Rock Seen

“The official monograph of rock and roll’smost famous photographer, Rock Seen is a must-have for all rock fans.” (RollingStone.com) For forty years, Bob Gruen’s name has been synonymous with rock and roll. From taking early photos on tour with Ike and Tina Turner, to capturing the early CBGB/Max’s Kansas City scene to covering current stadium rockers such as Green Day, Gruen has always been at the right place at the right time—and he’s always gotten the shot. In this lavish monograph, Gruen has curated his favorite photographs from his career, with intimate captions and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Featuring such illustrious acts as the Clash, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, Ramones, and more, and including an introduction by the legendary Debbie Harry of Blondie, this collection is a must-have for all fans of rock and roll. “Rock Seen offers a disarmingly natural look at icons like Blondie and Cher before the era of the posed rock-star portrait kicked in.” —Entertainment Weekly “Rock Seen . . . hits the high points on and off the stage in rock’s past four decades.” —USA Today “Go backstage with forty years’ worth of rock-and-roll images from the legendary lens of Bob Gruen. . . . From over-the-top action shots of Elton John’s acrobatics to private pics of Lennon and Yoko in bed with baby Sean to boozy plane rides with the Sex Pistols, the glossy pages act as your VIP pass to the rock-star lifestyle you’ve dreamed of.” —Marie Claire “Gruen had a front-row seat to the rise of many rock legends [from] Elton John to Green Day.” —The New York Post

Look up! From the Caldecott Medal–winning creator of the hat trilogy comes a new deadpan gem. There is a spot. It is a good spot. It is the perfect spot to stand. There is no reason to ever leave. But somewhere above there is also a rock. A rock from the sky. Here comes The Rock from the Sky, a hilarious meditation on the workings of friendship, fate, shared futuristic visions, and that funny feeling you get that there’s something off somewhere, but you just can’t put your finger on it. Merging broad visual suspense with wry wit, celebrated picture book creator Jon Klassen gives us a wholly original comedy for the ages.

"Jon Fine spent nearly thirty years performing and recording with bands that played various forms of aggressive and challenging underground rock music, and, as he writes in this memoir, at no point were any of those bands 'ever threatened, even distantly, by actual fame.' Yet when members of his first band, Bitch Magnet, reunited after twenty-one years to tour ... diehard longtime fans traveled from far and wide to attend those shows, despite creeping middle-age obligations of parenthood and 9-to-5 jobs, testament to the remarkable staying power of the indie culture that the bands predating the likes of Bitch Magnet--among them Black Flag, Mission of Burma, and Sonic Youth --willed into existence through sheer determination and a shared disdain for the mediocrity of contemporary popular music"--Amazon.com.

The story of rock lives in Lynn Goldsmith’s photographs. After coming of age in the Midwest in the tumultuous 1960s, she crashed the music scene in New York and emerged as one of its leading image-makers. She chronicled Bruce Springsteen’s passage to glory, the Rolling Stones’ legendary stadium tours, Michael Jackson’s staggering ascent, U2’s arrival in New York, and the brooding force of Bob Marley. Culture heroes like Bob Dylan and Patti Smith became frequent subjects for her lens. The range of her work is staggering. In Rock and Roll Stories, she shares the best of this work. Her commentary takes the reader into the studio, the tour bus, the concert hall, and the streets where the pictures were made, offering revealing perspectives on her subjects and herself. A greatly expanded and newly designed edition of her very successful book PhotoDiary (1995), this volume captures the story of a generation’s loyalty to rock and roll.

Discover the joy of rock hunting.

Around two hundred million years ago, geological forces produced an expansive grove of rocky caverns and outcroppings atop Lookout Mountain. It was not until the twentieth century, however, that this awe-inspiring citadel evolved into a nationally recognized tourist attraction when Garnet Carter and his wife, Frieda, developed the natural marvel into the Rock City Gardens we know today, an enchanted tribute to fairytales and a breathtaking homage to nature. Join Rock City expert Tim Hollis as he guides you through the origins of the site's most fascinating spots, including Fairyland Caverns, See Seven States and Lover's Leap. Also learn the story behind the world-famous 'See Rock City' marketing campaign, as well as the steep challenges the landmark has faced in an often volatile tourism industry. Perhaps the only aspect of Rock City more enchanting than its physical beauty is the fairytale story that surrounds it.

Larson describes the rock-music scene and offers practical advice on how to deal with rock music from a Christian perspective.

Once you're dead, you're made for life. --Jimi Hendrix Hendrix. Janis. Morrison. Elvis. Lennon. Cobain. Garcia. Their reckless brilliance held the key to their self-destruction. Their deaths had much in common--and, surprisingly, so did their lives. From lonely childhoods marred by loss to groundbreaking music and turbulent careers that ended tragically and suspiciously, David Comfort explodes the myths as he probes: • The sinister roles of Hendrix's manager and girlfriend in his death and subsequent cover-up • The bizarre odyssey of Jim Morrison's corpse • Why Kurt Cobain was worth more dead than alive to Courtney Love • The twisted motives that caused John Lennon to sail through the Devil's Triangle to Bermuda--nearly going down in a storm--shortly before he was fatally shot • The crippling disease and "miracle" drug that drove Elvis to suicide Charismatic and gifted, but also isolated and conflicted, these are not the rock icons you thought you knew. Here are their larger-than-life stories of turmoil and excess that led to their early deaths and ultimate immortality. It's a wild ride to the other side of fame. "Fame is the soul eater." --Jerry Garcia "Everybody loves you when you're six foot in the ground." --John Lennon Includes Rare Photos David Comfort is the author of three bestselling nonfiction books. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, including Eclectic Literary Forum, Pacific Review, Coe Review, and Belletrist Review. He has been the recipient of several literary prizes and a finalist for such prestigious awards as the Nelson Algren Award and America's Best. A former rock musician, he has spent over 30 years studying rock music, particularly the revolutionary and fatalistic pioneers of the 1960s. He lives in Santa Rosa, California.