Interesting thread--I've learned a lot about music from reading musical biographies. Agree with posters that Mezrow's book is a classic, and that Paul Oliver's is better for pictures than copy. Instead, his THE MEANING OF THE BLUES is useful as a literary analysis of blues lyrics. Lawrence Bergren's LOUIS ARMSTRONG; AN EXTRAVAGENT LIFE is very entertaining, while Maxx Jones' LOUIS delivers a lot of jazz history. I highly recommend Ian Carr's MILES DAVIS: THE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY for a great job on a complex subject. I intend to tackle Ann Allen Savoy's CAJUN MUSIC sometime soon.