# New biographies recount how The Rolling Stones and Soundgarden changed rock music

An episode of [NPR's Book of the Day](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1587369865), 26 Jun 2026, 20 min.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510364/npr.simplecastaudio.com/c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a/episodes/c160280b-494b-4291-ab13-16e9f233bf0d/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a&awEpisodeId=c160280b-494b-4291-ab13-16e9f233bf0d&feed=tZrJMl4P&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5871526&p=510364&d=1188&size=19021784

The Rolling Stones and Soundgarden are two of the most influential bands in the history of rock – and two new books tell their stories. The Rolling Stones by Bob Spitz is a history of the band, but also of drugs, women and feuds. In today’s episode, the author gives Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan a behind-the-scenes look at songs like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Gimme Shelter.” Then, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil joins Morning Edition’s A Martínez for a conversation about A Screaming Life, which tells the story of the band from its roots in Seattle’s grunge scene. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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