Mark Bego

Mark Bego is the author of 68 published books on rock & roll and show business, including two "New York Times" best-sellers, a "Los Angeles Times" best-seller, and a "Chicago Tribune" best-seller, three multi-million-sellers, and two half-million selling titles. His latest book is the biography "Joe Cocker: With A LOT Of Help From His Friends" (Yorkshire Publishing / November 2023). It is the first published biography to tell the complete story about Cocker since the singer’s death in 2014. According to Bego, “Joe Cocker’s life was one wild and colorful ride, and this book was fascinating to research.” The book also features a touching Introduction by Woodstock legend, Melanie. Both Melanie and Cocker were up-and-coming singers when they performed at Woodstock, and the music festival launched their separate mainstream recording careers. With over 13 million books in print, Mark is acknowledged as the best-selling biographer in the rock and pop music field. In 2018 and 2019 he published three books in a row that hit Number One on the Amazon best-seller charts. This streak of chart-toppers include the “Tribute Edition” of his popular biography “Aretha Franklin: The Queen Of Soul” (Skyhorse Publishing). It was followed by the fascinating business book he wrote with hotelier Efrem Harkham called “Living The Luxe Life” (Skyhorse Publishing). And the third straight Number One book he wrote with his lifetime best friend, Mary Wilson of The Supremes. Bego and Wilson’s lavishly illustrated book was entitled “Supreme Glamour” (Themes & Hudson Publishing), and it told the entire story of the legendary Supremes, from beginning to end. In 2020 Bego helped tell the glittering life story of singer Freda Payne, in the hit book “Band Of Gold” (Yorkshire Publishing), complete with an Introduction by their mutual friend, the late Mary Wilson. According to Mark, “I have known Freda since the 1970s when I was the Nightlife Editor at ‘CUE’ magazine. Freda and I had so much fun writing about her multi-media career as an actress, singer, and television hostess.” One of the books that Mark Bego is the proudest of was his 2017 hit celebrity cookbook, “Eat Like A Rock Star” (Skyhorse Publishing), which was also published in 2020 in a paperback edition. “I had never tackled such an intensive project, and turned it into a Top Ten book. I had interviewed so many stars in the music business, that it seemed like a natural assumption that each of them had recipes to share.” Indeed they did, and his celebrity chefs included Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers, Randy Jones of The Village People, Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones, Marilyn McCoo of The Fifth Dimension, Sarah Dash of Labelle, Joey Fatone of ’N Sync, Tanya Tucker, Thelma Houston, Martha Reeves, Boz Scaggs, Ray Parker Jr., and dozens more. Bego not only baked, broiled or cooked all of the recipes, but he was also the photographer of every dish that was created. In 2012 he had a huge international sensation with the book "Whitney Houston! The Spectacular Rise and the Tragic Fall of the Woman Whose Voice Inspired a Generation" (Skyhorse Publishing). In 2014 he collaborated with Debby Campbell to write her touching memoir “Life With My Father, Glen Campbell” (Overlook / Omnibus Press). The book has subsequently been optioned for film. His show business biographies have included the life stories of some of the biggest stars of ROCK (Elton John, Elvis Presley, Madonna, Bonnie Raitt, The Doobie Brothers, Three Dog Night, Billy Joel), SOUL (Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston), POP (Sonny & Cher, The Monkees, Sade, Barry Manilow), and COUNTRY (George Strait, Patsy Cline, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill). He has also written about film and television stars as well (Rock Hudson, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, Matt Damon, The Marx Brothers). Mark’s biggest selling book was 1984’s “Michael!” (Pinnacle Books) about Michael Jackson, which sold over eight million copies in eight languages. “Publishers Weekly” has called Mark Bego, “The Prince Of Pop Music Biographies.” According to him, “As long as there are fans of popular music, I will be writing books!” He is already making plans for books “#69” and “#70,” to be announced soon.