We connect to musicians through their music, but we can also connect by learning more about their lives and inspirations.
Here are a few of the new biographies of musicians the New Westminster Public Library has received recently.
In the book A Natural Woman, Carole King talks about her relationships with men, fellow musicians and her music; from writing songs as a teenager in Brooklyn to the well-loved singer-songwriter she is today.
In Amy: My Daughter Mitch Winehouse tells the candid, compelling and heartbreaking story of his daughter Amy Winehouse, who had a distinctive sound, an unforgettable look and a tragic addiction to drugs and alcohol.
TIME Paul McCartney: The Legend Rocks On is a richly illustrated tribute book on McCartney's 70th birthday. James Kaplan looks at the life of the most successful musician in pop-music history from early days as the son of a Liverpool trumpet player to the still energetic performer today.
Considered to be the Godfather of Soul, James Brown transformed American music. R J Smith's biography, The One: The Life and Music of James Brown, follows James' rise from abject poverty to the dazzling showman who played 350 shows a year at his peak and whose musical genius influenced at least three decades of music.
Gregg Allman's My Cross to Bear tells the unflinching story of his life, laying bare the unvarnished truth about his wild ride that has spanned several decades.
Christopher Ward is the grandson of Jock Hume one of the musicians who famously played as the Titanic sank. His book And the Band Played On is a dramatic tale of love, loss and betrayal, and the catastrophic impact of Jock's death on two very different Scottish families.
In an unusual biography, Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics, Loretta Lynn gives us the background behind the lyrics to her songs, which are snippets of her life. As she says, "I only write what I have lived."
