On Our Bookshelf: Musical Legends Who Played at Esalen & Their Books

The acclaimed musician and long-time Esalen resident will forever be remembered on campus as an elemental, life-changing force. "Babatunde Olatunji taught in a way that helped you to feel it in your body." "Oh, and to see the young girls from Gazebo dance with him was amazing." "I still remember what I was wearing and how I felt — like I had landed someplace akin to my spirit, and I promptly went and bought his cassette." With this memoir, the unparalleled drummer, who popularized West African traditional music while spreading a message of racial harmony, ponders on rhythm ("the soul of life") and the healing power of music. In the book's short introduction, fellow legend Joan Baez writes, "Baba was my introduction to the world that lies where drumming and the spirit intersect." It is a must-read for percussionists and anyone who misses that man’s joyful, life-affirming beats. We would suggest playing Drums of Passion as your background music while turning pages, but the urge to get up and dance would simply be irresistible.

The “Queen of Folk” lived and taught at Esalen throughout the decades, and her talent was foundational to the Institute’s early musical legacy. The opening scene of Celebration at Big Sur, the documentary film about the legendary 1969 campus concert, starts off with her angelic soprano — “The voice,” as it was called. Since her very first album’s release (at the tender age of 19), her career has been defined as much by her activism as her music — or, as when she sang “We Shall Overcome” at Dr. King’s 1963 March on Washington, a merging of the two. Though this memoir recounts specific and numerous struggles, her loves (including Dylan), and her ascent to superstardom, it is also the story of several pivotal eras and how she did her best as both a person and an artist to nudge the world toward justice. From The Boston Globe: “An eyewitness' testimony of watching — indeed, making — cultural history.” For those who prefer verses to paragraphs of prose, we suggest also picking up her autobiographical poetry collection, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance.

The subtitle of this work is revealing. Like anyone who has made it through a dark night of the soul with the cathartic help of Blue, Hejira, or Court and Spark, the author, a Joni expert, has been profoundly moved by the confessional work of "the Lady of the Canyon” — and this 2024 biography is shaped as much by her thoughts and feelings on her subject as it is by Mitchell’s own life. In one section, she writes about adopting a daughter and how this strongly influences her perspective on Joni giving up a child as a young woman, forever immortalized in the heartbreaking and bittersweet “Little Green”: Child with a child pretending/Weary of lies you are sending home/So you sign all the papers in the family name/You're sad and you're sorry but you're not ashamed/Little green have a happy ending. Through extensive interviews (though none with the Lady herself), Powers uncovers the life and meaning of an artist David Crosby named "the greatest songwriter of our generation” — a woman whose singular talent dazzled for decades as she steadily maintained a wary relationship with fame, publicity, and the press.

The opening lines let you know just what you’re in for: “‘What a story’ Graham Nash said to me, shaking his head, during an interview for this book. ‘What a fucked up foursome.’” At almost 500 pages, Rolling Stone journalist David Browne (So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead, Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley) has crafted a more-than-comprehensive narrative biography of the world’s first superband. The quartet who created classics hits, including "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," "After the Gold Rush," "Love the One You're With," and "Long Time Gone," struggled with dissonance and dysfunction within the band. Almost half the book is dedicated to decades of lawsuits, betrayals, and anger; too much talent (and ego) for one stage to handle, according to the author. But what a ride it was! Music historians will be thrilled to read about the vast influence hippie boy geniuses had on the counterculture and will love this deep dive into the music and lives of guitar gods emblematic of an era.

This illustrated autobiography by one of pop’s most fearless artists — packed with photos, notebook pages, lyrics, and memories — is a gift for her fans and a window into her creative process as she assembled her sophomore full-length album, Warrior. The Grammy-nominated star has become a creative force at Esalen and recently led The Alchemy of Pop: Music, Emotion & Sonic Ritual as part of a special Self-Guided Explorations series. Though the professional images (from photographer/filmmaker Steven Greenstreet) are beautiful and her childhood pics are adorably intimate, Kesha’s first-person prose packs the biggest punch. “First and foremost, I’m a writer: that’s what has gotten me this far, and that’s what I’ll be doing till I die,” she explains in the introduction. Some of the most highbrow lit reviewers immediately recognized the glittering brilliance of her self-expression. (One review from the Atlantic, “Why Ke$ha's New Memoir Is 2012's Answer to 'The Feminine Mystique,'” deftly referenced an earlier article naming her “perhaps the most empowering artist on the planet.") A must for all her Animals — or, if you’re not already a superfan, a great first step to becoming one.