Author | Salman Ahmad |
---|---|
Language | English |
Subject | Biography |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Publisher | Free Press |
Publication date | January 12, 2010 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
Pages | 240 pp |
ISBN | 978-1-4165-9767-4 |
OCLC | 472313059 |
Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution is a book written by Salman Ahmad, published on 12 January 2010 by Simon & Schuster.
It is a biography of the author regarding his time with his rock band Junoon and all the struggle he faced to become a rockstar in Pakistan. [1] [2]
On 14 March 2010, Junoon released the video of their first single, "Love Can You Take Me Back", [3] following the soundtrack album release of Rock & Roll Jihad based on the book published on 12 January 2010.
The book begins with a quote from Melissa Etheridge, saying:
The story you are about to read is the story of a light-bringer. Salman Ahmad inspires me to reach always for the greatest heights and never to fear. Know that his story is a part of our history. [4]
The book tells a life story of Pakistan-born Salman Ahmad, who pioneered "Sufi rock" by marrying his teenage love of Led Zeppelin's sinuously behemoth riffs to the ecstatic vocal acrobatics of the millennia-old qawwali style of singing common to Pakistan, fronts Junoon ("passion"), the most revered rock band in all of South Asia for the past two decades. Facing down angry mullahs and oppressive dictators who wanted all music to be banned from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Salman Ahmad rocketed to the top of the music charts, bringing Westernstyle rock and pop to Pakistani teenagers for the first time. His band Junoon became the 'U2 of Asia', a Sufi rock group that broke boundaries and sold a record number of albums. [5]
But Ahmad's story began in New York, where he spend his high school years rocking out in Tappan, New York. That dream seemed destined to die when his family returned to Pakistan and Ahmad was forced to follow the strictures of a newly religious. After finishing medical school he devotes his life to peace, love, and power chords as the first true Muslim rock star. "Mine was a sort of Sex Pistols situation in reverse," he writes. "I wanted to unite and heal the divisions in the Third World," not "punch conservative British nationalism and the First World Order in the gut." It didn't hurt that the process included random encounters with Mick Jagger, Bono, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who later named Ahmad UNAIDS Goodwill ambassador. [6]
Today, Ahmad continues to play music and is also a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, traveling the world as a spokesperson and using the lessons he learned as a musical pioneer to help heal the wounds between East and West; lessons he shares in this illuminating memoir. [6]
Junoon is a Pakistani sufi rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, and Tappan, New York, formed in 1990.
Salman Ahmad is a Pakistani born-American musician, rock guitarist, physician, activist, occasional actor and professor at the City University of New York.
Sufi rock or Sufi folk rock is a subgenre of rock music that combines rock with classical Islamic Sufi music traditions. It emerged in the early 1990s and became widely popular in the late 1990s in Pakistan and Turkey. The term "Sufi rock" was coined in 1993 by writer Nadeem F. Paracha to define the Pakistani band Junoon, who pioneered the process of fusing conventional rock music with folk Sufi music and imagery.
Junoon is the debut album of the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, released on 30 September 1992. It was released by EMI and recorded at the EMI studios in Karachi in 1990. The album is produced by founder, songwriter and lead guitarist Salman Ahmad. The album contained a total track list of twelve songs with eight tracks being in Urdu language, three tracks in English and one instrumental.
Inquilaab is the third studio album and the fourth overall album of the Pakistani band Junoon. Although previous albums by Junoon also achieved considerable success, 'Inquilaab' contained the band's first major hit, the patriotic song "Jazba-e-Junoon". The album also contained the hit "Saeein," which marked Junoon's foray into what later became the sufi rock sound that Junoon is most popularly associated with. Other hits from the album were "Mera Mahi" and "Husan Walo".
Azadi is the fourth studio album and the fifth overall album of the Pakistani sufi rock band, Junoon. The album was released in 1997 and established the Sufi rock sound that the band pioneered on their previous album, Inquilaab. The album was popular worldwide, bringing fame to Junoon.
Ishq is the sixth studio album and the ninth overall album of the Pakistani sufi rock band, Junoon. The album was released on January 1, 2001 and was released by the title of Andaz outside Pakistan.
Junoon is a Pakistani sufi rock band founded in 1990 by lead guitarist and only original member, Salman Ahmad. The band has released seven studio albums, as well as numerous live albums, compilations, singles, video albums, music videos, and soundtracks. Keyboardist Nusrat Hussain left the band after the first studio album release and was replaced by bassist Brian O'Connell. They released their self-titled debut album in 1991; which barely made a dent in the Pakistani music industry. Guitarist Mekaal Hasan and band producer John Alec replaced O'Connell, and have been playing bass for live shows since O'Connell's departure.
"Jazba-e-Junoon" is a song by the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon. It is the thirteenth and final track from the band's album third album, Inquilaab (1996), released on EMI Records. Written by Sabir Zafar and guitarist Salman Ahmad and it is the lead single on the album, the song uses blending of rock guitars and bluesy vocals with eastern elements like the use of tablas, raga-inspired melodies and traditional Pakistani folk music.
Rock & Roll Jihad is the first soundtrack album and the eighteenth overall album of the Pakistani band, Junoon. The soundtrack is based on Salman Ahmad and Junoon's musical journey. The album features five new studio recordings along with five live tracks from "The concert for Pakistan" and the album was officially released on 1 June 2010 under the record label Nameless Sufi Music on all major online stores. Salman Ahmad, lead guitarist & vocalist, also published a book named, Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution, regarding his time with Junoon and all the struggle he faced to become a rockstar.
"Ehtesaab" is the second track on the 1995 compilation album Kashmakash by the sufi rock band Junoon, and is the second single from the album. After the release of the band's first real big hit single "Jazba-e-Junoon", which was the song of the 1996 Cricket World Cup. "Ehtesaab" was their second hit and was released in December 1996. The video of the single was directed by Pakistani director, Shoaib Mansoor.
Brian O'Connell is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, record producer and actor. He is the bassist and producer for Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon.
Heer" is an instrumental song by the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon. The instrumental was first released on the band's self-titled debut album, Junoon released in 1991 and later in the fourth studio album, Azadi released in 1997. The instrumental is composed by the band's lead guitarist Salman Ahmad. The instrumental uses blending of rock guitars and bluesy vocals with eastern elements like the use of tablas, raga-inspired melodies and traditional Pakistani folk music.
"Bulleya" is a song by the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, released in 1999. It is the first track from the band's fifth album, Parvaaz (1999), recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London and released on EMI Records. The song is a famous kafi written by the sufi saint Bulleh Shah. Bulleh Shah is famous for his spiritual and metaphysical poetry, and Bullah Ki Jaana is one of his well-known poems. The song is composed and produced by lead guitarist and founder of the band Salman Ahmad. It is the lead single on the album, the song uses blending of rock guitars and bluesy vocals with eastern elements like the use of tablas, raga-inspired melodies and traditional Pakistani folk music.
Junoon 20 is the fourth compilation album and the nineteenth overall album of the Pakistani band Junoon. The compilation album served as a tribute album for the 20th anniversary of the band and is divided into two volumes. The first edition of the album featured many well known musicians like Bilal Khan, Outlandish, Aag, Usman Riaz and Laal’s Taimur Rahman, paying tribute to Junoon by covering some of the band's famous songs. The first volume of the album was released on September 30, 2011, and was made digitally available on October 5, 2011.
Talaash is the second studio album of the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, released on September 3, 1993. The album was to be their first with bassist Brian O'Connell, who joined the band after Nusrat Hussain departed from the band to pursue his career as a solo artist and released his debut album Amrit in 1992. This was also the first Junoon album produced by Salman Ahmad and O'Connell, both also went on releasing several other albums by Junoon before O'Connell left the band after Dewaar in 2003. The album also served as a soundtrack for the Pakistani television show Talaash, which featured the band and its novel storyline was based on the band.
Door is the ninth studio album and twentieth overall album by the Pakistani rock band Junoon. It was released on 26 December 2016 by Universal Music in Pakistan and India. It is the second Junoon album led by guitarist and singer Salman Ahmad following Ali Azmat's departure in 2005 and a tribute album following the death of former Vital Signs vocalist Junaid Jamshed in plane crash on 07th December 2016, to whom "Khwab" and "Door Bohat Door" are dedicated.