"Rory Gallagher, Steve Marriott, Rick Derringer and Robin Trower are legends. The glue behind legendary barn-burning, hard-touring outfits like Taste, The Small Faces, Humble Pie, Johnny Winter, The Edgar Winter Group and Procol Harem, and later realizing their full potentials as solo artists, this is the first biography of four players whose dedication to music and virtuosity has been inspirational to a generation of fans and admirers." -- Back cover.

Rory Gallagher is regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He was a dazzling showman, an accomplished songwriter and a champion of blues music. He began his career in an Irish showband at age fifteen, before forming Taste, one of the great Irish bands. He went on to even greater success as a solo artist in the 1970s. After his success peaked, Gallagher's later life was troubled, ending in disillusion and early death. He remains a legend, with musicians such as the Edge, Johnny Marr and Joe Bonamassa among the legions of fans who still revere him. Drawing on extensive interviews, Julian Vignoles casts new light on the familial, musical and other influences that inspired Gallagher, and on the complex personality that drove his career. Crucially, Vignoles shows how many of Gallagher's songs speak eloquently – and poignantly – about the person who penned them. Meticulously researched, this portrait is the insightful biography that Rory Gallagher deserves.

This comprehensive two-volume set brings together all aspects of the blues from performers and musical styles to record labels and cultural issues, including regional evolution and history. Organized in an accessible A-to-Z format, the Encyclopedia of the Blues is an essential reference resource for information on this unique American music genre. For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Encyclopedia of the Blues website.

The Blues Encyclopedia is the first full-length authoritative Encyclopedia on the Blues as a musical form. While other books have collected biographies of blues performers, none have taken a scholarly approach. A to Z in format, this Encyclopedia covers not only the performers, but also musical styles, regions, record labels and cultural aspects of the blues, including race and gender issues. Special attention is paid to discographies and bibliographies.

The first full-length authoritative Encyclopedia on the Blues as a musical form. A to Z in format, this work covers not only the performers, but also musical styles, regions, record labels and cultural aspects of the blues.

Steve Marriott was one of the music world's most extraordinary individuals, A supremely gifted songwriter, singer and ... schemer. A vocalist from the same mould as Rod Stewart, Eric Burdon and Steve Winwood ... but arguably the greatest white soul singer of them all. Marriott never held back from anything, least of all his music, his vocals always possessed an intensity, clarity and maturity that at the time were unmatched by any other singer. His band The Small Faces were the first to be banned from Top of The Pops and were deported from Australia at gunpoint. Steve's next group Humble Pie ruled the stadiums of America but the money earned was diverted by mafia associates and he returned to the UK broke and on the run from the Taxman. In later life he struggled with schizophrenia but always continued playing - blistering gigs in front of small audiences in the pubs and clubs around London. Recently reunited with his old Humble Pie sparring partner Peter Frampton, he was on the verge of a comeback when he was tragically killed in a housefire, aged 44-years-old. A huge influence on a new generation of musicians from Paul Weller to Noel Gallagher, due to his death, Marriott has perhaps not been granted the status in Rock 'n' Roll's pantheon that he deserved. A major reassessment is long overdue. Marriott was simply one of the greatest rock stars of all time. "An exhaustive account of the East End musical maverick, it spans his beginnings as a child prodigy, his memorable work with arch top Mods the Small Faces, and all the way through to his later work with Humble Pie, his subsequent solo career and untimely death in 1991." Gary Crowley "A riveting account of the singer's life, crammed with entertaining stories of rebellion and debauchery and insightful historical background... Compulsive reading." The Daily Express "One of the best books I've read about the backwaters of rock music." The Daily Mail "A wonderfully researched, eminently readable appreciation of the creative force behind the Small Faces and Humble Pie, who created some of the finest pop, rock 'n' boogie music of his generation." ***** Classic Rock " All Too Beautiful traces Marriott's mercurial career from his upbringing in postwar, bomb-damaged London to his cocaine-ravaged demise in a fire at his Essex home in 1991, aged 44. Revealing... sympathetic, long overdue." **** Uncut "Ultimately, this is a complex story of extraordinary talent, missed chances, exotic highs and frightening lows... This comprehensive biography of Steve Marriott is as close as we're going to get to extracting the truth about Britain's finest white-soul exponent." ***** Record Collector "Compelling reading." **** Mojo

Formed in the 1960s, progressive rock band Procol Harum are best known for their multimillion-selling single ""A Whiter Shade of Pale"" which is the most played record by a British artist of the last 70 years. This book features exclusive interviews with band members as well as with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, film director Alan Parker, former managers, DJs and many others. It tells the story of their formation in Essex in the 60s, their split on the 10th anniversary in 1977 and their reformation in 1991. This enthralling account details one of the costliest court cases in British music history whereby a judge awarded a 40% share in the copyright of ""A Whiter Shade of Pale"" to a former organist of the band. The band's history is brought right up to date with details of recent album releases and tours over the last decade.