The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music: From Adele to Ziggy, the Real A to Z of Rock and Pop

While it is by no means a reference classic, this title is a mocking, lively read. Music journalist Jones (Jim Morrison: Dark Star) has created a hefty book with more than 350 entries, some rewritten excerpts and others based on the author's actual interviews. The book is as much about Jones as his subject, not relying on facts and details but rather offering coverage that is shamelessly biased. As he comments in the introduction, "there are dozens of music encyclopedias and many cleverly written […] They're obsessively objective and pathologically comprehensive [whereas] this book is idiosyncratic and opinionated tempered with a bit of objectivity." From Abba to Zappa, the author tracks down his own previous experiences, delving into a variety of artists both legendary and obscure, showcasing his familiarity with many of the entertainers, especially the British ones. The work is chock full of cunning observations, e.g., he quips that, "Hall and Oates had an image problem…Hall looked like a market town hairdresser and Oates Super Mario's smaller brother." The book covers a wide range of topics including Sinatra, Dean Martin, spa music, singing in the shower, funeral music, successful bands with terrible names, and much more. Entry length varies, with George Harrison receiving one and a half pages, Shirley MacLaine garnering 13, and Keith Richard meriting a wordy 23. (Does Shirley MacLaine actually belong in this book?) Perhaps the disproportion is part of the charm. The ebook version offers hyperlinks to the artists' pages on iTunes. Though at times the book drags with meandering passages and banal trivia that is more autobiographical than biographical, the work is undeniably entertaining.