best musician autobiography ever?

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George Jones' was pretty damn good.

― fritz, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Miles "Motherfucker" Davis, ofmotherfuckincourse, that motherfucker tells it like it motherfuckin is, motherfucker. ;)

― Omar, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Beneath the Underdog - Charlie Mingus. I give him credit for making such an extra-ordinary story out of his life. But don't take it seriously, he didn't.

― K-reg, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Marilyn Manson, 'Long Hard Road Out of Hell'. It still didn't make me listen to his music, though.

― tarden, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Merle Haggard's. It's called "Sing Me Back Home".

― duane, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I thought John Cale's 'What's Welsh for Zen' was alright...

― Jamie Morrison, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Marc Almond's _Tainted Life_. Lengthy, detailed, funny and thoughtful, and a good record of a life, not just a musical career. Close behind would be Julian Cope's multivolume project -- the two available so far are both treats -- and Bill Drummond's _45_, which is more a collection of pieces than a full autobiography, containing an astonishing series of meditations on pop and its impact on life.

Never formally published but worth reading are Rose from the Poster Children's tour diaries, which now reach back several years and are all available via their website at http://www.posterchildren.com -- given that they're touring addicts, it's a good way to get a sense of life on the road in America in recent years.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Cash by Johnny Cash.

― JM, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

brian wilson, wouldn't it be nice. truly astonishing and quite heartbreaking. i don't read autobiographies (an inverse of those people who only read autobiographies i guess), but this one i made an exception for.

― gareth, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

gareth - "Wouldn't It Be Nice" if it's the same one i'm thinking of (pretty sure) is ghost-writ under the supervision of Dr. Eugene Landy. which makes it even more of a bummer read - guy's not even free to tell his own story - i don't imagine he would've even ever bothered to try to if it hadn't been part of somone else's agenda to exploit him.

― duane, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

does "Willy's Rats" by Mick Farren count?

― dan, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Grace Slick's "Somebody to Love?" is a very entertaining read, though it's more memoir than autobiography (i.e., she often skimps on details in order to make a point).

And for a true guilty pleasure of a read: Cher, "The First Time."

― Joseph McCombs, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Real Frank Zappa Book. If for no other reason than the following line: "For the records, folks: I never took a shit on stage, and the closest I ever came to eating shit anywhere was at a Holiday Inn buffet in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973."

I am so predictable.

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I can't say it's the 'best ever' but I really enjoyed Ronny Ronette's autobio, 'Be My Baby.'

― maryann, Monday, 2 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Does the one by Nancy Spungen's mom count?

― tarden, Monday, 2 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

yeah marryanne, i dug ronnies 'be my baby'... but tony sanchez - (stones dope dealer)... 'up and down with the rolling stones' is definitely my pick for candy.. does it count even though he wasn't in the band..? i figure its gotta as what'd 'exile' be without him..

― Dan Mancini, Monday, 2 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Anotehr vote for teh Miles Davis one. This guy has the best stories! I like his attitudes too. I woudlnt want to be him though.

― Mike Hanle y, Monday, 2 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

For neither the first nor the last time, I nominate "X-Ray" by Ray Davies.

― Robin Carmody, Monday, 2 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Be My Baby was ace! However, I made the mistake of reading it the same week that I read Geri Halliwell's bio (unmitigated steaming pile of poo) and the two are inexplicably twined in my head. Who slept with Bowie but turned down Robbie Williams? I'm confused.

Up and Down With The Rolling Stones is possibly the best rock book ever written, but it's not an autobiog of the Stones. Sorry.

― masonic boom, Monday, 2 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

in that period their drug dealer was the stones..

― Dan Mancini, Tuesday, 3 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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