Bassist autobiographies you recommend

[Yonni]

As the title says: have you read any good autobiographies by bass players? There are threads on autobiographies but most are about bands or guitarists. I want to know specifically about bassists. It doesn't matter what the genre is as long as it's a good read and not just about the Mud Shark type shenanigans but offers some insight to the instrument, demands of a pro musician and dynamics of a band etc.

 

[jerry]

Bassist Michael Visceglia has a short book on some of his travails and interviews with other bassist as well. Jack Bruce's was also a good read. I agree about the shenanigans in music bios, it must be my age, but I want to read about the music not mud sharks. Carmen Appice's book reads like it was written for 16 year old boys, and he was one of my favorite drummers when I was a kid.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I picked this one up in the local library:

I've also read Saul (Slash) Hudson's & I have a lot more respect for McKagan.

I was on the last chapter of this when Ian died, so I started reading it all over from the beginning.
That's the only book I've ever done that with.

 

[two fingers]

I imagine there aren't many. That would be a very limited potential market if you only write about bass and leave out all the "juicy" stuff. How many bass players can there possibly be? And of that number how many would be interested in paying for and reading a bass only account of the career of any accomplished bassist regardless of genre?

...carry the one.....divided by illiterate bassists.....times .5......


By my calculations the exact number is 11.



(Twofer braces himself while all 11 of them prepare to tell him why he is an idiot.....)

 

[Yonni]

I get your point but I'm not saying no shenanigans, that's still part of a good read, but I don't want it to be all about parties and groupies. I want to get some insight into the life and mindset of a musician.

 

[Yonni]

I'm not a fan of GnR but their story is compelling. I might give it a read. Does it focus on the band's troubles or does he talk Bass as well?

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Michael (Duff) McKagan starts out talking about his childhood, touches on playing guitar & later switching to bass. There's a lot about the band, but plenty about his personal life as well.
If you're looking for "I played the roots for a while then switched to 3rds & 5ths", then that would be the wrong book.

Not a bass player, but Andy Summers' book is the most like that, and he definitely doesn't touch on the partying or groupies.

 

[JimK]

Dennis Dunaway recently put a book out...I would recommend it + Milkowski's Jaco bio.

...on an Alice Cooper tangent, guitarist Dick Wagner's book? I mostly enjoyed it but a big, big part was groupies & drugs/booze. Man. And he was a sideman?!?


Singer Howard Kaylan's book was great. He actually put the Mud Shark episode to bed for me...

 

[Brad Johnson]

Doesn't Guy Pratt have a book out?

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Guy Pratt's book was published a decade ago.

 

[Gluvhand]

I've only read two. Bob Daisley's and Glenn Hughes'. I highly recommend Daisley's. He gets into gear used on important tracks, the way certain things are played, how some gear was acquired. He does dish some dirt. Nothing crazy. Just the usual stories of getting screwed by the Osbornes. Glenn's I didn't really like. He's a very spiritual guy and I'm not. Not really a lot about gear and I found the stories of his past craziness to be a bit cheesy and forced.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Oh, I almost forgot about Rudy Sarzo's "Off the Rails":

it ends after he leaves Ozzy's band, which was kind of a bummer
details about Randy's crash, even though he didn't witness it

 

[madmanmerc]

I picked this one up in the local library:

I've also read Saul (Slash) Hudson's & I have a lot more respect for McKagan.

I was on the last chapter of this when Ian died, so I started reading it all over from the beginning.
That's the only book I've ever done that with.

Duffs book is very good

 

[Rattlehead1971]

Here is a good read.....

 

[knockerjoe]

A few off the top of my head:
Stone Alone by Bill Wyman
Ronnie Woods autobiography
Dee dee Ramone: Surviving the Ramones
Nikki Six: The Heroin Diairies
I have read dozens of Rock books and although not a bass player,
Ozzie Ozbournes autobiography has to be the best read.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Phil Lesh

Searching For The Sound

Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead

 

[osv]

I remember enjoying John Taylors book.

 

[blastoff]

i love Tony Levin's 'Beyond the Bass Clef'
not exactly an autobiography but more like a collection of anecdotes and a few recipies as well. great read!

 

[irjason]

I love the musician biographies. For top bassist books, I would agree, the Duff, Dave Ellefson, Nikki Sixx, and Phil Lesh books are good. I also really liked the Charles Mingus book, and the Rex Brown book was pretty decent.
Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus: Charles Mingus: 9780679737612: Amazon.com: Books
Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera: Rex Brown, Mark Eglinton: 9780306822889: Amazon.com: Books

 

[jaco944]

Not bass but Randy Bachmans book is interesting

Also Greg Allmans.