DK Encyclopedia of Rock Stars

A fascinating, fact-filled book profiles the details of more than 2,500 rock legends' lives and careers and spotlights the key players who changed the course of popular music. Original.

Even though record and ticket sales plateaued in 1996, rock publishing continues apace. Eight hundred and six performers and groups are highlighted in this biographical dictionary by Rees and Crampton, authors of previous titles such as Rock Movers and Shakers (Watson-Guptill, 1989).

The book opens with a 10-page pictorial rock chronology and then launches into the dictionary portion. Each entry opens with a list of the original lineup with band changes noted in the text. Events are then listed chronologically, beginning with the earliest date of musical activity, although birth date and place are provided. The chronology can be broken down as finely as by day and can include information as recent as 1996, for example, December 1996 tour dates for Sting. The entries include career information, albums and singles with charting (U.S. and U.K.), tours, etc. There is also a small amount of personal data. See and see also references are sparingly used. Entries range from a half-page for Family to six pages for Michael Jackson. Performers are included from punk, funk, pop, rock, country and western, R and B, folk, rap, reggae, metal, etc. As a result, there are thin spots in coverage. Among the eclectic array included are Dion, Muddy Waters, Midnight Oil, and Garth Brooks. British groups less known in the U.S., such as Fairport Convention and Elkie Brooks, are included. Oddly, Spinal Tap, a satire of metal bands, has been given a straight entry.

The chronological emphasis of the Encyclopedia of Rock Stars is a selling point, but coming so close on the heels of comparable books like The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll [RBB D 15 95], public libraries will have to use demand in determining whether to purchase. Do you need information on new groups like Oasis or some of the less well known British acts?