October is a Month for Music

Among many other good titles coming out in October, we have five biographies about well known popular musicians. Why in October you might ask? Who knows would be my answer. HaperCollins is publishing 2 of the 5 but the others are all different publishers or at least different divisions of a publishing house. Some of these are bound to be more popular than others but they all ought to garner some interest.

On October 2nd, Philip Norman is publishing a biography of Mick Jagger. We all know that he has had quite an interesting life. Until Mick decides to write his own version, this title is suppose to be the definitive biography as Norman was able to interview several of Jagger's intimate acquaintances. There are bound to be some interesting tidbits in here for Rolling Stone fans.

We will go in a completely different direction with Kenny Rogers' Luck or Something Like It which also comes out on October 2. Rogers has been in the music business for 52 years. He has made 65 albums, sold more than 120 million records worldwide and is a beloved senior statesman in the music world. In this title, he talks about his upbringing - growing up in Depression-era Texas; living in the projects and surviving poverty with a mother who always tried to point him in the right direction. It is a heartwarming story of his rise from the New Christy Minstrels to the First Edition and finally to a popular single artist. Those who love his music won't want to miss the story of his life.

Neil Young also has a memoir coming out on Oct 2, Waging Heavy Peace. An iconic figure in the history of rock and pop culture, Young offers a kaleidoscopic view of his personal life and musical career, spanning his time in bands like Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crazy Horse; moving from the snows of Ontario through the LSD-laden boulevards of 1966 Los Angeles to the contemplative paradise of Hawaii today. This title is said to be candid, witty and revealing.  Young, never hesitant to express his views, is sure to have some controversy in his memoir.

Pete Townshend has been working on his memoir for nearly a decade. On October 8, Who I Am: A Memoir arrives. A founding member of The Who and the creator of the famous rock opera, Tommy, Townshend has long been acknowledged as one of rock music's most intelligent and literary performers. Raised in west London by an eccentric grandmother, while his parents were off living the early post-war, rock 'n' roll lifestyle, Townshend describes a frenetic childhood of displacement and abuse. Then, in high school, everything changed when he met Roger Daltrey and formed a band that would travel the world, earning fame, fortune and critical acclaim. In Who I Am,  Pete Townshend has been said to have created a work of literature that stands as a primary source for popular music's greatest epoch.

The last of the musical biographies is In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death , and Duran Duran by John Taylor. Taylor, a founding member of Duran Duran, comes out with his book on Oct 16. This band was THE band of the 80's. Taylor's story is a personal, candid one of living and playing hard, facing his demons, and managing to come through to the other side. It is told honestly and with humor and should garner interest from those who remember the 80's bands.

For those not interested in music:

OK - I admit it - I am a dog person. I tried to make myself not buy this one but - how cute is the cover. Pictures of dogs diving for that ball. I had to get it. I may be the only one to check it out but there has to be at least one or two other crazy dog people out there.

Lastly, Salman KhanIn has penned The One World Schoolhouse which comes out on Oct 2. Khan will present his remarkable story, as well as his vision for the future of education. More than just a solution, his book serves as a call for free, universal, global education, and an explanation of how his simple - yet revolutionary - method can help achieve this inspiring goal. A free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere: this is the goal of the Khan Academy, a project that grew from his online tutoring sessions with his niece, who was struggling with algebra, into a worldwide phenomenon. Today, millions have viewed and subscribed to the Khan Academy's YouTube videos, which have expanded to encompass nearly every conceivable subject. With an education system that seems to be having problems, this title ought to be in demand.