This book rocks

The Bossmen’s numerous songs included “Here’s Congratulations,” “Take a Look,” “Baby Boy” and “Help Me Baby.” Their early persona and music was pure Beatles. In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Wagner played with the band Frost, which was popular in the Lansing area and was known for its hard-driving rock. 

Wagner tells tales about writing songs for a wide variety of artists, including Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Little Richard, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Lou Reed, Ringo Starr , Peter Gabriel, Meat Loaf, Tina Turner, Etta James, Hall & Oates, Nina Simone and Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. 

Wagner’s sexual adventures, which he calls “intimate debauchery,” show up almost as much as ethanol and PureTone do in Young’s “Waging Heavy Peace.” Wagner, whose thinning white hair belies his rock roots, is living proof, as Young wrote, that “rock ‘n’ roll will never die.” For those who want a taste of him at his best, listen to the lead guitar on Reed’s seminal album “Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal.”