The Rock Who's Who [Hardcover]

Brock Helander (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Despite some drawbacks, the 1982 edition of this book was considered "essential to rock reference collections" (LJ 10/1/82). The 1996 edition is equally well produced, melding the author's generally stringent selection criteria with a well-written text. There is no attempt to be all-encompassing; rather, Helander focuses on the most innovative, avant-garde, and influential individuals?no Pat Boone or Fabian here, folks. Entries are cogently written and never effusive, with a comprehensive discography included for each. When one is tempted to question an entry (e.g., ABBA), Helander successfully defends its inclusion (if not necessarily the music itself). The A-Z format is buttressed by excellent indexing, with all entries boldfaced. While far more formal, not as much fun, and a heck of a lot pricier than the DK Encyclopedia of Rock Stars (LJ 2/1/97), this rock music reference tool belongs in every library that can afford it.?David M. Turkalo, Suffolk Univ. Law Sch. Lib., Boston
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 849 pages
• Publisher: Schirmer Books; 2 Sub edition (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028710312
• ISBN-13: 978-0028710310
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,581,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rock what?, September 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rock Who's Who (Hardcover)

While Brock Helander's 2nd edition of The Rock Who's Who is an improvement over the 1982, it is still a far cry from deserving its title.

The work does include nearly 400 biographical and critical entries, but fails to survey the rock genre. The entries are confusingly organized. For instance, Mountain is given a few lines within the Cream entry. Furthermore, much of the books 849 page length is unnecessarily occupied by poorly constructed discographical entries and an unnecessarily long bibliography.

Helander possesses an engaging writing style, and the biographical and critical data are adequate. However, a book with a title such as The Rock Who's Who, and with a price tag as high as this one must surely offer more than Helander's work delivers. There is certainly more rock and roll bang for the buck available elsewhere.