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The Rock and Roll Biography, Depravity and Redemption?

A review of the best rock biographies with insights and warnings

Jim Mowat
Music Voices
16 min readJan 6, 2021

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Photo by Kai Oberhäuser on Unsplash

All rock and roll stars are happy/unhappy/happy again in their own way. That is assuming they do not end up dead or broke. Who ever said do not meet your heroes, could have added or read their biography. You will only despair at the depravity, the vices, the personality faults, and just maybe some shafts of light will shine through.

I have done the hard yards and read over one hundred and twenty of their lives and tribulations as documented in various texts for you. It is not pretty reading. A soon sameness theme emerges of youthful joy, mate-ship, musical learning's, a hard slog against the odds, friendships ruined, relationships blasted, sacrifices made, a bad manager/rip off record company deal, new pathways forged, and a drive to succeed against the stacked odds. Somewhere along the line there is a breakthrough success of some sort, and then the decline and fall, and fall again; and just maybe all going well, a slow climb back into being a functioning human being again. But the falls are spectacular, and they damage people badly. The alcohol and sexual excesses are one thing, but the out and out depravity of a drug-fuelled hedonist seeking to maintain their habit any which way, to make the next gig. Is a truly…

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Music Voices
Music Voices

Published in Music Voices

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Jim Mowat
Jim Mowat

Written by Jim Mowat

Writes about rock and indie music. Long term music lover and follower of Indie-Alternative sounds, rock with an edge and a good lyric.

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