Synopses & Reviews
A revealing account of Led Zepplin's 1975 North American tour including all- new interviews with-and insider information about-the band, from the bestselling author of Hammer of the Gods. As a young music journalist in 1975, Stephen Davis got the opportunity of a lifetime: an invitation to cover the sold-out 1975 North American tour of Led Zeppelin, the biggest and most secretive rock band in the world, for a national magazine. He received a backstage pass, was granted interviews with band members, and even got a prized seat on the band's luxurious tour jet, The Starship. While on duty, he chronicled the Zeppelin tour in three notebooks, but after writing his article in 1975 he misplaced them. After three decades of searching, in 2005 he finally found the notebooks, on the covers of which he had scribbled the words "LZ-'75," and unearthed an amazing amount of new information from the tour including:
• Lost interviews with canny vocalist Robert Plant and the brilliant guitarist Jimmy Page
• Information on the rock icon who moonlighted as a heroin dealer
• Revelations about the identity of the lover about whom Robert Plant sings in "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "Black Country Woman"
• A detailed chronicle of each performance from a musical perspective, and a vivid account of the band members' extravagant, and often troubled, lives on tour
Tied together by Davis's entertaining narrative, and including more than forty never-before-published photographs, LZ-'75 is an unprecedented and comprehensive personal portrait of the greatest (and most notoriously press-shy) rock band in history at its apex.
Watch a Video
Review
“[A] revealing page-turner of a biography.” —More.com
“Stephen Davis reveals the fault lines in the life of an artist who, despite her popular success, has never received the critical respect accorded other singer-songwriters of her generation.” - Washington Post
“Rendered out of love and respect for Simon and her legacy…Shines” - Boston Globe
“A sympathetic and breezy account of Carly Simon's life and (many) loves.” - Star Tribune
“A revealing look at the singer's hit songs, famous friends (Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty), rocky marriage to James Taylor, and struggle to hold on to stardom in late middle age.” - O Magazine
“Revelatory” - PW
Review
andldquo;[A] revealing page-turner of a biography.andrdquo; andmdash;More.com
andldquo;Stephen Davis reveals the fault lines in the life of an artist who, despite her popular success, has never received the critical respect accorded other singer-songwriters of her generation.andrdquo; andndash; Washington Post
andldquo;Rendered out of love and respect for Simon and her legacyandhellip;Shinesandrdquo; andndash; Boston Globe
andnbsp;andldquo;A sympathetic and breezy account of Carly Simon's life and (many) loves.andrdquo; andndash; Star Tribune
andldquo;A revealing look at the singer's hit songs, famous friends (Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty), rocky marriage to James Taylor, and struggle to hold on to stardom in late middle age.andrdquo; andndash; O Magazine
andldquo;Revelatoryandrdquo; andndash; PW
Review
and#8220;[A] revealing page-turner of a biography.and#8221; and#8212;More.com
and#8220;Stephen Davis reveals the fault lines in the life of an artist who, despite her popular success, has never received the critical respect accorded other singer-songwriters of her generation.and#8221; and#8211; Washington Post
and#8220;Rendered out of love and respect for Simon and her legacyand#8230;Shinesand#8221; and#8211; Boston Globe
and#160;and#8220;A sympathetic and breezy account of Carly Simon's life and (many) loves.and#8221; and#8211; Star Tribune
and#8220;A revealing look at the singer's hit songs, famous friends (Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty), rocky marriage to James Taylor, and struggle to hold on to stardom in late middle age.and#8221; and#8211; O Magazine
and#8220;Revelatoryand#8221; and#8211; PW
Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling epic tale of the last great rock band From the bestselling author of Hammer of the Gods comes the complete story of Guns N? Roses ? from their drug-fueled blastoff in the 80s to the turbulent life of legendary singer Axl Rose, and his fifteen-year, multimillion dollar quest to make the perfect hard rock album.
Riotous world tours. Drug-induced rampages. One hundred millions albums sold. In his sixth major rock biography, Stephen Davis details the riveting story of the last great rock band. Watch You Bleed documents the life of every band member, including the improbable story of W. Axl Rose. Davis brilliantly captures the Guns? raw power ? from the gutters of Sunset Strip to the biggest stadiums on the planet. Based on exclusive interviews, private archives, and packed with stunning revelations, Watch You Bleed is the savage, definitive, and highly unauthorized story of Guns N? Roses. For the first time, millions of fans will learn the whole truth about this legendary band.
Synopsis
They were legends based on myths—myths of fantasy, power, and black magic. The tales of their tours were the most outrageous in the already excess-laden annals of modern music. The era of Led Zeppelin personified sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
Based on interviews with the band's musicians, friends, employees, and lovers, Hammer of the Gods tells the shocking story of Led Zeppelin's successes and excesses in the 70s—when Zeppelin reigned as the industry's biggest act.
Exclusive sources. Documents. Interviews. Photos. Revelations about a band—and an industry—at its shameless peak. Read it all, and see why Hammer of the Gods is a classic of rock journalism in its own right.
Synopsis
As the lead singer of the Doors, Jim Morrison’s searing poetic vision and voracious appetite for sexual, spiritual, and psychedelic experience inflamed the spirit and psyche of a generation. Since his mysterious death in 1971, millions more fans from a new generation have embraced his legacy, as layers of myth have gathered to enshroud the life, career, and true character of the man who was James Douglas Morrison.
In Jim Morrison, critically acclaimed journalist Stephen Davis, author of Hammer of the Gods, unmasks Morrison’s constructed personas of the Lizard King and Mr. Mojo Risin’ to reveal a man of fierce intelligence whose own destructive tendencies both fueled his creative ambitions and brought about his downfall. Gathered from dozens of original interviews and investigations of Morrison’s personal journals, Davis has assembled a vivid portrait of a misunderstood genius, tracing the arc of Morrison’s life from his troubled youth to his international stardom, when his drug and alcohol binges, tumultuous sexual affairs, and fractious personal relationships reached a frenzied peak. For the first time, Davis is able to reconstruct Morrison’s last days in Paris to solve one of the greatest mysteries in music history in a shocking final chapter.
Compelling and harrowing, intimate and revelatory, Jim Morrison is the definitive biography of the rock idol in snakeskin and leather who defined the 1960s.
Synopsis
A love song to an American icon: the first full-length biography of Carly Simon, from an acclaimed music journalist who has known her for decades
Carly Simon has won two Grammys and an Academy Award, and her albums have sold more than forty million copies. She has touched countless lives and is considered an icon in 1970s music, yet her own life story has remained a mystery. Tapping private archives, family interviews, and a forty-year friendship with the legend herself, Stephen Davis at last captures Carly Simon’s extraordinary journey from shy teenager to superstar, covering everything her fans want to know, including:
- The real story behind “You’re So Vain”
- Romances with Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, and Cat Stevens
- Surviving breast cancer
- Her recent financial and spiritual crises
Along the way, Davis vividly takes readers back to some of the most powerful eras in American music history and delivers a tribute worthy of the artist. The updated paperback edition includes two brand-new photos, as well as a note to the reader and selected sources.
Synopsis
A revealing account of Led Zepplin's 1975 North American tour including all- new interviews with-and insider information about-the band, from the bestselling author of Hammer of the Gods. As a young music journalist in 1975, Stephen Davis got the opportunity of a lifetime: an invitation to cover the sold-out 1975 North American tour of Led Zeppelin, the biggest and most secretive rock band in the world, for a national magazine. He received a backstage pass, was granted interviews with band members, and even got a prized seat on the band's luxurious tour jet, The Starship. While on duty, he chronicled the Zeppelin tour in three notebooks, but after writing his article in 1975 he misplaced them. After three decades of searching, in 2005 he finally found the notebooks, on the covers of which he had scribbled the words "LZ-'75," and unearthed an amazing amount of new information from the tour including:
• Lost interviews with canny vocalist Robert Plant and the brilliant guitarist Jimmy Page
• Information on the rock icon who moonlighted as a heroin dealer
• Revelations about the identity of the lover about whom Robert Plant sings in "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "Black Country Woman"
• A detailed chronicle of each performance from a musical perspective, and a vivid account of the band members' extravagant, and often troubled, lives on tour
Tied together by Davis's entertaining narrative, and including more than forty never-before-published photographs, LZ-'75 is an unprecedented and comprehensive personal portrait of the greatest (and most notoriously press-shy) rock band in history at its apex.
Watch a Video
Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling epic tale of the last great rock band From the bestselling author of Hammer of the Gods comes the complete story of Guns N? Roses ? from their drug-fueled blastoff in the 80s to the turbulent life of legendary singer Axl Rose, and his fifteen-year, multimillion dollar quest to make the perfect hard rock album.
Riotous world tours. Drug-induced rampages. One hundred millions albums sold. In his sixth major rock biography, Stephen Davis details the riveting story of the last great rock band. Watch You Bleed documents the life of every band member, including the improbable story of W. Axl Rose. Davis brilliantly captures the Guns? raw power ? from the gutters of Sunset Strip to the biggest stadiums on the planet. Based on exclusive interviews, private archives, and packed with stunning revelations, Watch You Bleed is the savage, definitive, and highly unauthorized story of Guns N? Roses. For the first time, millions of fans will learn the whole truth about this legendary band.
About the Author
Stephen Davis’s many acclaimed books include the Rolling Stones history Old Gods Almost Dead as well as the New York Times bestsellers Walk This Way (with Aerosmith), Fleetwood (with Mick Fleetwood), and the Led Zeppelin history Hammer of the Gods.
Table of Contents
Hammer of the Gods
Part One Overture
1. The Train Kept A-Rollin'
2. Zeppelin Rising
3. The Year of the Shark
4. Valhalla I Am Coming
5. The Secret Society
6. The Continental Riot House
Part Two
7. The Starship
8. An Angel with a Broken Wing
9. Nobody's Fault
10. Power, Mystery, and the Hammer of the Gods
11. In the Evening
12. Coda
13. "Led Zeppelin" Flies Again
14. Zeppelin in the Square of the Dead
A Led Zeppelin Bibliography
A Led Zeppelin Discography
Acknowledgments
Index