The Baker's Dozen Book Club

All the news that’s fit to be tied

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June 18, 2026

This week: A bookshelf full of unforgettable music stories—from Greenwich Village and Laurel Canyon to The Rolling Stones, Wolfman Jack, Tommy James, Bob Dylan, and The Beatles. Plus a new Video Vault selection and another round of Impossible Music Trivia.

By David Gross, Punmaster MusicWire

One of the pleasures of summer is finally finding time to catch up on the books that have been waiting patiently on the shelf. For music fans, a great book can be every bit as transporting as a great record. Some take us backstage, some place us in the middle of history, and others introduce us to the colorful characters who helped shape the soundtrack of our lives.

This year’s recommendations span more than a century of popular music history—from Tin Pan Alley and Greenwich Village folk clubs to Laurel Canyon, San Francisco’s counterculture, and the seismic cultural shifts brought about by Bob Dylan and The Beatles.

If you’re looking for a few worthwhile companions during the warm months ahead, here are some favorites from my bookshelf.

Many books have been written about The Rolling Stones, but Stanley Booth’s classic remains one of the best. Traveling with the band during one of the most turbulent periods of their career, Booth captures the excitement, excess, brilliance, and tragedy surrounding the world’s greatest rock and roll band. It’s essential reading for Stones fans.

The late Ian Whitcomb was one of music’s great enthusiasts and historians. In After the Ball, he lovingly recreates the world that existed before rock and roll arrived—an America filled with ragtime, vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley songwriters, dance crazes, and colorful entertainers. Written with wit and affection, it’s a delightful reminder that popular music didn’t begin with Elvis Presley.

Ian Hunter’s chronicle of Mott the Hoople’s 1972 American tour remains one of the funniest and most honest rock memoirs ever written. Long before musicians documented every moment online, Hunter offered an unfiltered look at life on the road. The glamour is there—but so are the endless airports, hotels, exhaustion, and absurd situations that come with touring.

For radio people, this one is required reading. Wolfman Jack tells the remarkable story of his rise from ambitious broadcaster to one of the most recognizable voices in America. His adventures on powerful border-blaster stations and his role in spreading rock and roll culture make for a fascinating and entertaining read.

Few neighborhoods have exerted as much influence on popular music as Laurel Canyon. Michael Walker traces the intersecting lives of Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Jackson Browne, The Doors, and many others who transformed a rustic hillside enclave into one of music’s most fertile creative communities.

Part political history, part cultural history, and part music history, David Talbot’s sweeping portrait of San Francisco explores the forces that shaped one of America’s most influential cities. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and the entire countercultural movement are woven into a larger story that remains endlessly compelling.

Tommy James had the hits. Morris Levy had the connections. Together they formed one of the strangest partnerships in music business history. James’s account of his years at Roulette Records reveals the often-surprising overlap between organized crime and the record industry. It’s a page-turner from beginning to end.

While many people focus on 1967’s Summer of Love, Jon Savage makes a strong argument that the real transformation began a year earlier. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Motown, The Beach Boys, garage bands, youth culture, fashion, and politics all collide in this vivid examination of a pivotal year.

If there was a single year when rock music reached its creative peak, 1971 would certainly be a contender. Hepworth examines an astonishing period that produced landmark work from Marvin Gaye, Carole King, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, and many others. It’s a compelling case study of a remarkable moment in music history.

Before Studio 54, there was the Peppermint Lounge. Joel Selvin tells the story of the New York nightclub that became the epicenter of the Twist craze and attracted celebrities, socialites, musicians, politicians, and mob figures. It’s a colorful and entertaining snapshot of early 1960s America.

Before Laurel Canyon, before Woodstock, and before San Francisco became the center of the musical universe, there was Greenwich Village. David Browne’s engaging history traces the rise and gradual transformation of America’s most influential bohemian music community. Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and countless others populate these pages, bringing to life a neighborhood whose impact on American music can hardly be overstated.

Jonathan Taplin seemed to have a front-row seat for some of the most important events in modern music. From working with Bob Dylan and The Band to promoting concerts and navigating the changing worlds of music, film, and technology, Taplin’s memoir is filled with remarkable stories and firsthand observations. Few people witnessed so much history from such close range.

One of the newest and most thought-provoking books on this list, Jim Windolf’s Where the Music Had to Go explores the extraordinary creative relationship between Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Rather than focusing on competition, Windolf examines how these artists inspired, challenged, and transformed one another while simultaneously changing popular culture. For Beatles and Dylan fans alike, it’s an illuminating and highly enjoyable read.

What connects all of these books is that they go beyond the records themselves. They tell the stories behind the songs, the clubs, the radio stations, the neighborhoods, the personalities, and the moments when culture suddenly changed direction.

Taken together, they offer a remarkable journey through American and British popular music—from Tin Pan Alley to Greenwich Village, from Laurel Canyon to San Francisco, from dance crazes and radio legends to the revolutionary years when Dylan, The Beatles, and a generation of artists reshaped the world.

The records may provide the soundtrack, but these books tell the stories.

Happy reading.

David Gross
Punmaster MusicWire

By David Gross, Punmaster MusicWire

One of the pleasures of getting older is realizing that some artists never stop growing.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to see two remarkable musicians in their 80s, working in completely different traditions, yet both performing at an astonishingly high level.

Friday night at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, I caught one of the best Bob Dylan shows I’ve seen in years. At 85, Dylan was in remarkable form. His voice was strong, articulate, and surprisingly clear throughout the evening. Backed by a superb band that included veteran drummer Anton Fig, every twist and turn of Dylan’s performance was handled with ease and sensitivity.

A Latin-flavored take on “When I Paint My Masterpiece” was a real highlight, as was “Trying to Get to Heaven” from Time Out of Mind, one of the finest songs from Dylan’s extraordinary late-career renaissance. Other standouts included “All Along the Watchtower” and “I Shall Be Released.” One of the night’s biggest surprises was a rollicking version of Eddie Cochran’s “Nervous Breakdown” that had the crowd on its feet and the Greek rocking.

The opening acts were excellent as well. John Doe and his trio delivered a touching rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” while Lucinda Williams and her outstanding band, featuring guitarist Marc Ford, mixed beloved classics with newer material in a powerful set.

Then on Sunday night, I found myself in a completely different musical world at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival at Bacchus Landing. There, I had the pleasure of seeing another octogenarian master, Charles Lloyd, now 88 years old, holding court with his touring band.

Lloyd remains one of the very definitions of cool jazz. His mesmerizing performance featured both tenor saxophone and flute, and his playing seemed to suspend time. It was impossible not to think about his remarkable history, including the landmark album Love-In, recorded live at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium in 1967 and often hailed as one of the earliest examples of psychedelic jazz.

Two nights. Two legendary artists. Two completely different musical journeys. A reminder that age has very little to do with creativity, inspiration, or the ability to move an audience. I feel lucky to have witnessed both.

Feature Length Documentary About the Life of Legendary Artist/Musician/A&R Executive/Producer/Manager Gets National Release;

Q&A Events With Filmmakers Set For New York, Los Angeles, Bay Area Screenings

Peter Asher: Everywhere Man, the documentary chronicling Asher’s remarkable six-decade journey through the worlds of pop, folk, and rock, is being released in theaters only across the US, starting June 19 at Quad Cinemas in Manhattan. A series of Q&A events over the weekend with the film’s director/producer/editor duo Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine will take place at the Quad (including one the day before release), followed by a handful in Los Angeles next week (Laemmle Royal, Laemmle NoHo 7), and the Bay Area (Opera Plaza Cinemas in San Francisco, Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, Elmwood Theater in Berkeley, Rialto Cinemas 9 in Sebastopol). Legendary musician/producer Robert “Waddy” Wachtel (Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor) will participate in the June 25 Laemmle Royal event. Each Q&A will feature a guest moderator; these include music journalist/author Alan Light, SiriusXM DJ Dennis Elsas, film critics Joel Neumaier and Stephen Farber, SNL writer Harper Steele (subject of Will & Harper), SoCal Sound DJ Gary Calamar, journalist Pamela Chelin, music journalist

From Peter Asher’s early British Invasion chart-topping fame as half of the iconic duo Peter & Gordon and his close friendship with Paul McCartney, to his groundbreaking work as a producer and manager for artists such as James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, Everywhere Man features rare archival footage, intimate interviews, and never-before-heard stories. The film offers an illuminating portrait of a man who helped shape the soundtrack of multiple generations and continues to inspire musicians and fans around the globe.

Impossible Music Trivia

The Traveling Wilburys owe their name to a six-word sentence spoken during the recording of George Harrison’s Cloud Nine album.

Question:
What was that sentence?

Bonus Question:
What was the original proposed name before “Traveling Wilburys”?

The answer will appear in the next MusicWire...

The trivia question from the last MusicWire was:

What’s the connection?

Steely Dan and Was (Not Was)

Answer: The answer is Donald Fagen of Steely Dan and Don Was (Don Edward Fagenson) of Was (Not Was). No relation.

Two turbo-charged hours of high-octane roots, rockabilly & revved-up classics!
Rebroadcast Saturday nights at 7PM

Kickstart your weekend—guaranteed.

Listen live at KRSH.com

Download the free KRUSH mobile app
Or tune in to 95.9 The Krush in Sonoma County, CA

Tell 40 or 50 of your closest friends!

Check out the web site at rockabillyroadhouse.com

It's time to get down to the Main Gazane with Big Dave!

BREAK OUT THE HEADPHONES!
Hosted by Big Dave, the Saturday Night Album Trax features some of the greatest albums ever recorded. Deep cuts, live albums, extended tracks, rarities and themes. Plus get the background and inside stories on these classic albums.

These are the good old days!

STREAM IT LIVE at KRSH.com

“I’m a part of the I like ice cream watermelon soup generation.” ~ Allen Ginsberg

“Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk in order to provide articles for people who can’t read.” - Frank Zappa

“The older you get, the better you were!” - Leslie West

“I opened the door for a lot of people, and they just ran through and left me holding the knob.” - Bo Diddley

“I’m as country as a dozen eggs.” - Elvin Bishop

“Elvis may be the King of Rock and Roll, but I am the Queen.” - Little Richard

“If you think you are too old to rock ‘n roll, then you are.” - Lemmy Kilmister

"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry’.” - John Lennon

“The old-timers schooled me good. They brainwashed me to respect music, whether we were playing rockabilly or blues or rock and roll.” - Dr. John

“It’s much too late to do anything about rock & roll now ...” - Jerry Garcia

“Hippies? Why, I’m the original.” - Jerry Lee Lewis

"David Gross (Punmaster MusicWire) is the Arianna Huffington of music news!" - Barry "The Fish" Melton

"Rock and roll is here to stay.” - Neil Young

“The reason kids like rock ‘n roll is their parents don’t.” - Mitch Miller

“Rock ’n roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on the levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm. It’s the rhythm that gets to the kids – they’re starved of music they can dance to, after all those years of crooners.” - Alan Freed

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” - Albert Einstein

“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” - Hunter S. Thompson

"Mike Love, not war." - Scott Mathews

"I have outlived my dick" - Willie Nelson (2008)

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