Major Joe Strummer biography due out in May

Faber and Faber, Inc. will be releasing a 656 page biography on Joe Strummer entitled Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer in May 2007.

The publisher had this to say about this substantial undertaking:

Music journalist Chris Salewicz was a friend to Strummer for close to three decades and has covered the Clash's career and the entire punk movement from its inception. With exclusive access to Strummer's friends, relatives, and fellow musicians, Salewicz penetrates the soul of an icon.

He uses his vantage point to write the definitive biography of Strummer, charting his enormous worldwide success, his bleak years in the wilderness after the Clash's bitter breakup, and his triumphant return to stardom at the end of his life. In the process, Salewicz argues for Strummer's place in a long line of protest singers that includes Woody Guthrie, John Lennon, and Bob Marley, and examines by turns Strummer's and punk's ongoing cultural influence.

You can visit this site for a look at the book and other details.