The Billings Rollography (Bob & Ginny Billings)

Bob & Ginny Billings have put years of effort into this monumental, 5-volume work which includes the complete catalog of QRS Word rolls and a definitive study on the Recordo expression piano and all rolls issued for it. See the MMD archive for more discussion on this work; order it directly from Bob & Ginny Billings.

The American Carousel Organ (Ron Bopp)

This 280+ page book is full of great photos and interesting text, plus it contains a CD of Wurlitzer 153 band organ music! It is available directly from the author Ron Bopp and may be found at band organ rallies. If you'd like more information about what's inside, I found a detailed listing at http://www.carousels.com/bookreview.htm.

The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments
(Q. David Bowers)

This is an essential book. You shouldn't need me to tell you about it!

Treasures of Mechanical Musical
(Q. David Bowers & Arthur Reblitz)

This book is of similar size to Bowers' Encyclopedia. It features technical information about various pianos' tracker bar layouts, along with tons of other information and photos which are not otherwise available. Unfortunately, this is out of print and will probably be difficult to locate.

The Piano Book (Larry Fine)

(subtitled "Buying & Owning A New or Used Piano) OK, this isn't strictly a mechanical music book, but it is inexpensive, readily available in paperback, and essential! There are so many basic facts about pianos that no player piano enthusiast should be without it. You will be impressed!

The AMPICO Reproducing Piano (Richard J. Howe, ed.)

This marvelous 316-page book was published by MBSI (see links page) in 1987, and is currently out of print. It contains the transcriptions of interviews conducted by Mr. Nelson Barden in the late 1960's with Adam Carroll, Emse Dawson, and Angelico Velerio (all editors for AMPICO), along with Clarence Hickman interview & diaries. The book provides many fascinating details about the arranging and editing work that went into creating AMPICO reproducing rolls. Mr. Barden made the tapes available to Richard Howe, who arranged for their transcription and publication. We owe a debt of gratitude to both Mr. Barden and Mr. Howe for making this fascinating information available (and to MBSI for taking on the project!). This book is indispensable to any serious AMPICO fan.

The Complete Catalog of Ampico Reproducing Piano Rolls (Elaine Obenchain)

The first complete reproducing roll catalog, this excellent book has been reprinted several times and is still readily available. Although the print is a bit small, there is plenty of valuable information and it is a luxury to be able to find out how many rolls this artist recorded or if that piece of music was ever issued on Ampico.

The Golden Age of Automatic Musical Instruments
(Art Reblitz)

This new book is without a doubt the finest book on AMI that will be published in our lifetime. It is effusely illustrated with the finest quality color photographs of dozens of rare machines, including interior shots you have never seen anywhere. Art gives us insight into what is unique about each machine and how it works. I dare say this book is every bit as essential as Bowers' Encyclopedia. There is much more to say about it than I can explain here; please see the Mechanical Music Press web page for details. Don't miss this!

 Piano Servicing Tuning & Rebuilding (Art Reblitz)

(subtitled "for the professional, the student, the hobbyist") This is another basic book on pianos that all player piano fans should have. It's quite different from Larry Fine's book, with detailed service information that you won't find anywhere else. Even if you don't intend to rebuild pianos, this is just the thing for adjusting any minor problem between service calls with your regular piano technician!

Player Piano Servicing & Rebuilding (Art Reblitz)

Here is another excellent book by Art Reblitz with the best player servicing information you'll find anywhere. Every player owner should have this book, if only to understand how it works and should be cared for. If you don't know of Art, he is one of the world's leading authorities on all varieties of mechanical pianos and has decades of experience. You'll be impressed with all the great information Art has meticulously made available for all.

Player Piano Treasury (Harvey N. Roehl)

One of the first and one of the best books on the history of the player piano. The thing with this book is, you probably got it years ago and haven't taken a look at it in a long time. Go get it off your shelf and page through it again - it's a great book with lots of interesting information that still hasn't been made available elsewhere, after all these years. Thank you, Harvey, for this book and Vestal Press (RIP) and your Buster Keaton face at the calliope keyboard. You're the best.

Catalog of Duo-Art Piano Rolls (Charles Davis Smith)

(subtitled "A Complete Classified Catalog of Music Recorded for the Duo-Art Reproducing Piano"). Charles not only took on the monumental task of cataloging Duo-Art rolls as they've never been done before, but he researched every roll artist and provided biographies of each. This is a valuable reference book, even if you are not a Duo-Art collector.

The Welte-Mignon: Its Music and Musicians
(Charles Davis Smith and Richard J. Howe)

This has to be the finest reproducing roll catalog ever compiled. Charles had to do an incredible amount of research to find all the scattered information that went into this awesome, 975-page tome. Always striving to improve upon his previous work, this time Charles researched both the artists AND the composers. And to top it off, he researched and wrote a fascinating, 150-page history of the German and American Welte companies and all their transformations. As Charles' health deteriorated near the end, Richard Howe saw the project through and the book was published by AMICA in 1994. I have a couple of spare copies for sale; let me know if you are interested.

They All Played Ragtime (Blesh & Janis)

This is the bible, one of the first and still one of the very best on the topic. You don't need to read anything more by me on this; get the book and re-read it, if you've already done so! I bet you'll rediscover details you forgot all about.

Rags and Ragtime (David Jasen & Trebor Tichenor)

If "They All Played Ragtime" is the bible, then this is the New Testament! One of the best ragtime books, especially for a roll collector (it has vast piano roll references), this fine book is now available in paperback form from Dover.

This Is Ragtime (Terry Waldo)

I love this book - it is very readable, and full of very interesting facts and figures (illustrations, that is!). It was first published in 1976, with a forward by Eubie Blake. After being out of print for a long time, it is now available again in an affordable paperback edition. This is very strongly recommended.

Ragtime: Its History, Composers, and Music (John Edward Hasse, ed.)

Here's another strong recommendation. Each chapter is on an entirely different topic in ragtime, and it is so full of interesting facts you won't believe it. The chapter "Ragtime On Piano Rolls" (co-written by Trebor Tichenor, Mike Montgomery and John Hasse) is outstanding and mandatory reading for roll collectors (like yourself!). Take a look at Table 16, "Unpublished Rags on Piano Rolls" (page 99). I believe I have now recut every title on this page, save for 2 or 3 (plus I've recut a few more that should be added to this list!).

Blind Boone (Jack A. Batterson)

Subtitled "Missouri's Ragtime Pioneer" this newer (1998) Boone biography finally does John W. "Blind" Boone justice. Batterson lives in Columbia, Missouri (Boone's home) and has told the entire story for the first time. He includes many interesting photographs and facts about Boone's life. I had some issues with some of the details he presents about Boone's QRS rolls, but it's really just nitpicking. This is an affordable and very interesting book that is well worth your time.

King of Ragtime (Ed Berlin)

Subtitled "Scott Joplin and His Era" this Joplin biography is a fascinating piece of research and an exciting read. Ed has an incredible talent for digging up facts that nobody else has found, and he documents his sources with a loving sense of detail. I wish I could do work this well!

That American Rag (David Jasen & Gene Jones)

Subtitled "The Story of Ragtime from Coast to Coast", this latest book from Jasen & Jones covers discusses rags & their composers from a regional perspective. This is very interesting with lots of information you've never seen before. They include a checklist of over 2000 rags, along with their composers, publishers & date. If you like ragtime then I promise you'll be amazed by this book! It comes very highly recommended.

 Nothing But The Blues (Lawrence Cohn)

Lawrence Cohn was a producer for the Columbia Records "Legacy" label for a number of years, and with this beautiful book it is clear where his musical love lies. This book is over 400 pages, with well-written chapters on all facets of the blues from its earliest days to the present. You will also find many great illustrations. The price for this hardback has gone through the roof, but a paperback edition is out , and I highly recommend you take a look!

Deep Blues (Robert Palmer)

This book uses a very human approach to the history of the Delta blues. Palmer takes us through the lives of various musicians and shows us how each influenced the next. Featured are such greats as Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson, Sunnyland Slim, Robert Lockwood Jr., Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, and Muddy Waters. It's a quick, easy ready and I strongly urge you to give it a go!

 Chasin' The Blues (Gayle Dean Wardlow)

This is the most recent book by one of the primary contributors to 78 Quarterly. Here you will find over 280 pages of the same fascinating stories and photos of early blues musicians that you will find in the magazine. Plus, there's a free CD of "rare delta blues recordings" that includes 25 complete tracks by such greats as Charlie Patton, Son House and many others. The price for this book is very reasonable, too. You won't be disappointed!

All Music Guide to Blues

I love all these new music guides put out by All Music and by MusicHound. You can spend hours going through them, and learn something new every time you pick them up. The books are very inexpensive, and more fun to read than going on-line to see the same thing. Put on some good tunes, get something nice to drink, and sit back and take it all in. You'll love it!

MusicHound Blues - The Essential Album Guide

I would probably give a nudge toward the All Music guide over this one, both because the former is a newer edition and because All Music tends to give reviews of every album, versus a quick list of albums with unexplained ratings. The MusicHound guides each include a free sampler CD which is nice. You won't be disappointed with either of these books.

The Baby Dodds Story
as told to Larry Gara

This book comes from anecdotes that Baby Dodds recorded, which were compiled by Larry Gara. It's a very warm, friendly recollection of Dodds' years on the music scene, and includes mention of playing with Jimmy Blythe!

 James P. Johnson (Scott E. Brown & Robert Hilbert)

This book is in two parts: a biography by Scott Brown and a complete discography by Robert Hilbert, which includes all of JPJ's piano rolls. A lot of hard work went into this book! It is well worth your time.

Spreadin' Rhythm Around (David Jasen & Gene Jones)

Subtitled "Black Popular Songwriters, 1880 - 1930", this book covers many of the composers and performers dear to the heard of ragtime and blues fans.

A Left Hand Like God (Peter J. Silvester)

Subtitled "A History of Boogie-Woogie Piano". I forgot what a great book this was until I took it off my shelf to help me tell you something about it! Not only are the history and stories about early artists great, but it includes more interesting stories about boogie practitioners to this day, including BluesTone Front Porch roll artists Ben Conroy and Charlie Booty. Very interesting reading, and highly recommended.

Jazz Panorama (Martin Williams, ed.)

This is a general interest book which includes many articles of Jelly Roll Morton and many other heroes of early jazz. Of particular note is Tom Davin's 1955 interview with James P. Johnson which took place shortly before JPJ's death.

All Music Guide to Jazz

I received this book as a gift, and I can spend hours going through it! It has just enough basic information about more great musicians than you probably ever even thought about, including good writeups on folks like Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and even Jimmy Blythe. Then there's Lu Watters, Duke Ellington, and hundreds of others (Mingus, Thelonious Monk & Charlie Parker on the cover, for instance). You're going to get a real education if you spend any time with this book at all! Plus it tells you which are the best available CD's by everyone. They have a great web page too, but this 1300-plus page book is quite inexpensive and more fun to read in comfortable chair than sitting at the computer!

MusicHound Jazz - The Essential Album Guide

Just like with the Blues books, I would give a slight nudge to the All Music vs. the MusicHound guide. But they're both worth your time, and you'll get a wider range of views by having both on hand. The MusicHound guides include a free sampler CD. You won't be disappointed with either of these books.

Spinning Blues Into Gold (Nadine Cohodas)

This new book covers the history of Chess Records, the label that recorded black artists starting in 1947 at a time when the major labels were only recording white artists for white audiences. Leonard & Phil Chess hit the jackpot right away by recording Muddy Waters, followed by many greats such as Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Etta James, Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and so on. It's fascinating to take a glimpse into the world in which the Chess brothers developed their label and their audience, and it's heartbreaking to learn how it all ended.

Rhythm and the Blues : A Life in American Music (Jerry Wexler)

I was so intrigued by the Chess story that I blew the dust off my copy of Jerry Wexler's autobiography and had a great time reading it! Wexler joined the Turkish brothers Ahmet and Neshui Ertegun, who had formed Atlantic Records. Atlantic and its sister labels recorded such great artists as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Les McCann & Eddie Harris, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, The Spinners, and many more.

Wexler's stories are interesting and funny, and his insights into the recording industry are very illuminating. His early stories include talk of Mezz Mezzrow and jazz recording collecting in NYC, while his later stories include talk about the Muscle Shoals rhythm section which backed so many great Atlantic artists and the Miami studio which also defined an important sound of its era. Reading this book has gotten me on a 1970's soul kick!

Woody Guthrie: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1-4 (Smithsonian)

I got on a Woody Guthrie kick last summer after finding this 4-disc Asch / Smithsonian CD set at the library. One might argue this isn't a book for your reading, but the liner notes for each volume is around 50-60 pages, so I think it belongs here with all my other favorite reading materials! I poured over these, then read Bound For Glory, then read the Joe Klein book. All are fascinating.

Bound For Glory (Woody Guthrie)

You will love the wild stories Woody tells here, such as the battle between bare-footed kids in 2 gangs when Woody was a kid. Who else would have thought of heating up the rocks in a stove before putting them in your slingshot? ;-)

Woody Guthrie: A Life (Joe Klein)

Did you know Woody wrote "This Land Is Your Land" after growing tired of the saccharine versions of "God Bless America" he heard? He wrote This Land as more of an "everyman's" song of national pride; instead of "this land was made for you and me" the original ending of each verse was "God bless America for me". Klein does a fascinating job of taking us through Woody's entire life, from his birth in Oklahoma to California and New York and everywhere between. He gives us an excellent feel for Woody, his times, and the factors that made him what he was. I couldn't have a greater respect for Woody than I do after reading this fine book.

No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan (Robert Shelton)

My sister-in-law is from Hibbing, MN, Bob's home town, and she got me going on Bob Dylan. This is a fascinating book that covers Dylan's career from birth to 1985 when it was published. Before reading this, it never occurred to me how silly pop song lyrics were (including the Beatles) before Dylan came along and raised the bar. The folk singers were shocked when he went electric (vs. singing to his acoustic guitar) but he was a rock 'n' roller before he went folk, and nobody ever told Bob Dylan how to think or what to feel! Bob is every bit as interesting as Woody, and this is considered one of the finest biographies available on him.

Evenings With Horowitz (David Dubal)

There are of course many books on Vladimir Horowitz, and frankly I have not had the time to read many of them. I was fortunate to stumble across this one and immediately taken by the stories David Dubal has to tell. Dubal teaches piano at Juilliard and was music director of New York's classical radio station WNCN. Through these he met Horowitz, and had the opportunity to interview him for the radio. Horowitz enjoyed talking with Dubal since they could discuss piano music in such detail, and in time they became very close friends. Dubal's style of storytelling about these meetings is very engaging and offers fascinating insight into the mind of Vladimir Horowitz. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I think you will too!

The Great Pianists (Harold Schonberg)

This book is a lot of fun to read, and very informative. Schonberg's writing style is very engaging and he has a great sense of humor. He takes us through the entire history of piano performance, from the Bachs, Mozart and the first piano recital all the way to the present. In the process he gives us very interesting detail on many reproducing roll artists, too numerous to list here. This book is over 500 pages long and very inexpensive. It is also easy to find and comes very highly recommended.

Remembering Franz Liszt - including:
My Memories of Liszt (Alexander Siloti) and
Life And Liszt (Arthur Friedheim)

I stumble across this book in a used book store and recognized both authors as Welte reproducing roll recording artists (in addition to students of Liszt). Both books are very interesting. Friedheim became a personal secretary and close friend to Franz Liszt. He offer insight into Liszt's style of playing and perhaps as importantly insight into Liszt's personality. Best of all he tells a very engaging story of his life as a concert pianist touring Europe and America. Friedheim kept a studio on Riverside Drive in New York and shares some interesting photos with us. Siloti's story is much, much shorter but still worth a read.