Martin Charles Strong (born 1960 in
Musselburgh
Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of .
History
The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...
) is a Scottish
music historian known for compiling
discographies of popular music including ''The Great Rock Discography''. Strong has been described in broadsheet newspaper profiles as a "compiler of acclaimed mammoth discographies" and "a man who knows more about rock music than is healthy for one individual".
Career
Strong has researched music extensively since the early 1980s, dedicating 70 hours per week to his craft as of 2004.
He is perhaps best known for ''The Great Rock Discography'', with the 7th edition being published in 2004; the foreword was penned by
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
John Peel. The book has garnered acclaim,
with United States music critic
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
recommending it as one of the three best rock music encyclopaedias, and the one with the "maddest completism". Author
Ian Rankin named it as one of the "5 Books Every Man Should Read", calling it "a great book" that "would keep
imhappy on any desert island". It was re-released as ''The Essential Rock Discography'', a condensed version, in 2006.
Strong has also authored ''The Great Metal Discography'' (2 editions), ''The Great Psychedelic'', ''The Great Alternative & Indie'' (2 volumes) and ''Lights, Camera, Soundtracks'' (with Brendon Griffin). Along with ''The Great/Essential Rock Discography'' – on which Griffin also worked sporadically
– these titles have been published by
Canongate Books.
Mercat Press published a history of Scottish contemporary music, ''The Great Scots Musicography'', in 2002. Strong's final tomes were two volumes of ''The Great Folk Discography'', published by
Birlinn in 2010 and 2011; a third part of the trilogy, ''The Great Folk Discography: The Celtic Connections'', has been shelved.
Aside from his books, Strong has written for ''
The List'', ''
Record Collector
''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'', ''
Songlines'', ''
HMV Choice'' and the
Rough Guides series.
He served as researcher for
Jimmy Cliff
James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...
's 2003 ''Anthology'' release.
Personal life
Strong lives in
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
and has three daughters.
References
External links
The Great Rock BibleFolkLib Index - Music Reference Books by Martin C. Strong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Martin C.
1960 births
Living people
Discographers
People from Musselburgh
Scottish music historians