Director John Ford defines The Searchers as a “psychological epic.” John Wayne plays the primary character, Ethan Edwards, in this 1956 movie as both a driven, rebellious outsider and noble, obsessed hero

 Clive Davis’ memoir The Soundtrack of My Life (Simon & Schuster) is a hefty 586 pages of thoughtful, analytical content—an unexpected pleasure from one of the most powerful and influential music executives in history

 That history is written by the victorious is a truism repeated so many times that its veracity is unquestioned. But one need only browse the books, films and songs about American outlaws such as Jesse James, Cole Younger

 The title track of Bob Dylan’s remarkable, 35th studio album delves into the sinking of the Titanic with the innovatively poetic songwriting style developed by Dylan in the ’60s and brought into the 21st...

Beginning with a penetrating progression that rapidly explodes into choral dexterity and poetic narrative unequalled in rock music today, “Missing Pieces” opens Jack White's first solo album, Blunderbuss. The song is brief. The impact is not...

Mike Seeger was a founding member of the folk-blues revival string band the New Lost City Ramblers as well as a distinguished solo artist, concentrating on early American music. He was a virtuoso on many instruments, such as banjo...

Paul Nelson was one of the first critics to analyze popular music with the seriousness that had previously been reserved for classical and jazz. All of the notable, first-generation rock critics such as Lester Bangs, Ellen Willis, Richard Meltzer...

Greil Marcus is already regarded as one of the leading rock music critics. With The Doors: A Lifetime of Listening to Five Mean Years (PublicAffairs)...