorized look at the life and career of the enigmatic founder of Led Zeppelin, George Case produces the first biography of Jimmy Page.  Beginning with Page�s childhood Case builds a narrative that unravels many of the mysteries that surround Page and his music and his fascination with the Occult.  Stories of the band�s formation and Road stories of Led Zeppelin�s early tours offer insight into the music and creativity Page.
The Rockabilly Legends: They Called It Rockabilly Long Before They Called It Rock and Roll – Jerry Naylor (Hal Leonard)

�The Rockabilly Legends� is a large formatted book featuring the early popular Rockabilly founders: Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison.  Author Jerry Naylor, who became the lead singer of the Crickets after Holly�s untimely death, provides an interesting book that intertwines sentimentality with biography as he talks personally about each of these Rockabilly principles.  Historically speaking there isn�t much new information in the book, but Naylor offers a lot of great personal insight into the lives and careers of these legends.  Beautifully laid out, the book includes great pictures of the early Rockabilly artists designed in an artful and attractive way.  The book also includes a DVD which includes an hour long documentary that covers much of the same territory as the books and features interviews with Cowboy Jack Clement, Kris Kristofferson, Sam Phillips and others as well as performance clips from the artists.
To Live�s To Fly: The Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt – John Kruth (Da Capo)

Townes Van Zandt has long been heralded one of the greatest songwriters in any genre of music and in �To Live�s To Fly� John Kruth examines the life behind the artistry.  Thoroughly researched, the book features stories from many of the people closest to Van Zandt including his son, ex-wives, band mates and devotees such as Steve Earle.  Kruth does an excellent job looking beyond the legend and stories of Van Zandt�s self-destructive behavior to show the man and where he came from.