The best rock and roll memoirs come from people who were in the room when it happened. Hawksmoor Publishing’s music books are written by and about people who were: a blues singer who was friends with David Bowie, a studio engineer who recorded The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, and a 1960s pop star whose hit single helped inspire the rock opera.
The three memoirs below overlap in surprising ways. Phill Brown engineered Dana Gillespie’s sessions in the 1970s and gives them a chapter in his book, and all three books pass through the same London studios, clubs and characters of the late 1960s and 1970s. Our parent company, Bennion Kearny, adds biographies of Traffic, Bob Dylan, The Doors and Bryan Adams.
Rock and roll memoirs
Dana Gillespie: Weren’t Born a Man
Author: Dana Gillespie | Published 18 January 2021 | 400 pages
Dana Gillespie’s memoir is as candid, outrageous and funny as anyone who knows her would expect. The award-winning ‘first lady of the Blues’ writes about her relationships with David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Keith Moon, and about recording with Jimmy Page and Elton John. She played Mary Magdalene in the original London production of Jesus Christ Superstar and the Acid Queen in Tommy.
Along the way she acted for Nicolas Roeg and Ken Russell, performed Shakespeare with Sir John Gielgud, topped the charts across Europe and sang to a million people in India. She was also British junior waterski champion four years running. Elton John, Tim Rice, Rick Wakeman, Marc Almond and Angie Bowie all contribute their memories.
Are We Still Rolling? Studios, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll – One Man’s Journey Recording Classic Albums
Author: Phill Brown | Published January 2024 | 340 pages
Sound engineer and producer Phill Brown learned his trade at London’s Olympic Sound Studios under Glyn Johns and Eddie Kramer, working on sessions for The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Joe Cocker. Over a 50-year career he went on to record with Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Steve Winwood, Roxy Music, Talk Talk and Dido.
Written in diary form, with a foreword by Robert Palmer, this updated edition of his 2011 memoir is a vivid account of how classic albums were really made. It is also a cautionary tale about the drugs, egos and record-industry pressures that took their toll. It includes a chapter on his sessions with Dana Gillespie.
Thinking About Tomorrow – Excerpts from the life of Keith West
Author: Ian Clay | Published 8 February 2021 | 320 pages
Keith West’s ‘Excerpt from a Teenage Opera’ – remembered by millions as ‘Grocer Jack’ – was cited by Paul McCartney and Pete Townshend as an influence on the rock opera. With his psychedelic band Tomorrow, alongside Steve Howe and Twink, Keith was at the centre of 1960s London with The Who, The Beatles, The Kinks, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix.
This is the story of a rock and roll survivor, from Elvis-inspired beginnings through pop stardom to punk and indie. It also lifts the lid on the music business: the agents, managers, publishers and record companies all chasing the next hit, and what happens once they find it.
Music biographies from Bennion Kearny
Deeper dives into some of rock’s most enduring bands and artists.
Tragic Magic: The Life of Traffic’s Chris Wood
The story of Traffic’s flute and saxophone player, from the band’s communal, supposedly haunted cottage in the English countryside to transatlantic success alongside Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason, and the personal toll it took.
Friends and Other Strangers: Bob Dylan Examined
Author: Harold Lepidus
More than 120 articles on the people in Bob Dylan’s orbit, from Buddy Holly to the Beastie Boys, drawn from Harold Lepidus’s widely read Bob Dylan Examiner column, with interviews with Dylan associates.
The Doors Examined
Author: Jim Cherry
The history and influence of The Doors, from a Venice Beach rooftop to Père Lachaise Cemetery, including the band’s story after Jim Morrison’s death and assessments of their key albums.
We Want The World: Jim Morrison, The Living Theatre and the FBI
Author: Daveth Milton
A meticulously researched look at Jim Morrison’s clashes with the Establishment, his secret FBI file and the conspiracy against him in Phoenix and Miami.
Bryan Adams: A Fretted Biography – The First Six Albums
Author: Mark Duffett
How Bryan Adams went from washing dishes to selling tens of millions of records, tracing his first six albums, his ‘ordinary guy’ persona and the people behind his success.