The Greatest Music Stories Never Told

This collection of little-known stories from music history is "an effortless summer read for the music lover" ( Houston Chronicle). The author of the highly successful History Channel series The Greatest Stories Never Told returns with new historic tales, this time focusing on amazing music stories that aren't taught in the average classroom Rick Beyer plums the vast archives of the History Channel to deliver a treasure trove of obscure and fascinating stories to delight and entertain. The Greatest Music Stories Never Told continues the series tradition with short, fascinating tales accompanied by an array of stunning and diverse photographs from around the globe. The Greatest Music Stories Never Told illuminates the origins of a fascinating range of music topics, from instruments and styles to composers and technological advances—all which show us how little we really know. Guaranteed to astonish, bewilder, and stupefy, this all new volume will appeal not only to history buffs but to pop culture audiences and music fans of all ages and stripes. "We picked up the book expecting to inflate our egos, reinforcing the myth that we know everything there is to know about music history. Short answer--we were wrong, very wrong." —LA Weekly "A little book you won't be able to put down." —Florida Times-Union "History like you've never read it before . . . Amusing." —The Tennessean "Lively, offbeat and surprising." —Denver Rocky Mountain News "Fascinating." —Dallas Morning News "Full of tasty morsels . . . A delightful book to arm one for the next dull cocktail party." —Chicago Tribune

Includes short tales accompanied by an array of photographs from around the globe. Did you know about: The ballet that sparked a riot? The rock star who became an astrophysicist? The song that saved Wheaties? The man killed by his own conducting? The controversy behind "Mary Had a Little Lamb"? Prepare to be astonished, bewildered, and stupefied by the tantalizing tidbits of music history collected here: amazing stories about jazz, classical, country, rock 'n' roll, hip-hop, show tunes, composers, band names, song lyrics, instruments, technology, controversies, and more. Learn how the FBI spent years trying to decode the lyrics of one rock song. Discover how Watergate provided the inspiration for A Chorus Line. Find out how one megahit was born in a history class, while another was dashed off in a fit of anger at actor Robert De Niro. Meet the monk behind solfège, the aviation pioneer who created Muzak, and the prisoner who literally sang himself out of jail. Then there's the most important person in rock 'n' roll history—chances are you've never heard of him! Continuing the successful Greatest Stories Never Told series, Rick Beyer has delivered another classic volume for history and music buffs alike. Rick Beyer plums the vast archives of the History Channel to deliver a treasure trove of obscure and fascinating stories to delight and entertain. "The Greatest Music Stories Never Told" continues the series tradition with short, fascinating tales accompanied by an array of stunning and diverse photographs from around the globe.