The T.A.M.I. Show. Don’t Look Back. Monterey Pop. Woodstock. Gimme Shelter. Let it Be.
The Last Waltz. The Kids Are Alright. Stop Making Sense. Standing in the Shadows of Motown.
The Filth and the Fury. Searching for Sugar Man. Twenty Feet From Stardom.
Over the last half century, music documentaries like these have provided us with a priceless moving-image history of rock ‘n’ roll. My just-released book “Rock Docs: A Fifty-Year Cinematic Journey” is a first-of-its-kind anthology of the rockumentary genre, viewing pop music’s timeline through the prism of non-fiction film. Since its earliest days, the look of rock ‘n’ roll has been integral to its overall appeal. Up and down the hallways of pop history there is always something interesting to see as well as to hear.
This book reviews over 150 films–actually closer to 170 but that number didn’t seem right on a book cover. It starts with a ground level look at the Beatles’ world-changing first visit to America and comes full circle fifty years later with “Good Ol’ Freda,” where the Fab Four’s secretary looks back through the years as both a fan and an insider. In between, readers will find many films to re-experience or discover for the first time.
The anthology format consists of 50 feature-length reviews and paragraph-length pieces on the remaining 100+ titles. In the coming weeks, I will be posting selected clips from the book. If you are interested in purchasing the book, please click on the link below for my author page at BookLocker.com. The link also has a click-through where you can view a 30-page excerpt.
Reel and Rock 
Awesome!
Something for my Christmas list I think! Looks great and just the kind of thing I enjoy in book form as opposed to on a computer screen. Don’t know if you get BBC4 where you are but they regularly show a lot of great Rock Docs.
Did you ever look for the Tony Parsons book Stories We Could Tell? I have just finished it (was one of a long list of downloads) and enjoyed it as much second time around. Good luck with this book.
Thanks, Alyson! I will be posting some excerpts in the coming weeks so peeps can get a better idea of the book. While we don’t get BBC4 here, I have found many great rock docs from them on YouTube. I have not heard of that Tony Parsons book but will look it up….
What a great idea, Rick! Congratulations.
Thanks, Cindy!
I’m gonna order this from Book Depository. Can’t wait to read it.
Thanks, Ovidiu–I think the book will be right up your alley, as the saying goes. If Book Depository has a “share to Facebook” button after ordering, would you mind doing that, if OK? It would be a good thing for people interested in the book outside the U.S. to see.