Holiday Gift Guide to Best Books on Rock and Roll

The rock and roll fan on your gift list is the easiest person to shop for this holiday season. There are a number of richly produced books covering a spectrum of rock icons just waiting to be unwrapped. Here is a guide to some outstanding titles that will be welcomed by anyone who ever belted out a rock tune in the shower or played an air guitar when they thought no one was looking.

Born To Run: The Unseen Photos
By Eric Meola
Insight Editions, 72 pages, $39.95
ISBN 1933784091
When a very young Bruce Springsteen conquered the music world, he was heralded simultaneously on the October 1975 covers of Newsweek and Time magazines. Springsteen not only survived such heady adulation, he has remained on top of the heap ever since. Renowned photographer Eric Meola conducted photo sessions with that young Springsteen and captured his exuberance just as the Jersey troubadour was learning that the world was his oyster. In this collection of more than 100 black and white photographs printed in rich quadratone, Meola presents images of The Boss that have never before been published.

Exile on Main Street: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones
By Robert Greenfield
Da Capo Press, 224 pages, $24
ISBN 0306814331
There was an earlier book written in 1999 by John Perry with the same title covering the same season when the Rolling Stones dodged British income taxes by exiling themselves to Keith Richards' chateau in the South of France where they created their seminal double LP. But there was enough brilliance and debauchery flowing through that French mansion to fill another book for more great behind-the-scenes reading.

The Blue Moon Boys: The Story of Elvis Presley's Band
By Ken Burke and Dan Griffin
Chicago Review Press, 320 pages, $24.95
ISBN 1556526148
Bill Black, Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana may have been anonymous as the musicians behind the man who would become king of rock and roll, but they were pillars of rockabilly. This scholarly retrospective explains the band's role in creating the Elvis signature sound and contains a Foreword written by latter day rockabilly devotee Brian Setzer.

Greetings From E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
By Robert Santelli
Chronicle Books, 94 pages, $35
ISBN 0811853489
Always a creative publisher, Chronicle Books sets a new standard with this amazing release. In addition to rare photos galore, there are facsimile surprises for Springsteen fans tucked into pockets, gatefolds and envelopes sprinkled throughout this treasure trove. Explorers will find The Boss' first Steel Mill business card, his hand-written play list for Meadowlands shows, vintage posters, a cocktail napkin from The Stone Pony and many more delights.

U2 By U2
By Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.
Harper Entertainment, 352 pages, $39.95
ISBN 0060776757
Long before Bono was a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize, he and his three band mates were plunking chords on homemade guitars. It is astonishing to look at the early photos of U2 in this definitive book, seeing their makeshift practice sessions in a crammed kitchen in Dublin and imagine them blossoming into one of the best arena rock bands ever.

Elvis At 21: New York to Memphis
By Alfred Wertheimer
Random House, 224 pages, $60
ISBN 1933784016
Just when you think there can't possibly be any photographs left of Elvis that haven't already been seen, along comes a book like this. Young photographer Alfred Wertheimer accompanied an even younger Elvis as he toured New York and points south in 1956. He realized what an amazingly photogenic and charismatic subject he had in his lens. This beautiful book contains some previously unpublished and unguarded images together with some classics, such as Elvis on his Harley motorcycle, printed in professional black and white highlighted with layered varnish which makes them pop.