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Let’s start with the basics: As this book’s subtitle indicates, the paperback is not, as its title might otherwise suggest, say, Jerry Lee Lewis’ autobiography.
Rather, as writing coach, editor and author Jill Dearman explains in these pages, Bang… is Dearman’s acronym for a series of thought processes/exercises that will inspire any writer to overcome obstacles to that moment of clarity when the prose seems to flow as easily and plentifully as water through a clogless spigot.
From minimizing distractions to preventing writer’s block, Jill’s writers’ workshop in book form features chapters that teach her B(egin with your strongest idea), A(rrange your material into a concrete form), N(urture your project with love so that others may love it, too), G(o. Let it go so it may live independently in the world) process
Whether one is writing song lyrics, a short story, scholarly essay, nonfiction book, or screenplay, Dearman’s timeless tools are sure to encourage even the most procrastinating of scribes.
In her introduction to this, the latest in a series of TIME’s Great Discoveries series of coffee-table books, Kelly Knauer notes that “The book you are holding in your hands is already out of date,” regardless of the date of purchase, because in the modern world “the dynamics of discovery moves so quickly that… the facts cited in these pages [are]… very likely to be superseded by new findings” or “challenged by new arguments.”
To break it down, Knauer’s argument references a photo on the opposite page of a female figurine, sculpted around 33,000 B.C. One of the earliest of its kind ever found, the figurine’s “existence was known to only a few researchers when our editorial team began working on this book, early in 2009. (The figurine was discovered in Germany during September, 2008 but not revealed to the rest of the world until May 2009.)
No matter. As the authors point out, “History is found in stone. Not set in stone.” And while these histories may have to be revised, the beautiful photographs of discoveries all over the world are simply breath-taking.
Sections of the book focus upon familiar subjects (probing Titanic’s Demise, Lewis & Clark’s adventures, and so forth) and lesser-known explorations of man and animals and the mysteries of the solar system.
Most amazingly, the objective is accomplished in only 135 pages. (138 pages should one count a superb index to which readers will want to refer as they show this book off to guests.)
Back in 1961, when I was in elementary school, one of my favorite books was Bruce Lee’s JFK: Boyhood to White House.
Thoughts of that children’s book came to mind when I received a copy of TIME For Kids’ new oversized paperback, the latest in its series of children’s books on America’s presidents, dating back several years. President Obama: A Day in the Live of America’s Leader
As with its previous publications about White House occupants, TIME’s instructive oversized paperback is apolitical in tone.
Suitable for children of all ages (from those not yet old enough to read- but who are old enough to appreciate beautiful illustrations and photography, to those of us who retain a child’s curiosity about the inner workings of the White House), this book begins with a biographical sketch of President Obama detailing his road to the White House (replete with learning opportunities for kiddies for whom this book may be the first time they have read the word caucus and have had the word and process defined in the form of an understandable explanation.)
Next come captioned photos of all of America’s presidents, indicating the years they served.
This is followed by an abbreviated geographical tour of our nation’s capital and a White House tour.
Children then learn what the President’s typical day is like as well as given an opportunity to identify with Malia and Sasha Obama or any of the other children who lived in the White House from Tad Lincoln forward. The tone remains light, as readers are reminded that Tad liked to “dress up in a soldier’s uniform and play war games” but are spared the knowledge that Tad died at 18, probably of tuberculosis.
The unique roles of the First Lady (unofficial) to Air Force One (official) are explored, as are a remarkable number of other presidency-related topics, when one considers that the entire book that is less than 130 pages.
Parents who want to know how much their children have retained after reading this book will encourage their kids to take the short test (13 questions) that appears just ahead of this book’s two-page index.
This, K.J. Fraser’s first novel, was inspired by former President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign. Indeed, one of Fraser’s highly-developed characters, serves as the fictional, sympathetic Dubya (a guy who wears a Texas Rangers tee-shirt but who is not a “Bush imposter”) in this contemporary (post-2008) American tale of healing and self-transformation.
With several strong characters, of different ages, races, goals and circumstances, Fraser maintains the reader’s attention as she takes readers on a journey that concludes with George (the suffering former leader who, after battling zombies, ghosts and his own atrocities, atones and is transformed), Lucy (a 17-year-old Rapture believer, detoured from her mission, but not via reading Harry Potter books which she thinks are “evil”), and Judith (an injured, African-American Iraq war vet) winding up, as K.J.’s story winds down, on the same evening in the same room at the not-accidentally-named Angels Comedy Club.
Subtitled "The Breakthrough Program For Conquering Anxiety, Overcoming Negative Thoughts and Discovering Your True Potential," Dr. Cury’s 224-page hardback doesn’t reinvent the wheel so much as it provides exercises and daily reminders that help readers to focus on concerns of most importance to them.
Whether you want to preserve your sanity, memory or relationships, the psychiatrist, psychotherapist, scientist and best-selling author provides not only tips on how to make these things happen, but also case-study examples that encourage the can-do spirit.
The good doctor, who calls Brazil home, has some arguable references. (Describing Sigmund Freud as an “atheistic Jew,” regardless of Freud’s self-description, suggests the author lacks an awareness of the contradiction in terms)
Still, this book’s extensive bibliography and helpful index drive serve further to bolster the author’s message which is an important one for anyone whose goals include self-actualization.
Those who have read my review of Jay Warner’s American Singing Groups know what a big fan I am of Warner’s writing.
Jay’s latest paperback, Notable Moments of Women in Music, uses the “this day in history” calendar approach to highlighting women’s contribution to music dating back to the June 1, 1873 birthday of Ada Jones. The continuum ends with the April 15, 2008 Sony Pictures release of “the eventual horror cult-classic film, Zombie Strippers, starring the outrageous British punk rocker Roxy Saint.”
In between is a Foreword by Melissa Etheridge and enough content to challenge even the most informed trivia experts.
Fans of Tanya Tucker, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Rosanne Cash, (Note: Warner misspells Krauss’, Loveless’ and Cash’s first names), Mary Chapin-Carpenter (Jay favors a misplaced, albeit optional, dash), Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, Brenda Lee, Carrie Underwood, The Dixie Chicks, The Carter Family, Kathy Mattea, Lorrie Morgan, The Forester Sisters, Trisha Yearwood, Wynonna, LeAnn Rimes, Reba McEntire, K. T. Oslin, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Michelle Wright, Dale Evans and Patsy Cline will be especially eager to read the factoids, quotes from and/or mention of these artists.
There’s a lot of interesting information and several eye-catching photographs packed into this 437+ page reference. It will make a great Christmas present for your favorite music trivia buff.
This paperback is a revised and expanded edition of Randy Poe's 2006 Duane Allman biography, Skydog.
With a forward by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Poe, an Allman fan since age 9, sets the tone for an engaging portrait of the late southern rocker.
Though memories dim, Duane’s life (which ended in 1971, just before his 25th birthday) is documented not only by his own observances, but also through Randy’s extensive research- there’s a chapter on Duane’s guitars alone!- including interviews, other books on music and musicians of the Allman Brothers Band era, various sound and video recordings, etc.
Still, as Jerry Jemmott told Randy, “Everybody wants to put their spin on the story so they can have a little piece of the legacy.”
That said, if Randy has left anything of substance unwritten, readers will still want to refer to these pages- with Skydog...'s absorbing accounts and nostalgic photos- in conjunction with a book Gabrielle Allman intends to write about her father. Politely declining Poe’s invitation for an interview, Gabrielle e-mailed Randy, “I believe there is room for many different books about” Duane’s “life and music. So, although I will be focusing on my own project, I wish you the best of luck with yours.”
Reading In the Beginning... There Was the Men’s Room, I got so absorbed in the minutia I wondered how I could possibly review the book as succinctly as Sam Wellington tells this story.
After all, Sam’s story, contrary to its subtitle, is less about the Jets (Wellington’s high school doo-wop quintet), the New Jets or even the earliest configuration(s) of The Four Guys than it is about “their unique journey and eventual transformation from finger-popping, street corner singing to... award-winning Country Music group.”
Consider that if I merely drop all of the names that Sam includes (The Del-Vikings, The Vogues, Mark Dinning, Mitch Miller, Dwayne Hickman, Vic Ames, Johnny Dollar, Mary Lou Turner, Nashville’s notorious Sheriff Fate Thomas, and Bill Tush, to name a few), you’ll want to know the context. I’ll plead lack of space, but Sam puts it all together, providing one of many reasons to buy Wellington’s book.
Like Sam’s first book, So You Want To Be A Country Star, In the Beginning... is an jocular, fast-paced read.
It’s an honest, somewhat autobiographical account of a singer (whose repertoire ranged from doo-wop to barbershop) who left an upwardly-mobile broadcasting career to become a Grand Ole Opry-bound music star of an enduring quartet. (Sam was a radio station manager on his way to becoming a local TV anchor when, as a member of one of the earliest configuration of [Harold] Brent Burkett’s group, The Four Guys, the divorced father elected to join founding Four Guys member, Burkett, Berl Lyons and Rich Garratt. The career change took Wellington from the Ohio Valley area, also encompassing his fellow singer Dean Martin’s hometown of Steubenville, to Nashville on January 1, 1967.)
By the time the Four Guys appeared on the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree, they were well on their way to Grand Ole Opry membership (after only three months in Nashville). Appearing frequently on local TV, The Four Guys were ere veteran performers, having appeared on prestigious venues such as the Wheeling Jamboree.
A welcoming Nashville country-music community included Faron Young. When Opry stage manager Vito Pelletterie introduced the quartet to Faron, Young demanded “Who is this bunch of queers?”
But before the group could react, Faron assured them he was “Just jokin', boys.”
The welcome wore off sooner than expected. The signs were there when the group briefly disbanded, or arguably when the quest for hit records began. For elements of bad luck, amid phenomenal opportunities, were ever-present.
While, like most groups, the Guys had to deal with internecine personality clashes, things didn’t help when “we recorded Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town and were later blown off the charts by Johnny Darrell, who was still later smothered by Kenny Rogers and The First Edition... We were signed to Mercury Records, our first major label, then replaced by The Statler Brothers.” (It was Faron Young who brought the Four Guys to Jerry Kennedy’s attention. Kennedy signed the Guys to Mercury only for the Statlers, who had just left Columbia Records, to join Mercury, to become the label’s priority quartet.)
Remarkably, even when hit records eluded them and they might undermine each other, the Guys remained in demand. Asked to join The Hank Williams, Jr. Touring Road Show, the group remained with Hank for two years, celebrating Williams’ 21st birthday on tour with Bocephus. “We then joined Jimmy Dean in Las Vagas and went on to become a fairly hot commodity there for a time.”
At these points in Sam’s narrative, the reader is rooting for the group, only to learn, for example, that The Four Guys narrowly missed working with Elvis Presley in Las Vegas when “a riff between two entertainment directors squelched the opportunity.”
Then, impressed with the group’s Vegas performances, Ed Sullivan scheduled them for five appearances which, in turn, netted them another major-label recording contract. The network TV appearances were not to be and the recording contract sparked by the bookings on "the really big shoe" fizzled when, after 22 years on the air, Sullivan’s show was canceled.
Then, due to a misunderstanding, United Artists Records’ head honcho Scotty Turner failed to get The Four Guys to record Yesterday When I Was Young, giving Roy Clark the signature song.
Rich Garratt wrote a “Streakin’” song for The Four Guys, only to be usurped by Ray Stevens, who also knewsa little bit about the latest fad’s potential to spawn a nationwide novelty hit.
But there was always enough success to keep the group thriving when it was not otherwise touring with Charley Pride, winning awards, performing as one of Opryland Park’s most popular draws, or operating its Four Guys Harmony House nightspot.
And perhaps the biggest testament to The Four Guys' achievements is that when group members left- whether they quit or were fired- those with the most longevity seemed to find a way back. (Others, like Dave Rowland, seemed to have brought to the Four Guys the same instability that later characterized Dave & Sugar.)
As Sam tells the story, The Four Guys had a good run, the group’s retirement playing out a little differently than what was reported at the time. The retirement story is one of many stories not listed here found in Wellington's second book
And, on the subject of seconds, a suggestion for the second printing: An index, please.
Also, Sam might want to rethink his characterization of Deana Carter as a “country music personality” (though Carter’s private life may have overshadowed her music) and assessment of Damita Jo. (Am I wrong to question the Wellington’s description of Damita Jo as “an American Bandstand favorite?”)
Further, LaWayne Satterfield doubtlessly would appreciate her name appearing as it was given her, while I'm guessing that Billie Jo Spears, Ronny Robbins and Charlie Chase, flattered to see their names in print, would prefer to see the correct spelling of their names.
