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The Story of Interscope Records (Hip-Hop Hitmakers)
by Diane BaileyHip-hop started on the streets of New York with African American youths in the 1970s. But with its strong beats and raw lyrics, it quickly spread across the country. It became the music of a generation of young Americans. But hip-hop is more than just music. It's a lifestyle. It's also big business. When Interscope Records was formed in 1990, the company's founders saw an opportunity. Young people loved the energy of hip-hop. Interscope gave rappers like Eminem and 50 Cent their start--and it paid off. Today, Interscope is a multimillion-dollar company that handles all kinds of music. There were setbacks on the way to success. But whether it was Lady Gaga or the Black Eyed Peas, Interscope always managed to find a star!
The Story of Mosley Music Group (Hip-Hop Hitmakers)
by Emma KowalskiSince the mid-1990s, Tim Mosley--better known as Timbaland--has been one of the most in-demand and critically respected producers in the music industry. His credits include numerous hits in hip-hop, as well as dance, R&B, pop, and rock. But that isn't the only contribution Timbaland has made to the music scene. In 2006, he became the CEO of his own record label, Mosley Music Group. Open to all kinds of acts, the label is part of, and distributed by, Interscope Records. Mosley Music Group has released several star-studded albums. The label has given new creative outlets to experienced artists like Nelly Furtado and Chris Cornell, and helped launch the careers of artists like OneRepublic, Keri Hilson, D.O.E., and MC Hayes. This book profiles all of Mosley Music Group's past and present artists and their releases, as well as the fascinating story of Timbaland's long and influential career.
The Story of Music: From Babylon to the Beatles: How Music Has Shaped Civilization
by Howard GoodallMusic is an intrinsic part of everyday life, and yet the history of its development from single notes to multi-layered orchestration can seem bewilderingly complex.In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop, Howard Goodall leads us through the story of music as it happened, idea by idea, so that each musical innovation--harmony, notation, sung theater, the orchestra, dance music, recording--strikes us with its original force. Along the way, he also gives refreshingly clear descriptions of what music is and how it works: what scales are all about, why some chords sound discordant, and what all post-war pop songs have in common.The story of music is the story of our urge to invent, connect, rebel--and entertain. Goodall's beautifully clear and compelling account is both a hymn to human endeavor and a groundbreaking map of our musical journey.
The Story of Music
by Howard GoodallWhy did prehistoric people start making music? What does every postwar pop song have in common? A &“masterful&” tour of music through the ages (Booklist, starred review). Music is an intrinsic part of everyday life, and yet the history of its development from single notes to multi-layered orchestration can seem bewilderingly specialized and complex. In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop, Howard Goodall does away with stuffy biographies, unhelpful labels, and tired terminology. Instead, he leads us through the story of music as it happened, idea by idea, so that each musical innovation—harmony, notation, sung theater, the orchestra, dance music, recording, broadcasting—strikes us with its original force. He focuses on what changed when and why, picking out the discoveries that revolutionized man-made sound and bringing to life musical visionaries from the little-known Pérotin to the colossus of Wagner. Along the way, he also gives refreshingly clear descriptions of what music is and how it works: what scales are all about, why some chords sound discordant, and what all post-war pop songs have in common. The story of music is the story of our urge to invent, connect, rebel—and entertain. Howard Goodall's beautifully clear and compelling account is both a hymn to human endeavor and a groundbreaking map of our musical journey.
The Story of No Limit Records (Hip-Hop Hitmakers)
by Jim WhitingPercy "Master P." Miller came out of one of the toughest slums in New Orleans to found No Limit Records in Richmond, California, on a shoestring budget in 1991. Master P sold his first releases out of the trunk of his car, but he always believed in himself. Thanks to his hard work, within a few years No Limit was one of the most successful hip-hop record labels in the country and Master P was a multi-millionaire. Master P couldn't maintain this level of success, however, and in 2003 the label went bankrupt. Master P began a new label and kept going. In recent years, he has attempted to change the focus of his music to make it more positive, and started Take a Stand Records for that purpose. Now calling himself P. Miller, the rapper/entrepreneur remains active in the music business and also works to help others.
The Story of NOW That's What I Call Music in 100 Artists
by Michael MulliganEveryone remembers their first NOW album. Since NOW That's What I Call Music Volume 1 was released in 1983 on double vinyl and double cassette, NOW has become synonymous with pop music and has featured some of the most iconic artists of the last three decades. To celebrate the release of the 100th NOW album, The Story of NOW That's What I Call Music in 100 Artists looks back at some of the most memorable - and occasionally regrettable - hits of the last 35 years! Jam packed with amazing facts and 'Well I never!' moments about the 4,000+ artists to have graced the NOW track listings - from Phil Collins to Pharrell, Bananarama to Lady Gaga and Peter Andre to Pet Shop Boys - The Story of NOW is a celebration of pop music through the decades. So plug in your earphones and pump up the volume, because this party is just getting started!
The Story of Roc-A-Fella Records (Hip-Hop Hitmakers)
by Emma KowalskiWhen Shawn Carter, an aspiring rapper with the stage name Jay-Z, couldn't get his career off the ground at a major record label, he didn't get discouraged. He and his partners Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke created a hip-hop label of their own. They named the label Roc-A-Fella Records. Originally intended as a one-time project to release Jay-Z's full-length debut album, Reasonable Doubt, Roc-A-Fella Records expanded into a true hip-hop powerhouse. Roc-A-Fella Records has introduced listeners to the unique talents of artists like Kanye West, the Young Gunz, and the State Property crew. Other artists, such as Jadakiss and the O.D.B., have received another chance to kick-start their careers. This book describes the musical contributions of Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Roc-A-Fella's other past and present artists, as well as the record label's complex behind-the-scenes history.
The Story of Selena Quintanilla: An Inspiring Biography for Young Readers (The Story of Biographies)
by Gloria ArjonaDiscover the life Selena Quintanilla—a story about breaking down barriers in music, for kids ages 6 to 9Selena Quintanilla was the queen of Tejano music. Before she became a star, Selena was a charismatic young girl who loved singing and performing. She made a lot of sacrifices to become a famous musician, rehearsing her songs and dance moves for hours at a time. Her hard work paid off—she became the first 15-year-old girl to win a Tejano music award and went on to break many records during her career. Explore how she went from being a talented girl growing up in Texas to a fashion icon and a world-famous singer.Independent reading—This Selena biography is broken down into short chapters and simple language so kids 6 to 9 can read and learn on their own.Critical thinking—Kids will learn the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of Selena's life, find definitions of new words, discussion questions, and more. A lasting legacy—Kids will find out how Selena changed the world of music and why she continues to be a role model for many women and people of color around the globe.How will Selena's big spirit and passion for music inspire the child in your life?Discover activists, artists, athletes, and more from across history with the rest of the Story Of series, including famous figures like: Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo, Helen Keller, and Jane Goodall.
The Story of So So Def Recordings (Hip-Hop Hitmakers)
by Rich MintzerDuring the early 1990s, successful music producer Jermaine Dupri started So So Def Records. The Atlanta-based label began at a time when Southern hip-hop music was just beginning to get a lot of attention. Dupri signed distribution deals with much-larger record companies like Columbia and Arista. This allowed him to focus on what he did best: finding talented unknown artists and producing hit music. Some of So So Def's biggest stars included Da Brat, Lil Bow Wow, and Jagged Edge. Today So So Def Records is completely independent, and Jermaine Dupri is working hard to introduce a new generation of hip-hop stars.
The Story of Stevie Wonder
by James HaskinsA biography of the blind composer, pianist, and singer who was a child prodigy and went on to win nine Grammy awards.<P><P>Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
The Story of Taylor Swift: An Inspiring Biography for Young Readers (The Story of Biographies)
by Rachelle BurkDiscover the life of Taylor Swift—a story about the power of words and being yourself for kids ages 6 to 9Taylor Swift is one of the most famous musical artists in the world! Before she became a big star, she was a little girl who loved country music and writing stories. Explore how she went from growing up on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania to being an international role model and the youngest person ever to win the Entertainer of the Year award.Independent reading—This Taylor Swift biography for kids is broken down into short chapters and simple language so young readers 6 to 9 can learn on their own.Critical thinking—Kids will learn the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of Taylor's life, and find definitions of new words, discussion questions, and more.A lasting legacy—Find out how Taylor's kindness, ambition, and talent for storytelling have made her an incredible figure in music and pop culture.How will Taylor's creativity and dedication inspire you?Discover activists, artists, athletes, and more from across history with the rest of The Story Of series, including famous figures like: Simone Biles, Jane Goodall, Ella Fitzgerald, Audrey Hepburn, and Frida Kahlo.
The Story of the B-52s: Neon Side of Town
by Scott Creney Brigette Adair HerronThe Story of the B-52s: Neon Side of Town is the first critical history of one of the most legendary and influential bands in American popular music. Locating The B-52s in the intellectual climate of their hometown of Athens, GA and following the band from New York’s downtown scene in the early 1980s to their upcoming farewell tour, the book argues that The B-52s are much more significant political and musical influences on American society than their reputation as a silly party band suggests, and that their ongoing commitment to values including cooperation, mutual support, and using disruptive fun as a form of social change are an antidote to the neoliberalization sweeping both Athens and the rest of the Western world. For example, the book shows how the band synthesized influences from the modern artists displayed at the University of Georgia art museum, early queer activism on campus in the 1970s, and their experiences as queer people living through the AIDS crisis to create music that continues to be artistically and politically influential today. The authors are active members of the Athens, GA music scene, and the book includes original interviews with a range of number close to the band.
The Story of The Bee Gees: Children of the World
by Bob StanleyA dazzling biography of one of the bestselling bands of all time, told with brilliant insight by renowned pop music scholar Bob Stanley.The world is full of Bee Gees fans. Yet for a band of such renown, little is known about Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb. People tend to have their favorite era of the Bee Gees's career, but many listeners are also conscious that there is more to uncover about the band. This book will provide the perfect solution, by pulling together every fascinating strand to tell the story of a group with the imagination of the Beatles, the pop craft of ABBA, the drama of Fleetwood Mac, and the emotional heft of the Beach Boys. Uniquely, the Bee Gees's tale spans the entire modern pop era—they are the only group to have scored British top-ten singles in the '60s, '70s, '80s, and &‘90s—and includes world-conquering disco successes like 'Stayin' Alive' and 'More Than a Woman', both from the soundtrack of the hit film Saturday Night Fever. But the Bee Gees's extraordinary career was one of highs and lows. From a vicious but temporary split in 1969 to several unreleased albums, disastrous TV and film appearances, and a demoralising cabaret season, the group weren't always revelling in the glow of million-selling albums, private jets, and UNICEF concerts. Yet, even in the Gibbs' darkest times, their music was rarely out of the charts, as sung by the likes of Al Green, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, and Destiny's Child. Capturing the human story at the heart of the Bee Gees, this book is a lyrical and stylish read, delighting hardcore fans with its details while engaging casual pop readers who simply want to know more about this important and enigmatic group.
The Story of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band
by H. O. BrunnIt was the five young men who called themselves The Original Dixieland Jazz Band who raised jazz from being a curious, local, and peculiarly Negro phenomenon into the greatest popular artform in history. In 1916 they swept Chicago off its feet. In 1917 they took New York by storm. For the first time jazz became fashionable. People crowded into Reisenwehr’s Restaurant where they played. They were in constant demand for shows and charity performances. They accompanied Sophie Tucker and appeared on the same bill as Caruso.In March 1917 they made the first jazz record and their fame flew across the whole continent. The record was the biggest seller in the R.C.A. catalogue, passing the magic million and easily outstripping the records of Caruso and Sousa’s Band which were the current popular idols.But, not content with America as their platform, they also became the first group to export the new music. And London, too, was caught up in the exciting rhythm and wild, savage, haunting gaiety of jazz. For more than a year they played to packed houses. They gave a command performance for King George V. They were the sensation of the Victory Ball to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.When the band broke up for the first time in 1924, partly torn by inner dissension, partly frustrated by the wave of indignation against the frenzied enthusiasm of their supporters (in 1922 jazz was banned after midnight in New York City), they had firmly established themselves as the top entertainment group in the United States, and they had blazed a trail to success which all could follow. They had proved that jazz was not merely a folk-music which could only be appreciated by Negroes, but the expression, in a particularly exhilarating form, of something which was an essential part of human nature.“Here at last is the book that tells the truth about how jazz music really began.”—THE GRAMOPHONE -
The Story of the Saxophone
by Lesa Cline-RansomeBrassy, smokey, melodious. There's nothing like the saxophone. This incredible work from the award-winners behind Before She was Harriet includes a poster of jazz music's greatest talents.You may think that the story of the saxophone begins with Dexter Gordon or Charlie Parker, or on a street corner in New Orleans. It really began in 1840 in Belgium with a young daydreamer named Joseph-Antoine Adolphe Sax—a boy with bad luck but great ideas.Coretta Scott King Honoree Lesa Cline-Ransome unravels the fascinating history of how Adolphe's once reviled instrument was transported across Europe and Mexico to New Orleans. Follow the saxophone's journey from Adolphe's imagination to the pawn shop window where it caught the eye of musician Sidney Bechet and became the iconic symbol of jazz music it is today. Deflty retold, this history is paired with the gorgeous artwork of James E. Ransome, including an attention-grabbing poster of iconic jazz musicians you can find inside the jacket.A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
by Dave GrohlSo, I&’ve written a book. Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities (&‘It&’s a piece of cake! Just do four hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!&’), I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I&’ve recorded and can&’t wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child. This certainly doesn&’t mean that I&’m quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it&’s like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
by Dave GrohlSo, I've written a book. <p><p> Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities ("It's a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!") I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I've recorded and can't wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child. <p><p> This certainly doesn't mean that I'm quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it's like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
Storyteller Guitar
by Doug LarsonEvery object around us contains the history of all the people and places that brought it here. But rarely is that history explored. In this book, instead of breaking an object apart to reveal those stories, they are told by building the object a guitar named Storyteller from scratch. The text and illustrations reveal the rich lives of the people, places, and projects that breathed life into it. The stories range from people who were pioneers in landscape restoration to those involved with automobile manufacturing. The places include the high arctic, tropical forests, and vertical cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment. The projects include stage plays, laser physics and the establishment of the first Canadian diamond mines. By bringing together these disparate stories in one musical instrument the book makes the argument that art, science, and history are part of everybody’s life.
Storytelling in Jazz and Musicality in Theatre: Through the Mirror
by Sven BjerstedtArt forms tend to mirror themselves in each other. In order to understand literature and fine arts better, we often turn to music, speaking of the ‘tone’ in a book and of the ‘rhythm’ in a painting. In attempts to understand music better, we turn instead to the narrative arts, speaking of the ‘story’ of a musical piece. This book focuses on two examples of such conceptual mirror reflexivity: narrativity in jazz music and musicality in spoken theatre. These intermedial metaphors are shown to be significant to the practice and reflection of performing artists through their ability to mediate holistic views of what is considered to be of crucial importance in artistic practice, analysis, and education. This exploration opens up possibilities for new theoretical and practical insights with regard to how the borderland between temporal art forms can be conceptualized. The book will be of interest not only to scholars of music and theatre, but also to those who work in the fields of aesthetics, intermedial studies, cognitive linguistics, arts theory, communication theory, and cultural studies.
Storytelling in Opera and Musical Theater (Musical Meaning and Interpretation)
by Nina PennerStorytelling in Opera and Musical Theater is the first systematic exploration of how sung forms of drama tell stories. Through examples from opera's origins to contemporary musicals, Nina Penner examines the roles of character-narrators and how they differ from those in literary and cinematic works, how music can orient spectators to characters' points of view, how being privy to characters' inner thoughts and feelings may evoke feelings of sympathy or empathy, and how performers' choices affect not only who is telling the story but what story is being told. Unique about Penner's approach is her engagement with current work in analytic philosophy. Her study reveals not only the resources this philosophical tradition can bring to musicology but those which musicology can bring to philosophy, challenging and refining accounts of narrative, point of view, and the work-performance relationship within both disciplines. She also considers practical problems singers and directors confront on a daily basis, such as what to do about Wagner's Jewish caricatures and the racism of Orientalist operas. More generally, Penner reflects on how centuries-old works remain meaningful to contemporary audiences and have the power to attract new, more diverse audiences to opera and musical theater. By exploring how practitioners past and present have addressed these issues, Storytelling in Opera and Musical Theater offers suggestions for how opera and musical theater can continue to entertain and enrich the lives of 21st-century audiences.
Storytelling in Siberia: The Olonkho Epic in a Changing World
by Robin P HarrisOlonkho , the epic narrative and song tradition of Siberia 's Sakha people, declined to the brink of extinction during the Soviet era. In 2005, UNESCO 's Masterpiece Proclamation sparked a resurgence of interest in olonkho by recognizing its important role in humanity 's oral and intangible heritage. Drawing on her ten years living in the Russian North, Robin P. Harris documents how the Sakha have used the Masterpiece program to revive olonkho and strengthen their cultural identity. Harris 's personal relationships with and primary research among Sakha people provide vivid insights into understanding olonkho and the attenuation, revitalization, transformation, and sustainability of the Sakha 's cultural reemergence. Interdisciplinary in scope, Storytelling in Siberia considers the nature of folklore alongside ethnomusicology, anthropology, comparative literature, and cultural studies to shed light on how marginalized peoples are revitalizing their own intangible cultural heritage.
Storytime in India: Wedding Songs, Victorian Tales, and the Ethnographic Experience
by Helen Priscilla Myers Umesh Chandra PandeyStories are the backbone of ethnographic research. During fieldwork, subjects describe their lives through stories. Afterward ethnographers come home from their journeys with stories of their own about their experiences in the field. Storytime in India is an exploration of the stories that come out of ethnographic fieldwork. Helen Priscilla Myers and Umesh Chandra Pandey examine the ways in which their research collecting Bhojpuri wedding songs became interwoven with the stories of their lives, their work together, and their shared experience reading The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope. Moving through these intertwined stories, the reader learns about the complete Bhojpuri wedding tradition through songs sung by Gangajali and access to the original song recordings and their translations. In the interludes, Pandey reads and interprets The Eustace Diamonds, confronting the reader with the ever-present influence of colonialism, both in India and in ethnographic fieldwork. Interwoven throughout are stories of the everyday, highlighting the ups and downs of the ethnographic experience. Storytime in India combines the style of the Victorian novel with the structure of traditional Indian village tales, in which stories are told within stories. This book questions how we can and should present ethnography as well as what we really learn in the field. As Myers and Pandey ultimately conclude, writers of scholarly books are storytellers themselves and scholarly books are a form of art, just like the traditions they study.
Stradivari's Genius
by Toby Faber"'Tis God gives skill, but not without men's hands: He could not make Antonio Stradivari's violins without Antonio."-George EliotAntonio Stradivari (1644--1737) was a perfectionist whose single-minded pursuit of excellence changed the world of music. In the course of his long career in the northern Italian city of Cremona, he created more than a thousand stringed instruments; approximately six hundred survive. In this fascinating book, Toby Faber traces the rich, multilayered stories of six of these peerless instruments-five violins and a cello-and the one towering artist who brought them into being.Blending history, biography, meticulous detective work, and an abiding passion for music, Faber embarks on an absorbing journey as he follows some of the most prized instruments of all time. Mysteries and unanswered questions proliferate from the outset-starting with the enigma of Antonio Stradivari himself. What made this apparently unsophisticated craftsman so special? Why were his techniques not maintained by his successors? How is it that even two and a half centuries after his death, no one has succeeded in matching the purity, depth, and delicacy of a Stradivarius?In Faber's illuminating narrative, each of the six fabled instruments becomes a character in its own right-a living entity cherished by artists, bought and sold by princes and plutocrats, coveted, collected, hidden, lost, copied, and occasionally played by a musician whose skill matches its maker's.Here is the fabulous Viotti, named for the virtuoso who enchanted all Paris in the 1780s, only to fall foul of the French Revolution. Paganini supposedly made a pact with the devil to transform the art of the violin-and by the end of his life he owned eleven Strads. Then there's the Davidov cello, fashioned in 1712 and lovingly handed down through a succession of celebrated artists until, in the 1980s, it passed into the capable hands of Yo-Yo Ma. From the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York, from the breakthroughs of Beethoven's last quartets to the first phonographic recordings, Faber unfolds a narrative magnificent in its range and brilliant in its detail. "A great violin is alive," said Yehudi Menuhin of his own Stradivarius. In the pages of this book, Faber invites us to share the life, the passion, the intrigue, and the incomparable beauty of the world's most marvelous stringed instruments.From the Hardcover edition.
Straight from the Heart: BONNIE TYLER'S LONG-AWAITED AUTOBIOGRAPHY
by Bonnie TylerThe candid and heartfelt memoir of vocal powerhouse Bonnie TylerWe all know the name, and we all know that voice, but what the world doesn't know is how Bonnie Tyler came to be the vocal powerhouse that took the music industry by storm. Now, after nearly 50 years in the limelight, Bonnie will lift the lid on her private life: her 50-year marriage, health, family, friendships, and fallouts with the world's biggest stars. Bonnie's is a fascinating, whirlwind of a life, and here, for the first time, she tells the whole story with no filter. The Welsh 80s pop legend tells her story of humble start in a small mining town in South Wales where she lived with her large, loving and eclectically musical family. From singing in church, her incredible voice surprising the congregation, to performing in pubs, to becoming a global icon and national treasure, throughout her successful career she has remained true to herself and her beginnings. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Total Eclipse of the Heart, one of the most famous power ballads of all time. Now as Bonnie approaches 50 years in the business she continues to move with the times, releasing new music and constantly touring the world.A happy childhood of music and freedom is conjured up here, along with the trickier side to being a woman in the music industry in the 1980s. Bonnie will speak with her characteristic no-nonsense humour and candour to create an inspiring and entertaining story of success, longevity and staying true to your roots.(P)2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Straight from the Heart: BONNIE TYLER'S LONG-AWAITED AUTOBIOGRAPHY
by Bonnie TylerYou know the name and you can't mistake the voice. Now you can read the incredible story of how a shy, music-loving teenager called Gaynor Hopkins morphed into legendary international superstar Bonnie Tyler and carved out an extraordinary career that is still going strong to this day.After five decades in the business - during which time she has recorded some of the most iconic songs of all time, travelled the world and performed for royalty and the Pope - Bonnie is sharing her fascinating journey for the first time. And she's not holding back. From her early days growing up in a tiny mining village in South Wales, to her career as a club singer that led to her accidental discovery by a talent scout, the Top of the Pops devotee had no idea she would one day grace the infamous illuminated stage alongside some of her biggest idols. Her rise to fame would sound like a fairy tale if it wasn't all true.Bonnie has always determinedly followed her own path, even when sceptical music execs told her she would fail. Her bravery led to her working with the legendary producer and songwriter Jim Steinman, going on to record the classic power ballads 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and 'Holding Out for a Hero', as well as duetting with some of the best-known names in the business. She is undoubtedly one of the biggest vocal powerhouses of her generation, but her roots remain firmly in her beloved Wales. She is resolutely down to earth, funny and endlessly charming. Whether she's talking about the family she adores or sharing hilarious anecdotes from her many years in the spotlight, Bonnie never fails to entertain.Finally, we get to hear the amazing tale of a woman who has led the way for so many other female artists - and has had a bloody great time doing it. Bonnie's much-anticipated memoir is inspirational, moving and straight from the heart.