
Description
"This book is literally the Angela's Ashes of rock memoirs. .. I absolutely loved this book."
-BILL BURR, comedian
"I couldn't put the book down-absolutely unbelievable read!"
-JOHN MCENROE, New York Times bestselling author of But Seriously and You Cannot Be Serious
"I honestly couldn't put [this book] down. Made me nostalgic, sad, and happy too."
-CHRIS SHIFLETT, lead guitarist of Foo Fighters
"Essential reading for rock fans everywhere."
-BRIAN KOPPELMAN, co-creator and showrunner of Billions
For more than two decades, The Black Crowes topped the charts, graced the cover of Rolling Stone, and reigned supreme over MTV and radio waves alike with hits like "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," and "Remedy." But as the old cliché goes, stardom can be fleeting, and the group's success slowly dwindled as the band members got caught up in the rock star world and lost sight of their musical ambition. On any given night, they could be the best band you ever saw-or the most combative. Then, one last rift in 2013 proved insurmountable for the band to survive. After that, The Black Crowes would fly no more.
Founding member Steve Gorman was there for all of it-the coke- and weed-fueled tours; the tumultuous recording sessions; the incessant fighting between brothers Chris and Rich Robinson; the backstage hangs with legends like Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and the Rolling Stones. As the band's drummer and voice of reason, he tried to keep The Black Crowes together musically and emotionally. In Hard ToHandle-the first account of this great American rock band's beginning, middle, and end-Gorman explains just how impossible that job was with great insight, candor, and humor. They don't make bands like The Black Crowes anymore: crazy, brilliant, self-destructive, inspiring, and, ultimately, not built to last. But, man, what a ride it was while it lasted.
Product Details
Publisher | Da Capo |
Publish Date | May 26, 2020 |
Pages | 368 |
Language | English |
Type | |
EAN/UPC | 9780306922022 |
Dimensions | 9.0 X 6.0 X 1.0 inches | 1.0 pounds |
About the Author
Steven Hyden is the author of Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me and Twilight of the Gods. His work has also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Grantland, The. A.V. Club, Uproxx, and The Ringer.
Reviews
"A raw, intimate portrait of the band vividly unfolds as Gorman recounts his history with the Crowes, from their conception to their final days. While this is a familiar tale in some ways, Gorman sidesteps the usual clichees. The book is a reminder of the band's wide-ranging talent and great music... Gorman has written a brutally honest, deeply personal memoir of the group he helped to create. A must for fans of the Black Crowes and American rock and roll."--Library Journal
"Bands are beautiful fragile toxic things--always one wrong glance or argument away from falling apart. Steve manages to tell the tale of the internal turmoil of the Black Crowes, in all its sordid detail, without ever getting finger-pointy about it. I honestly couldn't put it down. Made me nostalgic, sad, and happy too."--Chris Shiflett, lead guitarist of Foo Fighters
"I couldn't put the book down--absolutely unbelievable read! Now I know why I was lucky to play tennis; I didn't have to deal with anyone except myself!"--John McEnroe, New York Times bestselling author of But Seriously and You Cannot Be Serious
"Insightful and explosive....almost every page has some sort of jaw-dropping revelation...and Gorman was there from the very beginning to the last downbeat."--The Houston Press
"One of the year's most buzzed-about rock bios!"--JamBase
"Reading this book brought me back to a time that rock and roll mattered to me more than almost anything else. I was at some of the early Black Crowes gigs depicted here, and the book is so well drawn, that I could not only hear the music again, but smell the sweat coming off the band and crowd as clearly as I did back then. This is Almost Famous, told by the guy behind the drums, who remembers every chord change, every fight, every song's journey from demo to record to live performance. Essential reading for rock fans everywhere."--Brian Koppelman, co-creator and showrunner of Billions
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