Customer Reviews

VH1 Rock Stars Encyclopedia

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I will keep this short. This is an excellent book, especially for those who may be aspiring music journalists like myself. For example, this book had more information about the late Donny Hathaway than any other work I've come across. When I flipped through it at my local bookstore and saw how big & detailed their Donny Hathaway section was, I was sold.

Refreshingly, this encyclopedia features a healthy balance of American and European popular acts, ultimately exposing you to many artists that you may have never heard of. Okay, I will concede that you may not find the most 'underground' musicicians in here, but hey - I was stunned to find the Brit pop/R&B group 'Five Star' in here. But then again - it's over 1000 pages - with pictures!

I have one question though - how could they forget Tony Toni Tone? They are one of the most influential soul/R&B BANDS (they played instruments) to come out of the 1980s and 1990s! But other than that major slip-up, this book will have a 95% chance of having what you're looking for, and those are pretty good odds if you ask me!

This is the one book that all music lovers should buy, whether you are just a music fan, the college DJ or the radio DJ because of all the detailed information that they give you about each artist. I found this book in Tower Records at I was ready to buy it right then and there, because it was awesome. They list all of the different artist alphabetically from David Bowie to Whitney Houston to Buddy Holly. It has almost, if not every artist ever to record a song. It has a time line detailing there life, which schools they went to, and all of their records. As a former college disc jockey, and someone that is trying to break into radio now as an intern, and a music lover with hundreds of CD's, I highly recommend this book. Satifaction is guaranteed.

This is a fabulous reference book for anyone interested in the varied genre of rock and roll. Great source book and historical documentation of bands and individual musicians. Makes you wish there was a follow up for the period after that covered in this volume. A must for anyone curious about the evolution of rock and roll!

I purchased this book as a gift for someone else but I did have a chance to review it. It has all the information that you might want in it.

We have gone through two previous editions of Crampton and Rees' exhaustive work (prior to the VH1 endorsement) in our household and will probably be buying this edition in the near future.

"Rock Stars Encyclopedia" contains entries on most of the major (and several minor) rock stars and acts, including time lines charting events in their respective careers such as personnel changes, deaths, album releases, single releases, and major concerts. I have seen one or two minor errors in the previous editions, yet the authors are kind enough to ask readers to submit corrections if any errors are seen in the text. Don't expect to be doing so however because these guys are right about 99.9% of the time.

This book is frequently resorted to as the final say in arguments between me and my son, a virtual expert in the field. It is invaluable to afficianados of modern music. I'd give this book 10 stars if I possibly could...it's that good!

Vh1 does a Fantastic Job Here with this Book.Lots of Interesting Information&Very Well Detailed.it makes Sense since VH1 is alot more focused On Music than MTV Nowadays.It's A Great Read For The Music Lover.

This is a great reference guide for when you're sitting around with your friends arguing about something related to a band, you can pull this book out and settle the bet. The only flaw I see with this book is that they have some very strange "never heard of before" bands in the book, but don't have a band like Uriah Heep for example in the book. I wish they would come out with a volume 2 to pick up where the old one left off. I have a copy for myself and have recently bought two more copies for friends. Overall, it's a great book and you won't be disappointed.