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For years, they’ve been sought after by fans and shrouded in mystery – legendary lost recordings by superstars like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Seal, the Beastie Boys and Chicago. But few have heard these albums, and even fewer know the hidden stories behind the music. Now, for the first time, author Dan LeRoy shines a light into the darkened studio vaults and tells the strange-but-true tales of these mythical creations. The Greatest Music Never Sold (Backbeat/Hal Leonard) is a never-before-attempted look at more than a dozen of the world’s most famous unreleased albums. Through new interviews with artists, band members, producers, engineers and label executives, The Greatest Music Never Sold answers the questions music fans have been dying to have answered. How were these albums made? What do they sound like? Why were they shelved? And will they ever get a proper release? The Greatest Music Never Sold will provide the answers at last.
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Dan LeRoy is the director of the Literary Arts Department at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, PA. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Vibe, The Village Voice, National Review Online and Alternative Press. He is certainly the only writer in history to have contributed to publications founded by both conservative icon William F. Buckley, and Gene Simmons of KISS.
Mr. LeRoy is the co-author (with Michael Lipton) of 20 Years of Mountain Stage, a history of the National Public Radio show, and wrote a book for Continuum’s 33 1/3 series about the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique. His book The Greatest Music Never Sold was published by Backbeat in autumn 2007. Mr. LeRoy is also a contributor to But Prince Don’t Moonwalk, an anthology of music writing to be published in 2008 by Crown/Random House.
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A few reviews of Dan LeRoy's book about the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique (from Continuum's 33 1/3 series):
"Everybody who loves hip-hop music, especially those who celebrate the sweat and love that goes into the production side, needs to check it. Very entertaining, and airtight on the journalism side. Fault-free and funky fresh."
-- Brian Coleman, author, Check the Technique and Rakim Told Me
"Drawing upon first hand interviews with Beastie Boys members and producers, Dan LeRoy mines the 1989 album that because of sample-clearance laws could not be legally released today. In-depth accounts of the trio's controversial split with Def Jam Recordings, juvenile antics and their relationship with Capitol Records lead up to a summary of why the sophomore effort initially bombed."
-- Bob Gershon, Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2007. (Paul’s Boutique was listed as one of ten “exemplary entries” in the 33 1/3 series.)
“LeRoy evokes the giddy anarchy of life within (the Beasties’) circle…a frequently illuminating and entertaining tale…”
-- Stevie Chick, Mojo, Feb. 2007
"From the late night brainstorming sessions to the egg tossing to the finished product, it's all in here. This is a great book about an amazing record."
-- Jake Haselman, indieworkshop.com
"When Paul's Boutique is remastered and re-released, Capitol Records needs to contract with Dan LeRoy to include this book with each album sold. Simply put, the book is the owners manual which should have come with the album."
-- beastiemania.com