Best-selling and award-winning authors Robert Rodriguez and Jerry Hammack are on the podcast to talk about Ribbons Of Rust: The Beatles' Recording History In Context: Volume 1 - July 1954 Through January 1963 . The Beatles' story has been told many times, but often with little focus on their personal experiences during their era. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and producer George Martin were influenced by the sounds around them. Ribbons of Rust presents their journey ...
Mar 22, 2025•1 hr 5 min
We’re talking Paul McCartney in this episode. Specifically his music during the decade of the 90s. Author JR Moores has a new book out now titled Off The Ground: Paul McCartney in the 1990s . This was an era like no other for McCartney, perhaps even the most significant decade of his entire career after the 1960s. Following a shakier 1980s, the decade would see him reemerge with greater energy, momentum, and self-belief. JR Moores’s sympathetic but not uncritical new book explores McCartney’s ’9...
Mar 18, 2025•58 min
Rik Emmett of Triumph returns to the podcast. The singer/songwriter/guitarist behind the hit Triumph songs “Hold On”, “Lay It On The Line”, “Fight The Good Fight”, “Magic Power”, and “Somebody’s Out There” is about to release his second book. Ten Telecaster Tales: Liner Notes for a Guitar and Its Music. The followup to his memoir Lay It On The Line, Ten Telecaster Tales remakes the idea of the “concept album.” It is music that arrives inside a book. It’s also, arguably, the most comprehensive at...
Mar 15, 2025•1 hr 15 min
Author Fiona McQuarrie's new book titled Fountains of Wayne is the first full-length biography of the band Fountains of Wayne. The book goes beyond their huge hit "Stacy's Mom" to explore the group's entire history and the lasting legacy of the group's music. With their brilliantly written songs, which combine smart pop melodies with keenly observed lyrical portraits of ordinary life, Fountains of Wayne have acquired devoted fans all around the world. McQuarrie chronicles the highs and lows of t...
Mar 10, 2025•36 min
Author Don Klees is on the podcast to talk about his new book David Bowie: 1983-2016 Every Album, Every Song. It's part of Sonicbond Publishing’s On Track series. In a career full of twists and turns, none was as sharp as the one David Bowie experienced after his 1983 album Let's Dance . The record gave Bowie the hit that he wanted but completely altered his artistic standing in the process. Instead of an innovator who pushed rock music forward, the singer found himself a global superstar with a...
Mar 08, 2025•1 hr 30 min
Laurie Kaye is the last-ever reporter to interview John Lennon before his assassination. In fact, she was with John and Yoko just hours before his death. She’s on the podcast to talk about that fateful day and her book Confessions of a Rock 'n' Roll Name-Dropper: My Life Leading up to John Lennon's Last Interview . Kaye is a writer and producer, and this book is her long-awaited memoir. In it, we read about Kaye's music-related early life wrapped around that day in December 1980 which Kaye spent...
Mar 05, 2025•40 min
Greg Prato makes his return to the Booked On Rock podcast. His latest book is Bang Your Head, Feel The Noize: The Quiet Riot Story . Comprised of quotes from interviews past and present and featuring many rare vintage photos, Greg examines all eras of the band: their '70s period which featured guitar legend Randy Rhoads in their line-up, through the blockbuster Metal Health period of the early 80s, and all the way to the modern day version of the group. We cover those eras in this episode! Purch...
Feb 28, 2025•57 min
This episode’s guest is Robert Dayton, the author of Cold Glitter: The Untold Story of Canadian Glam . Dayton taps his Canadian roots to reveal mind-blowing stories of musicians fighting to be heard. It’s a universal story of determined creators striving to make their voices heard. Dayton has spent years researching and interviewing ground-breaking musicians trapped by geography, colonial mindsets, and the difficulties of penetrating the cultural behemoth that is the United States. We get to man...
Feb 26, 2025•57 min
Jeff Copeland is the author of the new book Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn: A Walk On The Wild Side With Andy Warhol's Most Fabulous Superstar. By the mid-1980s, Holly Woodlawn, once lauded by George Cukor for her performance in the 1970 Warhol production and Paul Morrissey directed Trash, and the inspiration to the opening verse of the 1973 Lou Reed song “Walk On The Wildside”, was washed up. But a chance meeting with Copeland, who moved to Hollywood with dreams of ‘making it’ as a television w...
Feb 23, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Author Walter Kolosky is this episode's guest to tell us about his new book Mahavishnu Memories: The Remarkable Tour History of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra. The author of the acclaimed Power, Passion, and Beauty: The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra , Kolosky spent years researching and digging deep behind the scenes to bring us this remarkable tour history of the Mahavhishnu Orchestra. Kolosky tells the remarkable tale with the help of fans, journalists, musicians, and the cre...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 13 min
Rob Janicke is the author of Slacker: 1991, Teen Spirit Angst, and the Generation It Created. Rob explores the role of music and culture, from the early 90s alternative and grunge movement, and the impact it had on the generations that followed. Comprised of history, research, and interviews with musicians, industry execs, writers, sociologists, therapists, and Rob's point of view as a writer, indie-record label owner, and fan, this is an intriguing look back at an amazing year and time in rock ...
Feb 10, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Our guest is John Lee Hooker Jr. who has a new book out titled From The Shadow Of The Blues: My Story of Music, Addiction, and Redemption . The son of blues legend John Lee Hooker—best known for hit songs like “Boogie Chillun,” “I’m in the Mood,” and “Boom Boom”—John Lee Hooker Jr. was born in Detroit and exposed to the music world from an early age, singing as a featured attraction in his father’s shows as a teenager. In 1972, he and his father performed live and recorded an album in Soledad Pr...
Feb 03, 2025•57 min
This episode’s guests are rock n roll photographer John Rowlands and author Bob Klanac. They have a new book called Shooting Stars, Telling Tales: Behind the Lens of John Rowlands. John is a legendary rock and roll photographer. As a teen, he toured with the Dave Clark Five, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. He’s photographed David Bowie, the Who, Rush, Kiss, Sam Cooke, Linda Ronstadt, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Presley, and many more. John h...
Jan 27, 2025•47 min
Author Alan Byrne is a first-time guest. He has a new book on the late great Phil Lynott called Philip Lynott: Renegade . This is a brand new edition of the book originally released in 2012. It’s the story of the pioneering Irish musician, from his early days on his beloved Dublin music scene through the adventurous days of Thin Lizzy, the band he led for thirteen years. Once mainstream success came his way with Thin Lizzy's powerhouse Jailbreak album in 1976, his musical thirst only heightened,...
Jan 20, 2025•59 min
It’s another chapter in The Dialogue Series - A chill ‘n chat with authors, fellow podcasters, musicians, and more. My guest is Jeff Goebel. Jeff is an accomplished guitarist who performs about 200 gigs a year with multiple bands, including Retro Rock Revival, Plan B, and the Huntstville-Alabama based Van Halen tribute band Forever Unchained. Jeff is a huge Van Halen fan. He hosts the show Van Halen Stories on his YouTube channel Final Resonance TV, and is a fellow contributing writer for the Va...
Jan 13, 2025•1 hr 19 min
This episode’s guest is Cary Baker. He is the author of the new book Down On The Corner: Adventures In Busking & Street Music. This is the story of music performed on the streets, in subways, in parks, in schoolyards, on the back of flatbed trucks, and beyond, from the 1920s to the present day. Anyone who has lived in or traveled through a city will have encountered street musicians of one kind or another. For the first time, veteran journalist and music-industry publicist Cary Baker tells t...
Jan 06, 2025•42 min
A first-time guest on the podcast, Chris Kocher is here to talk about his new book Thank You For The Days: Fans Of The Kinks Share 60 Years Of Stories. In Thank You for the Days, fans from around the world share how The Kinks have inspired and shaped their lives. From unforgettable concerts and offstage encounters to enduring friendships forged through a shared love of the music. Whether you're a 'dedicated follower,' a casual fan, or simply a lover of rock history, you'll find something in this...
Jan 01, 2025•55 min
Ross Warner is making his first appearance on the podcast. Ross is the author of the brand new book American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond. Warner tells the unlikely story of the band’s path to greatness, from their origins in Rockford, Illinois to their massively successful live album At Budokan to the many, many ups and downs that followed. This is a rollicking tale of artistic genius, rock excess, hilarious misbehavior, chance encounters with music’s biggest na...
Dec 26, 2024•1 hr 42 min
Back with another chapter in The Dialogue Series - A chill ‘n chat with authors, fellow podcasters, musicians, and more. Our guest is musician and music journalist Tom Guerra. Since the late 1970s, Guerra has been a popular guitarist on the New England club circuit, playing with a host of leading blues, rock n’ roll, and R&B acts. Influenced by Rory Gallagher, Paul Kossoff, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and Joe Walsh, Guerra gained notoriety after being fe...
Dec 22, 2024•59 min
Author Peter Ames Carlin is a first-time guest. Peter’s latest book is The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.: A Biography . In the spring of 1980, a unique group of musical eccentrics performed for the first time at a college party in Athens, Georgia. Within a few years, R.E.M. achieved global success with records like Document , Green , Out of Time , Automatic for the People , and Monster . The band's raw and expressive style set them apart and made them voices of their generation during the transiti...
Dec 19, 2024•1 hr 15 min
Author Robert Boyd is this episode’s guest. He is the author of Before the Storm: The Formative Years of America's Last Great Band . Late in the last century, deep in the Pacific Northwest amongst the economic and psychological hardships of one town, America's last great band was born - Nirvana. The band's leader, a young introvert with superior songwriting talents, slowly molded a style inspired by punk, metal, sludge, and pop. The results changed the band and the music industry forever. Before...
Dec 15, 2024•43 min
My guest is Allan Kozinn. He and Adrian Sinclair are the authors of The McCartney Legacy Volume 2: 1974-80 . This is the follow-up to the first volume covering 1969 to 1973. The second volume continues to paint the portrait of one of the world’s greatest musicians, his work post-Beatles, and his life from 1974 to 1980. By 1974 the Beatles were a distant memory, and Paul McCartney had already gone on to release a solo album and form a new band, Wings. By the decade's end, Wings would be the bests...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 23 min
Fifty years ago, in the fall of 1974, Bon Scott and AC/DC joined forces. They began building the foundation for what would go on to become one of the world’s biggest rock and roll bands. With Bon, they reached the height of their commercial success thanks to the multi-platinum-selling 1979 album Highway To Hell. After Bon’s untimely death, Brian Johnson stepped in as lead singer, and with 1980’s Back In Black , the band was even bigger. The album topped the charts and went on to sell 27 million ...
Dec 06, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Don't care all that much for new music these days? You're not alone and our guest is going to explain why. On the podcast is author David Rowell. His book is titled The Endless Refrain: Memory, Nostalgia, and the Threat to New Music. The veteran music journalist argues that the rise of music streaming and the consolidation of digital platforms is decimating the musical landscape, with dire consequences for the future of our culture. In The Endless Refrain , Rowell lays out how commercial and cul...
Nov 30, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Author Tim Durling is back, this time to talk about his new book Red On Black: A Listener’s Guide to Sammy Hagar . Tim tackles the discography of the Red Rocker from his 1976 solo debut Nine on a Ten Scale through 2022’s Crazy Times. A ll of Sammy’s solo albums are extensively reviewed. He also has sections on Montrose, Van Halen, and Sammy's supergroup Chickenfoot. Whether it’s Sammy and the Waboritas, The Circle, or HSAS, it’s all here. Purchase a copy of Red On Black: A Listener’s Guide to Sa...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 55 min
Returning to the podcast is Greg Prato. He’s just released his latest book titled Led Clones: The Led Zeppelin Imitator Craze of the '80s...and Beyond . Few bands in rock history have proven to be as enduring and influential as Led Zeppelin. And during the '80s, there was an overabundance of "Zeppelin disciples," or, as guitar great Gary Moore once put it, Led Clones. This is the first-ever book to tell the story about Zeppelin's immense influence on the bands and artists who came after them. I ...
Nov 22, 2024•57 min
Author Jeff Apter is back for his third appearance on the podcast. He’s just released the book Carl Perkins: The King of Rockabilly . The definitive and fascinating biography of the musical trailblazer who wrote the classic “Blue Suede Shoes” and was the influence behind countless other legendary hits, a rock and roll legend in his own right, and the original rockabilly cat—Carl Perkins. The artists that are primarily covered in this podcast, the classic rock artists and bands from the mid 60s t...
Nov 20, 2024•59 min
This episode’s guest is Eric Drooker, the author of the new graphic novel titled Naked City . On the edge of the city, three bohemians struggle to answer the question: “Is it possible to survive as an artist in the 21st-century?” A young singer with no family hitchhikes to the city and sings her heart out. Late one night she encounters a street dancer who inspires her to have faith in her music no matter the cost. Desperate for rent money, she poses for a painter who has shifted from landscapes ...
Nov 16, 2024•56 min
Martin Popoff returns! His latest book is Judas Priest: Album By Album . Martin pays tribute to Judas Priest’s discography through a series of in-depth and fascinating conversations about all 19 of the legendary British heavy metal band’s studio albums. He gathers together musicians and metal journalists who offer insights, opinions, and anecdotes about each release. The interviewees include names like Slash (Guns N' Roses), Marty Friedman (Megadeth), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Todd La Torre (Qu...
Nov 12, 2024•35 min
Gary Graff is a returning guest. He’s the author of the new book 501 Essential Albums of the '90s: The Music Fan's Definitive Guide. Graff leads a cast of fellow music journalists in presenting the music of everyone’s favorite decade…the last decade before the proliferation of social media and digital downloads. With lively descriptions of the releases and over 600 images, this hefty 448-page volume curates 501 albums spanning genres and subgenres—pop, hip-hop, R&B, grunge, metal, country, w...
Nov 07, 2024•1 hr 10 min
