Bestseller List
The Piano Handbook
Guitar Player Repair Guide
Led Zeppelin
How To Write Songs on Guitar
Punk Diary
All Music Guide to Classical Music
The Tube Amp Book
Behind the Glass
Piano Girl
The Chord Master
Mr. Tambourine Man
Play Acoustic
How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great!
The Songwriting Sourcebook
The Art of Digital Music
 
Welcome to Backbeat Books
Spotlight
The Electric Guitar Handbook
A Complete Course in Modern Technique and Styles
Backbeat's successful Handbook format applied to the world's most popular instrument.

The Electric Guitar Handbook is the latest entry in Backbeat's best-selling handbook series, combining a two-part book and an audio CD in a practical lay-flat binding for ease of reference when playing.

Part one of the book examines how different types of electric guitars are made, and why varying construction methods influence the way guitars sound. It also looks at the role of various pieces of guitar hardware, including pick-ups, tremolo set-ups, and bridges.

Part two is a comprehensive, user-friendly course in playing the electric guitar, from the basics of posture and hand positioning to music and tab reading and advanced performance. Newly written exercises - presented in the book and also on the accompanying CD - take the learner through each step in the process, covering styles including rock, country, blues, soul/funk, indie/alternative, and metal. Author Rod Fogg also offers practical advice on everything from simple scales to complex chords, alongside short features introducing key performers and styles.
More about The Electric Guitar Handbook
Gibson's Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars
An Illustrated History & Guide
Finally back in print! The must-have book on Gibson's killer acoustic guitars, now updated.

From the 1920s to the present, Gibson and its flat-tops have been synonymous with American music. Whether the music you listen to is from the North or the South, the country or the city, it is likely that a Gibson guitar was involved in creating it. Through more than 200 photos and detailed text, this book chronicles the development and evolution of Gibson's fabulous flat-tops, showing why these guitars have been the choice of so many great musicians, professional and amateur alike, over the last 70 years.
More about Gibson's Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars
Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell
The Dangerous Glitter of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed
First-ever look at the intertwining, outrageous lives of three rock legends.

When Lou Reed and Iggy Pop first met David Bowie in the fall of 1971, Bowie was just another English musician passing through New York City. Lou was still recovering from the collapse of the Velvet Underground, and Iggy had already been branded a loser... Yet within two years they completely changed the face of popular music with a decadent glamour and street-level vibe. With Bowie producing, Reed's Transformer album was a worldwide hit, spinning off the sleazy street anthem “Walk on the Wild Side.” Iggy's Raw Power, mixed by Bowie, provided the mean-spirited, high-octane blueprint for Punk. Bowie boosted elements from both Iggy and Reed to create his gender-bending rock idol Ziggy Stardust.

Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell is the story of this friendship and the incredible productivity and debauchery that emerged from it. Presented here for the very first time are their stories interwoven in a triple helix of sexuality, glam rock, and drugs – as seen through the eyes of the people who made it happen.
More about Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell
And Party Every Day
The Inside Story of Casablanca Records
Now it can be told! The true, behind-the-scenes story of Casablanca Records, from an eyewitness to the excess and insanity. Casablanca was not a product of the 1970s, it was the 1970s.

From 1974 to 1980, the landscape of American culture was a banquet of hedonism and self-indulgence, and no person or company in that era was more emblematic of the times than Casablanca Records and its magnetic founder, Neil Bogart. From his daring first signing of KISS, through the discovery and superstardom of Donna Summer, the Village People, and funk master George Clinton and his circus of freaks, Parliament Funkadelic, to the descent into the manic world of disco, this book charts Bogart's meteoric success and eventual collapse under the weight of uncontrolled ego and hype. It is a compelling tale of ambition, greed, excess, and some of the era's biggest music acts.
More about And Party Every Day
Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble
The official record of the incredible down-home jam sessions held by Levon Helm, the charismatic drummer, singer, and sometimes mandolin player for The Band. Accompanying the spectacular photos are testimonials and remembrances from the notable blues entertainers and musicians who have joined the Ramble.
More about Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble
The Official Heavy Metal Book of Lists
The heaviest book of all time! The Spinal Tap of books! A gorgeous, time-wasting, absolutely essential toilet reader!

Part rock trivia contest, part encyclopedia of excess, The Official Heavy Metal Book of Lists features over 150 lists that chronicle rock and roll's most enduring genre. Ever wanted to know the names of Alice Cooper's snakes? The names of Spinal Tap's dead drummers? Which metal stars have made celebrity sex tapes??

Get ready to be thrown headfirst into a mosh pit of wacky, wild, and weird lists from metal's hardest-hitting stars – members of Motörhead, Sepultura, Guns N' Roses, Vixen, Biohazard, Whitechapel, Dethklok, and GWAR are among the heavyweights who cast their ballots herein (not to mention porn stars, Air Guitar champs, and the director of Heavy Metal Parking Lot).
More about The Official Heavy Metal Book of Lists
Relix: The Book
The Grateful Dead Experience
For the first time in one volume, here is the best of Relix magazine: the ultimate, spectacular history of the Grateful Dead and their fans.

Relix magazine – much like the Grateful Dead, the band they captured relentlessly – was not just the backdrop for a generation, it was an inspiration. Begun in 1974 as a newsletter to connect Deadheads, the magazine exploded along with the tie-dyed community that embraced it. Relix: The Book is a compilation of the first 27 years of Relix magazine and includes interviews with Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and all of the Dead's key players. A Deadhead family portrait and psychedelic timecapsule, it also features iconic groups such as the Doors and Phish, along with nearly three decades' worth of brain-melting artwork, full-color covers, and anecdotes from Relix founder Toni Brown, written exclusively for the book. For the global family of Deadheads, old-school hippies, and up and coming jam band fans, Relix: The Book is much more than an anthology, it is an event.
More about Relix: The Book
The Les Paul Guitar Book
Tony Bacon's definitive guide to Gibson's most famous guitar moves into its latest and most complete version yet with this new and thoroughly revised edition. Now with 16 more pages and 45 new pictures, this timely (and re-titled) update of 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul (2002) tells the story of one of the greatest musical instruments of the 20th century – and one that is still holding center stage today.

Since Gibson's Les Paul solid body electric guitar first appeared in the early 1950s, it has always been easier to list the famous guitarists who have not used one at some point or another in their careers. This improved edition of the book features a complete history of the guitar and its players – from the original Goldtop through the Fretless Wonder and the revered 1958-60 “Burst,” and on to the reissues of today.

Richly illustrated with 250 archive and performance shots, ephemera, and specially commissioned studio photos, The Les Paul Guitar Book is the most complete guide ever to Gibson's best-known guitar, and a must-have for every player and collector.
More about The Les Paul Guitar Book
I Want to Take You Higher - Revised & Updated
The Life and Times of Sly & the Family Stone
Paperback edition of the first in-depth biography of the legendary Sly Stone – now updated!

“ An account as upbeat as those early hits ...it's a great tale.” – Mojo

Author Jeff Kaliss scored the first face-to-face interview with the reclusive superstar in over 20 years, making this book a must-read for any rock'n'roll fan. From the anthemic early hits (“I Want to Take You Higher,” “ Family Affair,” “Dance to the Music”) that powered Woodstock, through the moody meditations of “There's a Riot Going On” and beyond, Sly and the Family Stone have left an indelible stamp on rock, funk, pop, and hip-hop. The story follows the evolution of Sly and the Family Stone from local favorites to global rock stars whose success was undermined by drugs and self-delusion. In this updated version of the popular biography, Jeff Kaliss brings the story forward with new interviews and new revelations about a star in turmoil.
More about I Want to Take You Higher - Revised & Updated
By the Time We Got to Woodstock
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Revolution of 1969
A fast-paced, fun, and sometimes brutal look at America's most volatile and creative year in music - 1969: a time of euphoria and devastation, freedom and assassination, revolution and retribution, moonwalks and sit-ins, love-ins and race riots, sex, drugs, and guns. Idyllic college campuses became killing fields and inner cities went up in flames as the drumbeat of popular music tried to drown out the drums of war.

1969 was birthed through the visions and violence of 1968. By the Time We Got to Woodstock breathlessly documents a year that saw more music-as-manifesto and rock-as-revolution than ever before. At one mad outdoor party after another - from Miami to Denver, and from Woodstock to Altamont - cracks in the promised hippie utopia quickly turned to canyons. This was the year that saw the Beatles go supernova while Bob Dylan hightailed it to Nashville. From the Byrds, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, the Airplane, and Janis Joplin to the Velvet Underground, the Mothers of Invention, Funkadelic, and the Fugs, 1969 stands up as a decade-smashing anomaly in the annals of rock'n'roll captured gloriously in this blistering book.
More about By the Time We Got to Woodstock
The Fiddle Handbook
The Fiddle Handbook is a treasure trove of information spanning the whole range of fiddle playing. It looks in detail at the most commonly played styles among today's fiddlers. From America, there's old time, bluegrass, Cajun, Western swing, country, blues, rock, klezmer, and jazz, while from the British Isles there's Irish, Scottish, and English. There is also a quick romp through Eastern Europe and beyond, from the spike fiddles of Africa and Asia to the Chinese Erhu, the fabulous Indian Sarangi, and the mysterious Norwegian Hardingfele.

A wealth of musical examples - ornaments, bowing patterns, scales, modes, exercises and complete tunes - are faithfully reproduced on the accompanying CD, to give you a taste of each style. And finally, the book answers once and for all the hoary old question, "What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin?" The answer, of course, is that fiddle players have more fun....
More about The Fiddle Handbook
Pink Floyd FAQ
Everything Left to Know ... and More!
More than four decades since their first album, and 35 years after the release of the iconic Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd continue to inspire and mystify rock fans around the world. Pink Floyd FAQ, by pop culture author Stuart Shea, lays out the band's strange, winding history through a new series of prisms. What were the band's most memorable gigs? What are their greatest moments on record, as a group and individually? What contemporary records influenced them, and which performers follow in their wake? What was it like to be at a Pink Floyd show in 1967, in 1973, in 1980?

Pink Floyd FAQ tells the band's story, dissects their most popular work, and provides little-known facts, all adding up to a provocative must-read for fans. With 400 pages of stories, history, observation, opinion, photos, and reminiscences from those who were there, Pink Floyd FAQ will discuss frankly what made the band great - as well as note their not-so-great moments - and their place in modern pop culture, giving credit where credit is due - and maybe puncturing some inflatable pigs along the way.
More about Pink Floyd FAQ
Woodstock Vision - The Spirit of a Generation
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Woodstock Festival
In the turbulent sixties, the Woodstock Festival and the Generation that came from that event were a manifestation of the desire to create a free, loving and just world. Elliott Landy has had his finger on the pulse of the Woodstock generation. He was there before the famous festival, hanging out with Dylan and The Band; he was the photographer of record at the Woodstock festival itself; and he still lives in Woodstock today.

In this edition of Woodstock Vision, Landy captures and preserves the true vision and pure essence of the festival-what it was like to be part of the sixties, sharing the spirit of unlimited hope, optimism, and belief that the world can be made better through peace and love. The book affectionately chronicles what it was like to be at the Woodstock Festival and to be a part of the spirit of its generation.
More about Woodstock Vision - The Spirit of a Generation
Behind the Glass, Volume II
Top Record Producers Tell How They Craft the Hits
Behind the Glass, Volume II presents another prime collection of firsthand interviews with the world's top record producers and engineers, sharing their creative secrets and hit-making techniques - from the practical to the artistic. In these pages you'll find Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan) discussing the future of digital recording; T-Bone Burnett (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss) sharing his unique view of creating complex low end; and Hugh Padgham (Police, Genesis) analyzing the state of the business today. For real-world advice on everything from home recording to mixing to coaching a nervous singer, check out author Howard Massey's conversations with Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse), Tony Brown (Reba McEntire), Gus Dudgeon (Elton John), John Simon (The Band), Russ Titelman (Steve Winwood), Bruce Swedien (Michael Jackson), Rodney Jerkins (Mary J. Blige), Simon Climie (Eric Clapton), Matt Serletic (Matchbox Twenty), and more.
More about Behind the Glass, Volume II
Confessions of a Record Producer
10th Anniversary Edition, Revised and Updated
It's been 10 years since Confessions of a Record Producer published real-life numbers showing what artists made on so-called “hit records” and how producers, labels, managers, and even the artists' own lawyers conspire to cheat them out of royalties. It's the only publication that tells the real story of how artists get ripped off and how they can protect their assets. In a special 10th Anniversary Edition, author Moses Avalon, one of the industry's most sought-after consultants and artist's rights gurus, has updates on all of the old shams and many new ones created by the internet and the ongoing transformation of the music industry.

• Detailed numbers on how new royalties from digital downloads are calculated, collected, and manipulated.

• Deep inside the new so-called “360 Deals” offered by the major labels.

• Plus a DVD-ROM containing private lessons from Avalon's Workshop. Groundbreaking charts and graphs show industry consolidation, who owns what, and where the future of the music business is headed
More about Confessions of a Record Producer
The Daily Adventures of Mixerman
Mixerman is a recording engineer working with a famous producer on the debut album of an unknown band with a giant recording budget. Mixerman is supposed to be writing about recording techniques, but somehow, through that prism, he has hit upon a gripping story. Like all great narratives, Mixerman's diary has many anti-heroes for whom we, the readers, can have nothing but contempt. The band consists of the four most dislikable human beings you can imagine. The singer is vain and pretentious. The guitarist is a serious depressive. The drummer is as "dumb as cotton," and the bassist is merely mean and petty, making him the only one that Mixerman can stand. All four of them hate each other's guts, and they haven't even been on tour yet. Mixerman takes you through the recording process of a bidding war band in over their heads with a famous record producer (also in over his head). Many find Mixerman's diary entries side-splittingly funny. Some find them maddening. And a select few feel they are the most despicable accountings of record-making ever documented.
More about The Daily Adventures of Mixerman
Jimmy Page
Magus, Musician, Man
Now in paperback, Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man is the first-ever biography of Led Zeppelin's legendary guitarist and producer. Never before has the story been told in such sharp detail, leaving no stone unturned, from the heady days of swinging London in the 1960s - when Page was lighting up the scene as an incendiary session man - through the bombast, beauty, and blues that is Led Zeppelin (not to mention the wanton sex and drug orgies that would come to define rock excess). Here is the story of rock's most enigmatic and influential icon.
More about Jimmy Page
How to Write Songs on Guitar
2nd Edition, Expanded and Updated
So you want to write songs, and you want to write them on guitar. This is the book that shows you exactly how. Taking tips and tricks from classic songwriters, from Bob Dylan to the Beatles to Tori Amos, How to Write Songs on Guitar takes you through the four main elements of a song - rhythm, melody, lyrics, and harmony - and inspires you to combine them in exciting new ways. Now with updated songs and tips on writing trends, it's packed with wisdom and practical advice culled from over 1,500 songs, How to Write Songs on Guitar 2nd edition will soon have you producing better, more memorable songs.
More about How to Write Songs on Guitar
The Guitar Pick-Up Handbook
For every electric guitarist, a book that goes right to the source of the sound!
The pick-up may be a humble piece of technology, yet without it there would be no electric guitars. In The Guitar Pick-Ups Handbook, guitarist and author Dave Hunter explores the history of the transducer that captures mechanical vibrations, from its beginnings in the early 20th-century through to the present day. He explains why different designs affect the sound of classic electric guitars, and provides complementary aural demonstrations on a specially recorded accompanying CD.
More about The Guitar Pick-Up Handbook
Waiting for the Sun
A Rock & Roll History of Los Angeles
A classic, finally back in print! British rock historian Barney Hoskyns (Hotel California, Across the Great Divide: The Band in America) examines the long and twisted rock 'n' roll history of Los Angeles in its glamorous and debauched glory. The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, the Doors, Little Feat, the Eagles, Steely Dan, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, and others (from Charlie Parker right up to Black Flag, the Minutemen, Jane's Addiction, Ice Cube, and Guns N' Roses) populate the pages of this comprehensive and extensively illustrated book.
More about Waiting for the Sun
Sonic Boom
The History of Northwest Rock, from Louie Louie to Smells like Teen Spirit
The compelling saga of how one backwater music scene could produce such disparate mega-talents as the Ventures, Jimi Hendrix, Heart, Robert Cray, Queensryche, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Nirvana, and the legendary garage stompers, the Sonics. Includes 500-plus exclusive interviews with trailblazing DJs, sound engineers, label founders, and the luminaries of Northwest rock.
More about Sonic Boom
The Ultimate Hendrix
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Live Concerts and Sessions
Guitar legend Jimi Hendrix packed so much into so few years, leaping forward musically with each innovation. Hendrix expert John McDermott chronicles each of Jimi's revolutionary recording sessions, enlisting the help of Hendrix's friend and bandmate Billy Cox and sound engineer and photographer Eddie Kramer. This beautifully designed, illustrated volume will also include vivid new descriptions of every single live Hendrix concert from 1963 to 1970.
More about The Ultimate Hendrix
A Pure Drop
The Life of Jeff Buckley
It was Bono who said that “Jeff Buckley was a pure drop in an ocean of noise.” During his 30 years, Jeff Scott Buckley lived many lives: suburban loner, music school misfit, and rock and roll gypsy. His real life was only revealed after his tragic death 10 years ago, when he was found in the Mississippi river just hours before he was due to start rehearsals for the follow-up album to Grace. In this startling new bio, Jeff Buckley's friends, peers, enemies, lovers, collaborators, and others all speak of the Jeff Buckley they knew – or, in some cases, thought they knew. The contents of his many personal letters are revealed for the first time. His struggle with writer's block is explored, as are his battles with the concept of stardom, his desire for escape, and his attempts to deal with the unavoidable legacy of his equally gifted father, Tim Buckley. Even 10 years after his death, Buckley is still influential – Radiohead and Coldplay readily confess to the debt they owe him.
More about A Pure Drop
I Hate New Music
The Classic Rock Manifesto
Uproariously funny and relentlessly thought-provoking, I Hate New Music is one man's crusade against everything that isn't what rock ought to be. Author Dave Thompson examines the sacred cows of the past 30 years - from U2 to Days of the New, from Radiohead to The White Stripes - and then slaughters them for their sins against our souls in this un-put-downable compendium of outrageous opinion, hilarious anecdote, and wild accusations.
More about I Hate New Music
The Drum Book
Revised and Updated Edition
The Drum Book tells the story of the rock drum kit, from the moment Ringo Starr began to thrash his Ludwig kit to the diverse styles of today's players. This expanded and updated edition celebrates in loving detail the music and the drummers that inspired change and invention, and in doing so, changed the sound of music forever.
More about The Drum Book
A Wished-For Song
A Portrait with Photos and Interviews
When Jeff Buckley drowned in Memphis in 1997, the music world lost one of its most original and promising voices. His 1994 debut LP Grace showcased his soaring vocals and fluid guitar playing, and was hailed as an instant classic. Photographer Merri Cyr was there from the beginning, shooting his album covers and accompanying him on tour, capturing Buckley's boundless charisma. This edition features an all-new photo section.
More about A Wished-For Song
The Jazz Singers
The Ultimate Guide
The Jazz Singers is an overview of the great vocalists who have sung jazz. By drawing on original interviews conducted exclusively for this book, along with Scott Yanow's extensive knowledge, The Jazz Singers offers fresh and insightful information in its 521 main entries. Other features include a historical overview, a section on jazz vocal groups, and a comprehensive survey of jazz in film.
More about The Jazz Singers
Skydog: The Duane Allman Story
Now in paperback - revised and expanded, with a new afterword by the author - this is the definitive biography of Duane Allman, one of the most revered guitarists of his generation. Skydog reveals the complete story of the legendary guitarist: his childhood and musical awakening; his struggling first bands; his hard-won mastery of the slide guitar; his emergence as a successful session musician; his creation of the Allman Brothers Band; his tragic death at age 24; and his thriving musical legacy.
More about Skydog: The Duane Allman Story
Tell The Truth Until They Bleed
Coming Clean in the Dirty World of Blues and Rock 'N' Roll
A wild insider's ride with one of music's most notorious journalists.

Here are 15 music profiles, guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat:

• Leiber & Stoller, the white fathers of R&B and rock and roll, who possess what is perhaps the last great untold story of the music biz. They created the American songbook of the '50s and '60s, led by Elvis, the Coasters, and the Drifters.

• Doc Pomus, the only white blues singer in America making records in the 1940s. Half of the hit songwriting team of Pomus-Shuman during the Brill Building era, Doc had the biggest heart in the music business.

• A sad, comic-tragic romance with the Ronettes' Ronnie Spector, dubbed an “oldie” once she left her teens.
More about Tell The Truth Until They Bleed
Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards
Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor
A rock 'n roll classic, back in print, updated and revised.

One of the funniest rock memoirs ever, Al Kooper's legendary Backstage Passes is available again! Al's quirkly life, from would-be teenage rocker, to crashing Bob Dylan's recording session and playing the organ on Highway 61, to forming Blood, Sweat, and Tears and masterminding the Super Sessions, it's all here...plus, in this updated version, Al rides with us all the way back to the end of the 20th century. There has never been a more wickedly humorous and honest book by a man who has made such rock history.
More about Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards
Join Together
Forty Years of the Rock Music Festival
Landmark book on live music's most high-profile and historic concerts.

Forty years of rock 'n' roll and rebellion, it's all here: the music, the mud, and the memories. Join Together! Forty Years of the Rock Festival takes us behind the scenes of the major rock festivals such as Monterey Pop, Woodstock, Isle of Wight, Live Aid, Lollapalooza, Ozzfest, Live8, the US Festivals, Vans Warped Tour, SARSstock, Woodstock '99, Coachella, Bonnaroo, and dozens of other international events. Over 90 artists contribute their unique memories and perspectives on the music festival and its impact on rock music and society. From the bad acid and mud of the first Woodstock to the fiasco of the later editions and beyond, this book is for everyone who was there, in body or spirit.
More about Join Together
The Bass Book
Revised and expanded edition of every bass player's favorite book.
Since it was first published in 1995, the best-selling Bass Book has become the standard text for anyone searching for a complete history of bass guitars. In this revised and expanded edition, it offers a complete illustrated history of bass guitars, from Fender's first electric model in the 1950s through all the major models of the next 50 years that formed the foundation for modern music. The book features original interviews with bass makers past and present, dozens of unusual, specially commissioned color photos, and a reference section that provides critical information on every major manufacturer.
More about The Bass Book
The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists
The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists features over 200 of the funniest, craziest lists – from the Most Offensive Songs to Stupidest Band Names, from Punk Sell-Outs to Fashion Don'ts – culled from historical archives and generated by celebrity guests. Contributors include rock stars and punk luminaries, from members of Guns N' Roses and the Ramones to Little Steven Van Zandt, Nick Tosches, Lenny Kaye, Debbie Harry, and every...
More about The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists
Featured Titles

The Guitar Player Repair Guide - 3rd Revised Edition

Classic Hammond Organ
Know the Players, Play the Music

All Music Guide Required Listening - Old School Rap & Hip-Hop

The Guitar Player Book
The Ultimate Resource for Guitarists

The Fender Electric Guitar Book - 3rd Edition
A Complete History of Fender Instruments

The Gibson Electric Guitar Book
Seventy Years of Classic Guitars

Shred! The Ultimate Guide to Warp Speed Guitar
Set Your Frets on Fire with SHRED!
 

Electric Guitar Sourcebook
How to Find the Sounds You Like.
 

Analog Recording
Old-school techniques for capturing that great analog sound in the digital world.
 

The Guitar Amp Handbook
Getting the best sound from your guitar amp.