Rock Concert: A High-Voltage History, from Elvis to Live Aid

Description

Decades after the rise of rock music in the 1950s, the rock concert retains its allure and its power as a unifying experience - and as an influential multi-billion-dollar industry. In Rock Concert, acclaimed interviewer Marc Myers sets out to uncover the history of this compelling phenomenon, weaving together ground-breaking accounts from the people who were there. Myers combines the tales of icons like Joan Baez, Ian Anderson, Alice Cooper, Steve Miller, Roger Waters and Angus Young with figures such as the disc jockeys who first began playing rock on the radio; the audio engineers that developed new technologies to accommodate evergrowing rock audiences; music journalists, like Rolling Stone's Cameron Crowe; and the promoters who organized it all, like Michael Lang, co-founder of Woodstock, to create a rounded and vivid account of live rock's stratospheric rise. Rock Concert provides a fascinating, immediate look at the evolution of rock 'n' roll through the lens of live performances, spanning the rise of R&B in the 1950s, through the hippie gatherings of the '60s, to the growing arena tours of the '70s and '80s. Elvis Presley's gyrating hips, the British Invasion that brought the Beatles in the '60s, the Grateful Dead's free flowing jams and Pink Floyd's The Wall are just a few of the defining musical acts that drive this rich narrative. Featuring dozens of key players in the history of rock and filled with colourful anecdotes, Rock Concert will speak to anyone who has experienced the transcendence of live rock.

Marc Myers is a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal, where he writes about rock,soul, and jazz, as well as the arts. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books Anatomy of a Song and Why Jazz Happened, and posts daily at JazzWax.com, winner of the 2015 JazzJournalists Association's award for Jazz Blog of the Year.

Highly informative...from club gigs in the early 1950s to The Beatles in the early-mid 1960s; from Woodstock in 1969 to Live Aid in 1985; from branding to amplification/lighting; from media coverage to ticketing, Myers and many industry commentators expertly tick them off, one by one * Irish Times * Engrossing...Starting with the emergence of R&B in the late 1940s and ending with 1985's Live Aid benefit, he vividly recreates what went on behind the scenes, onstage, and in the crowds with intimate accounts from the people who were there... Eminently entertaining, this is sure to delight rock fans of all persuasions. * Publishers Weekly * A honest, introspective book about a business badly in need of people of Myers's calibre to ensure that the history of the live music business is preserved in compelling works of history * Billboard * A revealing, absorbing book for those who keep their old ticket stubs close at hand. * Kirkus Reviews * Each story is a pleasure to read and will deepen your listening experience . . . Myers bears down hard on these songs and the artists rise to the standards he sets. * New York Times Book Review on ANATOMY OF A SONG * A rich history of both the music industry and the baby boomer era. * Los Angeles Times Book Review on ANATOMY OF A SONG * [A] splendid volume. * Guardian on ANATOMY OF A SONG * Reads like a dream karaoke playlist. Not a dud in sight. * Huffington Post on ANATOMY OF A SONG *