About the publication: When Muddy Waters came to London at the start of the 1960s, a kid from Boston called Joe Boyd was his tour manager; when Dylan went electric at the Newport Festival, Boyd was plugging in his guitar; when the summer of love got going, Boyd was running the coolest club in London, the UFO; when a bunch of club regulars called Pink Floyd recorded their first single, Boyd was the producer; and when a young songwriter named Nick Drake wanted to give his demo tape to someone, he chose Joe Boyd.
    More than any previous 1960s music autobiography, White Bicycles offers the real story of what it was like to be there at the time. Boyd's greatest coup is bringing to life the famously elusive figure of Nick Drake–the first time he's been written about by anyone who knew him well. As well as the 1960s heavy hitters, this book also offers wonderfully vivid portraits of a whole host of other musicians: everyone from the great jazzman Coleman Hawkins to the folk diva Sandy Denny, Lonnie Johnson to Eric Clapton, and The Incredible String Band to Fairport Convention.  *^{via Serpent’s Tail Classics}
Why it’s worth your time: A neat time travel back into the thick of the rich, elusive, and enchanting 60s music scene without the frills and cheap glorification sometimes attached to other accounts of the time. Boyd’s writing is insightful, eminates warmth and honesty, and is genuinely compelling and unassuming. I’d call it an essential classic for anyone keen on one of the most exciting eras for music.