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Jimmy McDonough is the author of acclaimed biographies of music greats Neil Young, Tammy Wynette, and Al Green. His new book, Gary Stewart: I Am From the Honky-Tonks, chronicles the shambolic life of a cult country-music legend. Below are his picks for the books that moved him most.
‘Nico’ by James Young (1992)
I preferred the original title for this masterwork, The End, because that’s exactly what it’s about: the threadbare last tours of Nico, the sphinx-like goddess of the underground. She scores drugs, urinates in sinks, and just doesn’t give a damn about anything except (maybe) her music. Grim, hilarious, moving. I can picture Nico getting to the last page and stubbing out a cigarette on the cover. Buy it here.
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‘Happy Like Murderers’ by Gordon Burn (1998)
Burn calmly takes you on a submarine ride through the horrors of married serial killers Fred and Rosemary West, and he never comes up for air. Unlike much of the true crime ground out these days, this book does not feel cheap and exploitative. Buy it here.
‘America’s Most Hated Woman’ by Ann Rowe Seaman (2005)
“Exacting” doesn’t do Seaman justice. In this book on the improbable life of superstar atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, she methodically wades through minute details from court records, press accounts, and living witnesses to pin her subject to the wall for all time. Buy it here.
‘Tiny Tim’ by Harry M. Stein (1976)
Much has been written about vaudevillian supernova Tiny Tim, but this wildly entertaining book got inside “the dainty bear” first. An old-school gumshoe reporter with an eye for withering detail, Stein gets Tiny to spill the beans just by hanging around, and he does it with wit and affection. Buy it here.
‘I’d Rather Be the Devil’ by Stephen Calt (1994)
Calt had a love-hate relationship with decrepit blues genius Skip James and most likely himself. It makes for riveting reading. He strips away myths like he’s using paint remover to erase a bad mural, only to find a worse portrait underneath. Provocative. Buy it here.
‘Liberace’ by Darden Asbury Pyron (2000)
Liberace seldom comes up these days unless it’s as a kitschy GIF. This heartfelt work bestows the showman with the dignity he deserves and rightfully tells his story as one of a complex, contrary American hero who managed to break barriers while wearing sequined hot pants and laughing his way to the bank. You will not think of Liberace the same way again. Buy it here.
