The Best Musician Memoirs & Biographies

The eternal singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is seen anew, portrayed through a witty and comprehensive exploration of anecdotes, quotes, and lyrics by Henry Alford, “the most graceful of humorists” (Vanity Fair) and a writer for The New Yorker.
 

#1 New York Times Bestseller

Winner of the 2023 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Memoir & Autobiography

Named a Best Book of 2023 by ELLE, The Washington Post, Vulture, NPR, The New Statesmen (UK), The New Yorker, and more!

“In Britney Spears’s memoir, she’s stronger than ever.” —The New York Times

The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.

From the premiere Beatles biographer—author of the New York Times bestseller John Lennon: The Life and the million-copy selling Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generation—a rare and revealing portrait of George Harrison, the most misunderstood and mysterious Beatle, based on decades-long research and unparalleled access to inside sources.
 

“Nenah is cool, Nenah is wise, Nenah is a legend. Her memoir is a treasure. I loved it.” —Zadie Smith

This vibrant memoir from Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry offers an inside look at her fascinating career and is “a living testament to artistic invention and the people who are driven by it” (The Guardian).

The Philosophy of Modern Song is Bob Dylan’s first book of new writing since 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One—and since winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016.
 

This candid memoir of music, fame, endurance, “true triumphs, and challenges” (Matt Pinfield, DJ and TV host) from Deryck Whibley, lead singer of Sum 41, follows his rise from a punk kid to an international star.
 

Award-winning actor, rapper, and producer Ice-T unveils a compelling memoir of his early life robbing jewelry stores until he found fame and fortune—while a handful of bad choices sent his former crime partner down an incredibly different path.
 

Grammy Award–nominated artist Kem shares his life in this revealing and remarkable memoir tracing his transformative journey from homelessness to gold-selling artist.
 

The New York Times bestselling debut book of poetry from Lana Del Rey, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass.
 

In the vein of Sound Man and The Soundtrack of My Life, a lyrical, warmhearted, and inspirational memoir from the founder of Island Records about his astonishing life and career helping to bring reggae music to the world stage and working with Bob Marley, U2, Grace Jones, Cat Stevens, and many other icons.
 

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Grammy Award–nominated, platinum-selling musician Halsey is heralded as one of the most compelling voices of her generation. In I Would Leave Me If I Could, she reveals never-before-seen poetry of longing, love, and the nuances of bipolar disorder.

The revelatory and wildly bestselling memoir by legendary rock star Bruce Springsteen: “Glorious…a philosophically rich ramble through a rock ’n roll life…It’s the lyric he was born to write” (USA TODAY, 4 out of 4 stars).
 

This “smart, confident, and necessary” (Shea Serrano, New York Times bestselling author) first cultural biography of rap superstar and “master of storytelling” (The New Yorker) Kendrick Lamar explores his meteoric rise to fame and his profound impact on a racially fraught America­—perfect for fans of Zack O’Malley Greenburg’s Empire State of Mind.
 

The definitive biography of John Mellencamp, the iconic American rock and roll original, featuring exclusive in-depth interviews and never-before-told details. Perfect for fans of Janis and Born to Run.
 

This extraordinarily intimate and “gripping” (Vanity Fair) biography of Janis Joplin establishes the Queen of Rock & Roll as the rule-breaking musical trailblazer and complicated, gender-bending rebel she was.