1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrrets Behind Them »

Toby Creswell wrote his first article in 1972. Since then, he has written extensively on music and popular culture and his work has appeared in numerous Australian and overseas publications. In 1985 he was appointed editor of Rolling Stone Australia, forming a partnership in 1987 which continued to publish the magazine until 1992. After Rolling Stone he co-founded the publisher Terraplane, which launched Juice magazine as well as a variety of other titles including Monument, Australian Stylez and HQ.

He is the author of Too Much Ain't Enough (a biography of Jimmy Barnes), The Real Thing (a history of Australian music co-authored with Martin Fabinyi), and Love Is In The Air (a history of Australian pop music written to coincide with the ABC TV series of the same name). He lives in Australia.

The fascinating stories behind more than a thousand best-loved songs from the last 50 years are explored in this entertaining collection. Intriguing background and biographical information on each song and its artist — from Elvis and Fatboy Slim to Leonard Cohen and Pulp — is included alongside more than 400 rare, full-color photographs of the musicians. Keeping in line with the way that iPods and other portable mp3 players have changed the way people listen to music — with personalized playlists and mixes just a few clicks away — this collection places more emphasis on specific songs than entire albums. The eclectic mix of profiled songs are randomly ordered, similar to a playlist, widening listeners' horizons while educating them on a variety of styles and artists.