There is no music writer in the same league as the (barely) still-alive Nick Tosches. His thorough research & disdain for conventional wisdom are sufficient to make his books essential. The fact that he is now our nation's greatest writer, in any genre, will probably not be widely acknowledged until long after booze (or diabetes) finally takes him from the world of the living. Check out "The Unsung Heroes of Rock and Roll", "Country", "Where Dead Voices Gather", "Hellfire" (his bio of Jerry Lee Lewis) or his spectacular biography of Dean Martin.
So there you have it. There's my list of the five best books on popular music.
So there you have it. There's my list of the five best books on popular music.