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In making this list we sought to compile and highlight critical writing on popular music that takes place outside the usual heteropatriarchal frame. Included here are works by women, cis women, trans, and non-binary authors, biographers, and artists whose memoirs advance points of view that run obliquely to to the canonical one, as well as work that has been erased or lost. This list is not exhaustive, but rather a starting point. It is meant as a tool for anyone who is seeking this sort of lineage, or who is looking to build upon this body of writing. More generally, it is a resource for writers and readers of music books. - Jessica Hopper and Sasha Geffen, August 2021
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If you'd like to add a book not listed here, please use the "Suggested Additions" tab.
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NameLast NameTitleYear
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Caroline SilverThe Pop Makers1966
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PhylGarlandThe Sound of Soul: The Story of Black Music1969
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LillianRoxonRock Encyclopedia1969
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JennyFabianGroupe: A Novel
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JohnnyByrne""
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H. KandyRhodeThe Gold of Rock & Roll 1955 - 1967 1970
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MyraFriedmanBuried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin1973
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PeggyCasertaGoing Down with Janis1973
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EllenSanderTrips: Rock Life in the Sixties1973
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KatherineOrloffRock 'n Roll Woman1974
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Leonore FleischerJoni Mitchell: Her Life, Her Loves, Her Music1976
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KristinBaggelaarFolk Music: More Than A Song1976
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DonaldMilton""
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LorettaLynnCoal Miner's Daughter1976
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GeorgeVecsey
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JoanDewSingers & Sweethearts: The Women of Country Music 1977
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JulieBurchillThe Boy Looked at Johnny: The Obituary of Rock and Roll 1978
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TonyParsons""
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JulieCoryellJazz-Rock Fusion: The People, The Music1978
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LauraFriedman""
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SusanKatzSuperwomen of Rock1978
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AlannaNashDolly1978
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TammyWynetteStand By Your Man: An Autobiography 1979
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JoanDew""
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ConnieBermanLinda Ronstadt: An Illustrated Biography1979
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ChristineAmmerUnsung: A History of Women in American Music 1980
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AidaPavletichSirens of Song: The Popular Female Vocalist In America1980
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Sandra R. LiebMother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey1981
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EllenWillisBeginning to See the Light: Pieces of a Decade1981
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BarbaraCharoneLife as a Rolling Stone1982
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ChristineDoudnaThe Ballad of John And Yoko 1982
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JonathanCott (editor)""
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SallyPlacksinAmerican Women in Jazz: 1900 to the Present : Their Words, Lives, and Music1982
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MaryUnterbrinkJazz Women at the Keyboard1983
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IreneYoungFor The Record: Olivia Records1982
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LindaDahlStormy Weather: The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazz Women1984
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GerriHirsheyNowhere To Run: The Story Of Soul Music1984
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SueStewardSigned, Sealed, and Delivered: True Life Stories of Women in Pop Music1985
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SherylGarratt""
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TinaTurnerI, Tina1986
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NinaAntoniaJohnny Thunders...In Cold Blood1987
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JoanBaezAnd a Voice To Sing With1987
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June Carter CashFrom the Heart1987
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CarolClerkThe Book of the Damned: The Official Biography1987
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PamelaDes BarresI'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie1987
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Daphne DuvalHarrisonBlack Pearls: Blues Queens of the 1920s1988
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LindaMartinAnti-Rock: The Opposition To Rock 'n' Roll1988
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KerrySegrave""
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AlannaNashBehind Closed Doors: Talking To The Legends of Country Music1988
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CharlotteGreigWill You Still Love Me Tomorrow: Girl Groups From The 50s On… 1989
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Lisa A. LewisGender Politics And MTV: Voicing the Difference1990
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SaraCohenRock Culture in Liverpool: Popular Music in the Making1991
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DeenaWeinsteinHeavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology1991
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Gillian G.GaarShe's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock and Roll 1992
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PatriciaKennealyStrange Days: My Life With and Without Jim Morrison1992
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SheilaWhitelyThe Space Between the Notes: Rock and the Counter-Culture1992
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GinaArnoldRoute 666: On the Road to Nirvana1993
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Mary A.BufwackFinding Her Voice: The Saga of Women in Country Music 1993
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Robert K.Oermann""
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RachelFelderManic Pop Thrill
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ElizabethSchlappiRoy Acuff: The Smoky Mountain Boy1993
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MaríaHerrera-SobekNorthward Bound: The Mexican Immigrant Experience in Ballad and Song
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TriciaRoseBlack Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America 1994
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DollyPartonDolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business1994
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SarahCooperGirls! Girls! Girls!: Essays on Women and Music 1995
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LeslieGourseBillie Holiday: The Tragedy and Triumph of Lady Day1995
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LeslieGourseMadame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists1995
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DorothyHorstmanSing Your Heart Out, Country Boy: Classic Country Songs and Their Inside Stories by the Men and Women Who Wrote Them1995
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KarenO'BrienHymn to Her: Women Musicians Talk1995
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LucyO'BrienShe Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop & Soul 1995
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AmyRaphaelGrrrls: Viva Rock Divas1995
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JoyPressSex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion, and Rock n’ Roll1995
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SimonReynolds""
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