1001 Songs

When RocKwiz, the hugely popular SBS TV rock trivia show, look for questions, there is one resource they continually turn to Toby Creswell's 1001 Songs. The stories behind the great songs of all time from Gershwin to Missy Elliott, from Bob Dylan to Alicia Keys, Sinatra to Offsping, Leonard Cohen to Pulp are all in there. RocKwiz 1001 Songs tells the stories behind the best and most popular songs of the last century. It reveals background facts that will fascinate and intrigue, biographical information on each performer and also boasts a guide to the definitive and the oddball covers of songs. The book also features over 400 showstopping photographs and album covers. Not bound by ranking, era or album, RocKwiz 1001 Songs is presented just like an iPod on random. Discover how Ike and Tina Turner stole River Deep, Mountain High, how matching Body Shop shampoo inspired Courtney Love to write a song after the death of Kurt Cobain, and just who the other members of Sheryl Crow's Tuesday Night Music Club actually were. RocKwiz 1001 Songs provides endless entertainment and insider information on over a thousand artists and songs, right up to the minute the perfect book for music buffs, keen listeners, and anyone who's ever had a song stuck in their head.

The musical adventure of a lifetime. The most exciting book on music in years. A book of treasure, a book of discovery, a book to open your ears to new worlds of pleasure. Doing for music what Patricia Schultz—author of the phenomenal 1,000 Places to See Before You Die—does for travel, Tom Moon recommends 1,000 recordings guaranteed to give listeners the joy, the mystery, the revelation, the sheer fun of great music. This is a book both broad and deep, drawing from the diverse worlds of classical, jazz, rock, pop, blues, country, folk, musicals, hip-hop, world, opera, soundtracks, and more. It's arranged alphabetically by artist to create the kind of unexpected juxtapositions that break down genre bias and broaden listeners’ horizons— it makes every listener a seeker, actively pursuing new artists and new sounds, and reconfirming the greatness of the classics. Flanking J. S. Bach and his six entries, for example, are the little-known R&B singer Baby Huey and the '80s Rastafarian hard-core punk band Bad Brains. Farther down the list: The Band, Samuel Barber, Cecelia Bartoli, Count Basie, and Afropop star Waldemer Bastos. Each entry is passionately written, with expert listening notes, fascinating anecdotes, and the occasional perfect quote—"Your collection could be filled with nothing but music from Ray Charles," said Tom Waits, "and you'd have a completely balanced diet." Every entry identifies key tracks, additional works by the artist, and where to go next. And in the back, indexes and playlists for different moods and occasions.

With more than one and a half million copies sold worldwide in thirty languages, '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' celebrates the great and groundbreaking, classic and cult, must-see movies of all time, offering a treasure trove of incisive, witty, and revealing insights. Spanning more than a century of extraordinary cinema, this comprehensive volume brings together the most significant movies from every country and all genres, from action to Western, through animation, comedy, documentary, musical, thriller, noir, short, remance, and sci-fi. Completely revised and updated for 2013, this definitive edition features a fresh new design, 500 original movie posters, and 200 new movie stills. Fifty previously overlooked or recently discovered masterpieces are reviewed for the first time, taking their place alongside the box-office smashes and critically acclaimed films of movie history. Quotes from movie directors and critics, together with little-known facts complement the incisive reviews and vital statistics of each movie to make this the most fact-filled edition ever. So, whether your passion is rom-com or art house, 'The Blue Angel' or 'Blue Velvet', '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' is bound to become the only film book you will ever turn to.

Lists "must-see" movies in a chronological arrangement, providing information on director, producer, screenplay writer, music, cast members, and awards, along with a detailed review of each.

A thick and informative guide to the world of classical music and its stunning recordings, complete with images from CD cases, concert halls, and of the musicians themselves.

From 'Eight Miles High' to 'Empire State of Mind', from Mississippi to Mali and from Ella Fitzgerald to Elton John, 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die picks through nearly a century of music to bring you an inspiring selection of some of the greatest recordings ever made. Each entry in this wonderfully browsable book tells the story of a great song. Find out what inspired the songwriter, what makes the track so enduring, which songs it influenced in turn and which cover version to listen out for. You will also pick up a wealth of fascinating trivia along the way. What links Lead Belly, Lonnie Donegan and 'Black Betty'? Whose gravestone inspired Phil Spector's first hit? And for which song did Johnny Rotten replace the singer from Def Leppard? Read on and find out. Love your music? Then you need 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die in your life.