Testimony

I thought I would go through my book collection (hardbacks, paperbacks, and audio) and see which ones I really like. I’m more of a non-fiction reader and I love biographies. I also like documentaries which I will do later on. There are some fiction books I’ve read that I will list later on. I thought I would do a few at a time.

1: Harpo Marx – Harpo Speaks – This is my top autobiography of all time. I have read it at least 8-9 times. When I fly, Harpo goes with me on every flight. Harpo was born in the latter half of the 19th century and his life is one of the most incredible stories I’ve read about. This guy adopted enough kids to fill up every window in his house. He would often wake his kids up just to play if he came home late. If rock bands tell sad stories of them just starting and how hard it was…you should read what the Marx Brothers went through. This book goes to 1964 when he passed away. The link on Harpo Speaks goes to my review of it. It was the first book post I did that actually got interest.

2: Beatles – Tune In – The absolute best biography on The Beatles and it only goes to 1962 and it’s well over 1000 pages. Mark Lewisohn wrote it and is planning to write a part two and then a part three. The criticism of this book is there are too many details…” who needs to know the color of George Harrison’s first car?” Well me that’s who! No, I have read at least 15 or more books on them and I learned a lot from this book. Lewisohn interviewed a lot of early fans who saw them in the Cavern and Hamburg. He uncovers events that no one knew before. He also backs things up so it’s the best by far on the Beatles.

Most books on the Beatles I don’t get through because all they are doing is repeating the well-known history…not this one. I’m impatiently waiting the Part II.

3: Keith Richards – Life – This book started a trend among older rock stars. Keith is upfront about his past and doesn’t hide much if anything. He is straightforward and you learn a lot about what was going on when the Stone’s golden years were happening. You would NEVER get a book like this with Mick Jagger. I’ve ranked this 3rd…but the following 2 could have easily switched places with this one but Keith is the one that started it. The format he used was soon used again by Gregg Allman, Robbie Robertson, and Bill Kreutzmann.

4: Gregg Allman – My Cross To Bear – It felt like Gregg was on a back porch telling you his story. I was an Allman Brothers fan but became a huge one after this book. I started to dive into their music and I saw how great they were. He goes through the Duane years, Cher, the narc incident, and up to the modern Allman Brothers. Even if you are not a huge fan…check this out.

5: Robbie Robertson – Testimony – Same as Keith and Gregg…a wonderful book about The Band. I had no clue what they went through before they toured with Dylan. They were as tight as any band could be musically and physically. Robbie is very even-handed about his relationship with Levon Helm…he doesn’t rip him and generally treats him with respect. You also learn more about Bob Dylan than I ever knew about his personality. Robbie is also such a cool guy and very down to earth.

6: Bill Kreutzmann – Deal – OK, you want Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll? You have it here with the Grateful Dead’s drummer. It’s not a complete bio of the Dead but he tells stories that I never heard before. Of all the bands I read about…The Dead probably had more fun than any other. They did have their arguments and Garcia wasn’t always a hippie guy that went along with everything. I did learn more about the Dead’s dynamics from this book than any other.

The autobiography of Robbie Robertson. I read this right after My Cross To Bear by Gregg Allman. The only surprising part is it stops at 1976 and doesn’t cover Robbie’s solo career.

Robbie is 33 when the book ends. It ends at a recording session where only Robbie shows up after The Last Waltz.

If you have read Levon Helm’s This Wheels on Fire you know that Levon was pretty hard on Robbie. He rips him for songwriting credits and The Last Waltz. Robbie takes the high road in his book. He talks about the brotherhood they all shared. He mentions that Levon was his best friend he ever had in his life.

Robbie was in the middle of musical history throughout the book. He talks about joining Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks and befriending Levon…they eventually picked up Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson. After they split with Ronnie they get busted and gigged at various bars while meeting music legends Sonny Boy Williamson II, Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield and then Bob Dylan. After meeting Dylan they start backing him on his first electric tour.

They are in the middle of the chaos of Dylan’s electric tour…Levon quits a few shows into it because of the booing and the people that surround Dylan. The rest of the Band (still called the Hawks) continue to back Dylan around the world. Along the way, they make friends with Brian Jones, The Beatles, Johnny Cash and eventually Jimi Hendrix (Jimmy James at the time).

He also mentions about living at the Chelsea Hotel, Big Pink, Levon coming back, living in Woodstock, playing Woodstock, and being friends with Dylan. This is one book that gives you a side of Dylan you never read much about. Robbie humanizes him while keeping respect. The Band much like the Allman Brothers valued brotherhood. They stuck together and got along really well until heroin started to enter the picture.

He goes into his songwriting and where he got the ideas. A lot of his ideas came from hanging out with Levon at Levon’s home in Arkansas. Robbie enjoyed the area and the southern culture that surrounded him.

Robbie is big foreign film buff who read many screenplays and would have people to pick them up when going through New York. After reading those he said it helped him to express what he felt in lyrics.

You get such a mix of personalities in the book… Edie Sedgwick, Carly Simon, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, to smoking pot with John Lennon in the sixties with John’s special made “cigarettes.”

All of the Band had street smarts and mixed with killers, thieves and mafia members before they made it. They were without money at one point and Robbie and Levon were actually going to wear masks and hold up a high stakes poker game. It’s a wonder one of them wasn’t killed before the band met Dylan.

I’ve read both Levon’s and Robbie’s books. I liked them both. Robbie is more consistent in his telling. There is a reason Robbie wanted to get off the road. Richard Manuel was not in good shape…even on The Last Waltz and Robbie was no angel himself. The road brought temptations that were hard for them to resist.

If you are a Band fan and/or Dylan fan…get it. I would place this book up there with Keith Richard’s book Life. That is about the highest praise I can give…

Tag: Testimony

Books I Would Recommend …Part 1