In the first and only definitive biography of country music star Keith Urban, insider Jeff Apter chronicles how a skinny, shy high school dropout with an outrageous mullet went from humble origins in Australia to conquering Nashville and global stardom—plus his struggles with addiction, marriage to Nicole Kidman, turns on American Idol, and more.\nFour Grammys. Twenty US Number Ones. A Hollywood marriage. Who wouldn’t want to be Keith Urban?\nKeith Urban came from humble origins. His father worked at the local landfill and Keith was a high school dropout. But Keith had a plan: conquer Nashville. “It’s my destiny,” he said. And Keith was hell-bent on scaling that musical Everest. Whatever it took.\nIt didn’t come easy. Keith served his apprenticeship in the beer barns of Australia, and his early trips to America were disastrous. But he never gave up, settling in Nashville in the 1990s and forming The Ranch. When the band fell apart, so did Keith, ending up in rehab (not for the last time). But Keith did eventually reach the top, through a combination of talent, charisma, sex appeal, dogged perseverance—and skin thick enough for a rhino. And along the way he married Nicole Kidman.\nAs Keith has said, “All those detours, the really dark ones, got me to where I am now. I would not want to change one leaf on any tree in the whole journey.”\nKeith Urban is the definitive biography of an international superstar.

Keith Urban

Apter, Jeff

Humor & Entertainment

Citadel

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. He was the King of Rockabilly, and one of rock and roll's true pioneers. A groundbreaking guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Carl Perkins inspired countless musicians in country, rock, and pop music. His influence is enormous. As Paul McCartney said, "If there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles." One Beatle was such a fan that he gave himself the stage name Carl Harrison. Now acclaimed music writer Jeff Apter recounts Carl Perkins's remarkable life story--the triumphs, tragedies, and career highlights that include some of the most pivotal moments in music history. Born in Tennessee to poor sharecroppers, Carl grew up listening to gospel and country music, learned blues guitar from a fellow field hand, and started writing songs at age fourteen. He plied his trade in rough and rowdy honky-tonks, performing with his brothers before beginning his recording career at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis. It was there that Carl became a member of the fabled "Million Dollar Quartet," alongside Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1955, he wrote and recorded "Blue Suede Shoes," the first record by a Sun artist to sell over a million copies. But then a fateful car crash stalled his career, one of many tragedies in Carl's life. Over the following decades, Presley, Cash, and countless other artists, from the Beatles, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan to Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, performed and recorded his songs and became Carl's friends, collaborators, and champions. Rich with insider detail and background into Carl's private battles, humanitarian work, and personal inspirations, this is a fascinating, in-depth look at "Mr. Blue Suede Shoes" and his one-of-a-kind legacy.

Carl Perkins: The King of Rockabilly

The Orange County band was formed in 1986 by Eric Stefani and John Spence who soon recruited Eric’s younger sister Gwen as co-vocalist. With the addition of Tony Kanal on bass, No Doubt launched a 20-year career that would fuse ska, grunge, alt.rock and shades of other musical genres into a unique mix.

Simple Kind of Life: Gwen Stefani & No Doubt

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Omnibus Press

The first major, definitive biography of these post-punk survivors. Never Enough traces The Cure’s roots in middle-class Crawley, Sussex, and tracks their gradual rise, revealing how their first major album Pornography, almost ended the band well before their multi-platinum career began.

The Cure: Never Enough

ApterApter, JeffJeff

The Orange County band was formed in 1986 by Eric Stefani and John Spence who soon recruited Eric 's younger sister Gwen as co-vocalist. With the addition of Tony Kanal on bass, No Doubt launched a 20-year career that would fuse ska, grunge, alt.rock and shades of other musical genres into a unique mix.

Simple Kind Of Life: The Story of Gwen Stefani & No Doubt

Omnibus Pr & Schirmer Trade Books

It was Bono who said that “Jeff Buckley was a pure drop in an ocean of noise.” During his 30 years, Jeff Scott Buckley lived many lives: suburban loner, music school misfit, and rock and roll gypsy. His real life was only revealed after his tragic death 10 years ago, when he was found in the Mississippi river just hours before he was due to start rehearsals for the follow-up album to Grace., In this startling new bio, Jeff Buckley's friends, peers, enemies, lovers, collaborators, and others all speak of the Jeff Buckley they knew – or, in some cases, thought they knew. The contents of his many personal letters are revealed for the first time. His struggle with writer's block is explored, as are his battles with the concept of stardom, his desire for escape, and his attempts to deal with the unavoidable legacy of his equally gifted father, Tim Buckley. Even 10 years after his death, Buckley is still influential – Radiohead and Coldplay readily confess to the debt they owe him.

A Pure Drop: The Life of Jeff Buckley

Backbeat

Angus Young, the founder and the last original member of AC/DC still in the band, has for more than forty years been the face, sound, and sometimes the exposed backside of the trailblazing rock band. In his trademark schoolboy outfit, guitar in hand, Angus has applied his signature style to songs such as “A Long Way to the Top,” “Highway to Hell,” and “Back in Black,” helping AC/DC become the biggest rock group on the planet. High Voltage tells of his remarkable rise from working-class Glasgow and Sydney to the biggest stages in the world. The youngest of eight kids, Angus always seemed destined for a life in music, and it was his passion and determination that saw AC/DC become hard rock’s greatest act. Over the years, Angus has endured the devastating deaths of iconic vocalist Bon Scott and his brother in arms Malcolm Young as well as the band’s loss of singer Brian Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd. Yet the little guitar maestro’s unique flair for performance and unstoppable drive to succeed has kept AC/DC not just on the rails, but at the top of the rock pile. 
<ul><li>Features exclusive photographs by Philip Morris</li></ul>

High Voltage: The Life of Angus Young, AC/DC's Last Man Standing

Chicago Review Press

Born in New Zealand in 1967 and raised in Australia, Keith Urban has unlikely roots for one of the world’s biggest country music stars. His success is undeniable: to date he has sold more than five million albums, written five number one singles, and his shows sell out in minutes to throngs of country fans across the United States. His very public relationship with Nicole Kidman—whom he married in an A-list affair in 2006—earned Urban a totally new audience, with gossip magazines across the planet tracking their relationship and the recent birth of their long-wished-for child, Sunday Rose. Frank, this insider’s biography reveals how Keith Urban lived out his childhood dream, as well as the price he's had to pay to reach the top of the music business.

Fortunate Son: The Unlikely Rise of Keith Urban

William Heinemann Australia

To rattle off the hits of Neil and Tim Finn reads like a checklist of recent pop history. And to think it all began in sleepy rural Te Awamutu—a town whose name had a "truly sacred ring," as Neil would famously recount—where Brian Timothy Finn fell in love with the Beatles, an obsession that would also work its way straight into his younger brother Neil's DNA. Based on interviews, critical analysis, extensive research, and more than 30 years of watching Finns and listening, Together Alone is the first biography written about the Finn brothers. This is a story of breakthroughs, breakdowns, sibling rivalry, and respect—and some of the best pop songs this side of Lennon and McCartney.

Together Alone: The Story of the Finn Brothers

Penguin Random House, Australia

A Pure Drop

Bonnier Publishing Australia

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