Charles R. Cross – författare

THE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY ON KURT COBAIN'A joy to read'Observer'Superbly researched'Sunday Times'Is, or should be, the last word on Kurt Cobain'Lynn Barber, Daily TelegraphKurt Cobain's life and death fast became rock 'n' roll legend. The worldwide success of his band, Nirvana, defined the music scene in the early 1990s and their songs spoke to and for a generation. Music journalist Charles R. Cross, a veteran of the Seattle music scene, relates this extraordinary story of artistic brilliance and the pain that extinguished it. Heavier Than Heaven is the definitive life of one of the twentieth century's most creative and troubled music geniuses, and includes a new introduction commemorating twenty five years since Cobain's death.'Wins immediate entry into the rock lit pantheon. Five stars'Q Magazine

'Charles R. Cross has got as close to the truth as anyone yet in his exhaustive and ground-breaking account of the life of the greatest guitarist in the history of rock.' Observer'Superb'Sunday TelegraphJimi Hendrix continues to fascinate, and sell huge quantities of albums, even 35 years after his death. Quite apart from his influence on musicians and fans, a large part of the appeal of his sensational life story lies in the thrill of the era whose values he came to stand for. The Sixties still exert a massive pull over pop culture and this is genuinely a book for anyone interested, not only in Hendrix but also in anything to do with the pop culture of the last 40 years.Meticulously researched and sensitively and beautifully written, this is a labour of love that reveals the nuances, foibles and tragedies of the human being behind the iconic image.This is the sweeping, authoritative and colourful biography that Jimi Hendrix and that his legions of fans, young and old deserves.Praise for HEAVIER THAN HEAVEN:'Cross's research is impeccable... he writes with a fine mixture of sympathy and sense, weeding the myth of all its lies and exaggerations but never minimising the complexity of his subject' Lynn Barber, Daily Telegraph'Wins immediate entry into the rock lit pantheon. Five stats'Q Magazine'A superbly researched and harrowing book'The Sunday Times

Two sisters. Two voices. One Heart. The mystery of Magic Man. The wicked riff of Barracuda. The sadness and beauty of Alone. The raw energy of Crazy On You. These songs, and so many more, are part of the fabric of American music. Heart, fronted by Ann and Nancy Wilson, has given fans everywhere classic, raw, and pure badass rock and roll for more than three decades. As the only sisters in rock who write their own music and play their own instruments, Ann and Nancy have always stood apart-certainly from their male counterparts but also from their female peers. By refusing to let themselves and their music be defined by their gender, and by never allowing their sexuality to overshadow their talent, the Wilson sisters have made their mark, and in the process paved the way for many of today's female artists. In Kicking and Dreaming, Ann and Nancy, with the help of critically acclaimed and bestselling music biographer Charles R. Cross, recount a journey that has taken them from a gypsy - like life as the children of a globe-trotting Marine to the frozen back roads of Vancouver, where they got their start as a band, to the pinnacle of success-and sometimes excess.In these pages, readers will learn the truth about the relationship that inspired "Magic Man" and Crazy On You, the turmoil of interband romances gone awry, the reality of life on the road as single women and then as mothers of small children, and the thrill of performing and in some cases partying with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks, Van Halen, Def Leppard, and other rock legends. It has not always been an easy path. Ann struggled with and triumphed over a childhood stutter, body image, and alcoholism; Nancy suffered the pain and disappointment of fertility issues and a failed marriage but ultimately found love again and happiness as a mom. Through it all, the sisters drew from the strength of a family bond that trumps everything else, as told in this intimate, honest, and uniquely female take on the rock and roll life. Throughout their career, Ann and Nancy have never found an answer to the question they are most frequently asked: "What is it like to be a woman in rock and roll?" Kicking and Dreaming puts that question to bed, once and for all.

The story of Heart is a story of heart and soul and rock ''n'' roll. Since finding their love of music and performing as teenagers in Seattle, Washington, Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, have been part of the American rock music landscape. From 70s classics like "Magic Man" and "Barracuda" to chart- topping 80s ballads like "Alone," and all the way up to 2012, when they will release their latest studio album, Fanatic, Heart has been thrilling their fans and producing hit after hit. In Kicking and Dreaming, the Wilsons recount their story as two sisters who have a shared over three decades on the stage, as songwriters, as musicians, and as the leaders of one of our most beloved rock bands. An intimate, honest, and a uniquely female take on the rock and roll life, readers of bestselling music memoirs like Life by Keith Richards and Steven Tyler''s Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? will love this quintessential music story finally told from a female perspective.

Nevermind was the album that took Nirvana out of Seattle''s alternative rock scene and turned them into a worldwide mainstream sensation. This book documents the album by featuring interviews with the band members and producers and recontructs how the album was made.

"Die tragischen Umstände des Selbstmordes von Kurt Cobain sind mittlerweile hinreichend bekannt. Doch viele Fakten aus seinem Leben - ebenso wie sein Einfluss als Künstler - blieben eher vernachlässigt. Hier setzt Charles R. Cross an: Er führte mehr als 400 Interviews und recherchierte vier Jahre lang in allen zugänglichen Quellen; er studierte die Tagebücher von Kurt Cobain, seine Songtexte und sogar die Fotoalben seiner Familie - und so verfolgte er die Spur dieses kurzen, intensiven Lebens zurück bis in den Wohnwagen in Aberdeen im US-Bundesstaat Washington, in dem Cobain aufwuchs. Sogar die Witwe Courtney Love gewährte Cross exklusiven Einblick in die Tagebücher des Verstorbenen. So konnte er das überzeugende Porträt eines kreativen Genies schreiben, das seine persönlichen Qualen in musikalische Kunstwerke verwandelte."