Selected writings on three decades of popular music from one of the most influential critics of his generation.

Spanning three decades worth of astute, acerbic, and overall astounding music writing, Kick Out the Jams is the first large-scale anthology of the work of renowned critic Dave Marsh. Ranging from Elvis Presley to Kurt Cobain, from Nina Simone to Ani DiFranco, from the Beatles to Green Day, the book gives an opinionated, eye-opening overview of 20th-century popular music--offering a portrait not just of an era but of a writer wrestling with the American empire.

Every essay bears the distinct Dave Marsh attitude and voice. That passion is evident in a heart-wrenching piece on Cobain's suicide and legacy; a humorous attack on Bono's bullshit; an indignant look at James Brown and the FBI; deep, revelatory probes into the work of underappreciated artists like Patty Griffin and Alejandro Escovedo; and inspiring insight into what drives Marsh as a writer, namely a raging passion to explain things in the hope that others would not be trapped and to keep the way clear so that others from the trashy outskirts of barbarous America still had a place to stand--if not in the culture at large, at least in rock and roll.

If you want to explore the recent history of pop music--its politics as well as its performers--Kick Out the Jams is the perfect guidebook.

After best-selling Rolling Stone writer Dave Marsh was invited by Pete Townshend to write a history of legendary band the Who, he spent three years investigating and researching their story. The result is the first in-depth biography of the band, discarding the myth and nonsense which has become so much a part of the usual Who coverage. Before I Get Old tells the story of not one but six personalities - guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, drummer Keith Moon and singer Roger Daltrey plus their original managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. It describes the group's origins in the steamy nightlife of London, charts their meteoric rise to fame, and describes the creation of the rock opera Tommy which turned them into superstars. Here is the pathos, the laughter, the crazy world they worked in, the drugs, the destruction, the vandalism, the debts, the multi-million-dollar tours, and of course the music. In short, this story contains every inch of the fascinating, shocking, hilarious, and provocatively relevant material that makes up the Who and their wild lives and careers. Before I Get Old is essential reading, an exhaustive study of an exhausting band, who have always lived up to their legend.

Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts is the definitive biography of one of the most important songwriters and performers of the last three decades. Critic Dave Marsh has traced Springsteen's career from its beginning, and has earned the singer's respect through his careful documentation and critical description of Springsteen's work. This biography brings together for the first time Marsh's two previous biographies, Born To Run (which covered Springsteen's early career through the mid-'70s) and Glory Days (which took him through the mid-'80s). Both were widely praised for their insightful and near definitive coverage of Springsteen's life and music. For this book, Marsh has written a new chapter covering major developments in Springsteen's career to today, particularly focusing on his album The Rising and its impact on American culture.

A new edition of Dave Marsh's classic work on the three-chord song that rocked the world

A tale as compelling as any John Grisham thriller.
-Rolling Stone

Dave Marsh's Louie Louie is part rant, part rock criticism and part cultural analysis, with a good dose of Ripley's Believe It or Not! thrown in.
-The New York Times Book Review

Marsh keeps the story of one trashy song interesting by revealing how 'three chords and a cloud of dust' contains within it the history and future of rock 'n' roll.
-Booklist

What you don't know about 'Louie Louie' probably won't hurt you. But everything you need to know is in Marsh's book, including the lyrics-the real ones and the ones people thought they heard. If there is a better measure of your pop-cultural IQ, I don't know where to find it.
-USA TodaySince his days as the original editor of Creem, Dave Marsh has been revered as one of rock's greatest critics. During the 70s he was record editor at Rolling Stone, and in 1983 he founded Rock & Roll Confidential. His other books include Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s (1987), and Before I Get Old: The Story of the Who (1983).

Before I Get Old stands as one of the best books ever written about rock'n'roll. After best-selling Rolling Stone writer Dave Marsh was invited by Pete Townshend to write a history of legendary band the Who, he spent three years investigating and researching their story. The result is the first in-depth biography of the band, discarding the myth and nonsense which has become so much a part of the usual Who coverage. Before I Get Old tells the story of not one but six personalities - guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, drummer Keith Moon and singer Roger Daltrey plus their original managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. It describes the group's origins in the steamy nightlife of London, charts their meteoric rise to fame, and describes the creation of the rock opera Tommy which turned them into superstars. Here is the pathos, the laughter, the crazy world they worked in, the drugs, the destruction, the vandalism, the debts, the multi-million-dollar tours, and of course the music. In short, this story contains every inch of the fascinating, shocking, hilarious, and provocatively relevant material that makes up the Who and their wild lives and careers. Before I Get Old is essential reading, an exhaustive study of an exhausting band, who have always lived up to their legend.

Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts is the definitive biography of one of the most important songwriters and performers of the last three decades. Critic Dave Marsh has traced Springsteen's career from its beginning, and has earned the singer's respect through his careful documentation and critical description of Springsteen's work. This biography brings together for the first time Marsh's two previous biographies, Born To Run (which covered Springsteen's early career through the mid-'70s) and Glory Days (which took him through the mid-'80s). Both were widely praised for their insightful and near definitive coverage of Springsteen's life and music. For this book, Marsh has written a new chapter covering major developments in Springsteen's career to today, particularly focusing on his album The Rising and its impact on American culture.

From Simon & Schuster, The New Book of Rock Lists is Dave Marsh and James Bernard's collection of the hits (and misses) from rock n' roll--present completely in the form of individual lists.

The New Book of Rock Lists include Quotations from Chairman Elvis, Wisdom from the Hip-Hop Nation, 10 Ways to Tell If a Rapper's Careers on the Way Out, 10 Worst Performers of All Time, and more!

Before I Get Old is one of the best books ever written about rock'n'roll, discarding much of the mythology that often surrounds a lesser informed appraisal of the Who. It tells the story of six personalities - songwriter and guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, drummer Keith Moon and singer Roger Daltrey, plus their original managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.
Here are the band's origins within the steamy nightlife of London, their meteoric rise to fame, the laughter and the pathos, the craziness of the world they inhabited, the drugs, the destruction, the vandalism, the debts - and, of course, the music. In short, every element that makes up the fascinating, shocking and hilarious story of the Who.
Before I Get Old is essential reading, an exhaustive study of an exhausting band who always lived up to their legend.