Backbeats: A History of Rock and Roll in Fifteen Drummers

A Rolling Stone Best Music Book of 2025, this is an electrifying, “superb” (Atlantic), and “entirely fresh” (Rolling Stone) journey through the history of rock and roll, told through the lives of fifteen iconic drummers and their percussion rivals—from John Bonham and Charlie Watts to Ringo Starr and Questlove.

Rock and roll thrives on rhythm, but the drummers who drive that pulse often stay in the shadows. In Backbeats, acclaimed music historian John Lingan brings these unsung heroes into t...