Martin C. Strong
Martin C. Strong | |
|---|---|
| Born | Martin Charles Strong 1960 (age 63–64) Musselburgh,Midlothian,Scotland |
| Occupation | Music historian |
| Children | 3 |
Martin Charles Strong(born 1960 inMusselburgh) is a Scottishmusic historianknown for compilingdiscographiesof popular music includingThe Great Rock Discography.Strong has been described in broadsheet newspaper profiles as a "compiler of acclaimed mammoth discographies"[1]and "a man who knows more about rock music than is healthy for one individual".[2]
Career
[edit]Strong has researched music extensively since the early 1980s, dedicating 70 hours per week to his craft as of 2004.[3]
He is perhaps best known forThe Great Rock Discography,with the 7th edition being published in 2004; the foreword was penned bydisc jockeyJohn Peel.[4]The book has garnered acclaim,[5]with United States music criticRobert Christgaurecommending it as one of the three best rock music encyclopaedias, and the one with the "maddest completism".[6]AuthorIan Rankinnamed it as one of the "5 Books Every Man Should Read", calling it "a great book" that "would keep [him] happy on any desert island".[7]It was re-released asThe Essential Rock Discography,a condensed version, in 2006.[8]
Strong has also authoredThe Great Metal Discography(2 editions),The Great Psychedelic,The Great Alternative & Indie(2 volumes) andLights, Camera, Soundtracks(with Brendon Griffin). Along withThe Great/Essential Rock Discography– on which Griffin also worked sporadically[5]– these titles have been published byCanongate Books.[9]Mercat Presspublished a history of Scottish contemporary music,The Great Scots Musicography,in 2002.[10]Strong's final tomes were two volumes ofThe Great Folk Discography,published byBirlinnin 2010 and 2011; a third part of the trilogy,The Great Folk Discography: The Celtic Connections,has been shelved. He maintains the online resource,The Great Rock Bible.
Aside from his books, Strong has written forThe List,[11]Record Collector,Songlines,HMV Choiceand theRough Guidesseries.[5]He served as researcher forJimmy Cliff's 2003Anthologyrelease.[12]
Personal life
[edit]Strong lives inFalkirk[3]and has three daughters.[13]
References
[edit]- ^Gilchrist, Jim (22 November 2002)."Top of the pop Scots".The Scotsman.Johnston Press.Retrieved30 August2014.
- ^Taylor, Alan (17 December 2000). "Disc man's latest hit of musical history".Sunday Herald.Newsquest.
- ^abJamieson, Teddy (9 October 2004). "Life lines".The Herald.Newsquest.
- ^The Great Rock Discography at books-by-isbn.com
- ^abc"The Essential Rock Discography".Fishpond.Retrieved31 August2014.
- ^Christgau, Robert(2000)."Albums of the '90s: Acknowledgments".RobertChristgau.com.Retrieved30 August2014.
- ^Budak, Bertan."Ian Rankin: 5 Books Every Man Should Read".AskMen.Retrieved30 August2014.
- ^Guthrie, Sean (11 November 2006). "The Essential Rock Discography".The Herald.Newsquest.
- ^Martin C. StrongatBookFinder.com
- ^Johnstone, Doug (21 December 2002)."Delving into the valley of musical heritage".The Scotsman.Johnston Press.Retrieved30 August2014.
- ^"Articles by Martin C. Strong".The List.Retrieved30 August2014.
- ^"Anthology - Jimmy Cliff".AllMusic.Retrieved31 August2014.
- ^"Martin C. Strong".Birlinn.Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2014.Retrieved31 August2014.
