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Fela: Kalakuta Notes (Music/Interview)
by John Collins Banning EyreFela: Kalakuta Notes is an evocative account of Fela Kuti--the Afrobeat superstar who took African music into the arena of direct action. With his antiestablishment songs, he dedicated himself to Pan-Africanism and the down-trodden Nigerian masses, or "sufferheads." In the 1970s, the British/Ghanaian musician and author John Collins met and worked with Fela in Ghana and Nigeria. Kalakuta Notes includes a diary that Collins kept in 1977 when he acted in Fela's autobiographical film, Black President. The book offers revealing interviews with Fela by the author, as well as with band members, friends, and colleagues. For this second edition, Collins has expanded the original introduction by providing needed context for popular music in Africa in the 1960s and the influences on the artist's music and politics. In a new concluding chapter, Collins reflects on the legacy of Fela: the spread of Afrobeat, Fela's musical children, Fela's Shrine and Kalakuta House, and the annual Felabration. As the dust settles over Fela's fiery, creative, and controversial career, his Afrobeat groove and political message live on in Kalakuta Notes. Features a new foreword by Banning Eyre, an up-to-date discography by Ronnie Graham, a timeline, historical photographs, and snapshots by the author.
Fela: This Bitch of a Life
by Carlos Moore Gilberto Gil Margaret BusbyRevealing the hidden facts of this African superstar's complex personality and the truth about his tumultuous existence, this unique biography is based on hours of conversation and close interaction with the legend himself. The full spectrum of Fela's experience is here: the spirits and trances, the paranoia and drugs, the queens (as he called his wives), and always the music. Interviews with 15 queens, providing their personal stories in their own words, contribute to this amazing story of Fela's life and music. As the creator of Afrobeat--the vibrant fusion of jazz, funk, highlife, and Yoruban music--he protested with lyrics that dealt provocatively with everything from sex to politics, always challenging neocolonialism and the ruling elite. Painting him as an advocate of black power, human rights, and pan-Africanism, this book reveals how Fela shocked, disturbed, and inspired the masses.
Felice Giardini and Professional Music Culture in Mid-Eighteenth-Century London (Royal Musical Association Monographs)
by Cheryll DuncanFelice Giardini and Professional Music Culture in Mid-Eighteenth-Century London explores Giardini’s influence on British musical life through his multifaceted career as performer, teacher, composer, concert promoter and opera impresario. The crux of the study is a detailed account of Giardini’s partnership with the music seller/publisher John Cox during the 1750s, presented using new biographical information which contextualizes their business dealings and subsequent disaccord. The resulting litigation, the details of which have only recently come to light, is explored here via a complex set of archival materials. The findings offer new information about the economics of professional music culture at the time, including detailed figures for performers’ fees, the printing and binding of music scores, the charges arising from the administration of concerts and operas, the sale, hire and repair of various instruments and the cost of what today we would call intellectual property rights. This is a fascinating study for musicologists and followers of Giardini, as well as for readers with an interest in classical music, social history and legal history.
Felix and the Monsters
by Josh Holtsclaw Monica HoltsclawA lonely guard and his beloved keytar headline this timely, humorous look at the walls we create, what they mean, and why they might need to come down.Felix's job is to help guard the wall that protects everyone from the horrible monsters on the other side. But it's a boring job--nothing ever happens at the wall, so he spends his time dreaming of playing his keytar in a band. One day, Felix hears music coming from the other side of the wall, and sets out to investigate. What he discovers will knock some sense into him and show him and the other guards a better way to deal with the unknown. Let the music begin!
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: A Research and Information Guide (Routledge Music Bibliographies)
by John Michael Cooper Angela R. MaceFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: A Research and Information Guide is a valuable tool for any scholar, performer, or music student interested in accessing the most pertinent resources on the life, works, and cultural context of the composer. It is an updated, annotated bibliography of resources on the biographical, musical, and religious aspects of Mendelssohn's life.
Fell in Love with a Band: The Story of the White Stripes
by Chris HandysideWith only two members and no bass player the White Stripes certainly seemed like the ultimate makeshift band. So how is it that this enigmatic couple—who publicize themselves as brother and sister though official documents say they're ex-husband-and-wife—became a multi-platinum musical sensation? From their early days as the darlings of Detroit rock scene to their current status as MTV celebs, they've defied expectations every step of the way. How did it happen that the simple idea of staying true to a lo-fi, blues-based sound became a revolutionary idea in the age digital conformity and complex studio production? Fell in Love with a Band: The Story of the White Stripes is the first biography by a Detroit journalist who has followed their career since the group's inception in 1997. From Meg White's novice attempts at banging the drums to their current incarnation as the face of indie rock. With never before seen photos and exclusive interviews with members of Detroit bands like Blanche and The Von Bondies, Fell in Love with a Band gets to the heart of this enigmatic rock band and for the first time tells the real story of their rise to fame and the power behind their sound.
Female Composers, Conductors, Performers: Musiciennes of Interwar France, 1919-1939
by Laura HamerDrawing upon extensive archival research, interview material, and musical analysis, Female Composers, Conductors, Performers: Musiciennes of Interwar France, 1919–1939 presents an innovative study of women working as professional musicians in France between the two World Wars. Hamer positions the activities, achievements, and reception of women composers, conductors, and performers against a contemporary socio-political climate that was largely hostile to female professionalism. The musical styles and techniques of Marguerite Canal, Jeanne Leleu, Germaine Tailleferre, Yvonne Desportes, Elsa Barraine, and Claude Arrieu are discussed with reference to significant works dating from the interwar period. Hamer highlights the activities of Jane Evrard and her Orchestre féminin de Paris as well as the reception of the Orchestra of the Union des Femmes Professeurs et Compositeurs de Musique, a contemporary pro-suffrage organisation that was dedicated to defending the collective interests of musiciennes and campaigning for their employment rights. Beyond women composers and conductors, Hamer also sheds light on female performers and their contribution to the interwar early music revival.
Female Singers on the French Stage, 1830–1848 (Cambridge Studies in Opera)
by Kimberly WhiteThe study of singers' art has emerged as a prominent area of inquiry within musicology in recent years. Female Singers on the French Stage, 1830–1848 shifts the focus from the artwork onstage to the labour that went on behind the scenes. Through extensive analysis of primary source documents, Kimberly White explores the profession of singing, operatic culture, and the representation of female performers on the French stage between 1830 and 1848, and reveals new perspectives on the social, economic, and cultural status of these women. The book attempts to reconstruct and clarify contemporary practices of the singer at work, including vocal training, débuts, rehearsals and performance schedules, touring, benefit concerts, and retirement, as well as the strategies utilized in publicity and image making. Dozens of case studies, many compiled from singers' correspondence and archival papers, shed light on the performers' successes and struggles at a time when Paris was the operatic centre of Europe.
The Female Voice in Sufi Ritual: Devotional Practices of Pakistan and India
by Abbas Shemeem BurneyThe female voice plays a more central role in Sufi ritual, especially in the singing of devotional poetry, than in almost any other area of Muslim culture. This research clarifies why the female voice is so important in Sufi practice and underscores the many contributions of women to Sufism and its rituals.
The Female Voice in the Twentieth Century: Material, Symbolic and Aesthetic Dimensions (Musical Cultures of the Twentieth Century)
by Serena Facci and Michela GardaBy integrating theoretical approaches to the female voice with the musicological investigation of female singers’ practices, the contributors to this volume offer fresh viewpoints on the material, symbolic and cultural aspects of the female voice in the twentieth century. Various styles and genres are covered, including Western art music, experimental composition, popular music, urban folk and jazz. The volume offers a substantial and innovative appraisal of the role of the female voice from the perspective of twentieth-century performance practices, the centrality of female singers’ experimentations and extended vocal techniques along with the process of the ‘subjectivisation’ of the voice.
Female Voices from an Ewe Dance-drumming Community in Ghana: Our Music Has Become a Divine Spirit (Soas Studies In Music Ser.)
by James BurnsEwe dance-drumming has been extensively studied throughout the history of ethnomusicology, but up to now there has not been a single study that addresses Ewe female musicians. James Burns redresses this deficiency through a detailed ethnography of a group of female musicians from the Dzigbordi community dance-drumming club from the rural town of Dzodze, located in South-Eastern Ghana. Dzigbordi was specifically chosen because of the author's long association with the group members, and because it is part of a genre known as adekede, or female songs of redress, where women musicians critique gender relations in society. Burns uses audio and video interviews, recordings of rehearsals and performances and detailed collaborative analyses of song texts, dance routines and performance practice to address important methodological shifts in ethnomusicology that outline a more humanistic perspective of music cultures. This perspective encompasses the inter-linkages between history, social processes and individual creative artists. The voices of Dzigbordi women provide us not only with a more complete picture of Ewe music-making, they further allow us to better understand the relationship between culture, social life and individual creativity. The book will therefore appeal to those interested in African Studies, Gender Studies and Oral Literature, as well as ethnomusicology. Includes a DVD documentary.
A Feminist Ethnomusicology: Writings on Music and Gender
by Ellen Koskoff Suzanne CusickOne of the pioneers of gender studies in music, Ellen Koskoff edited the foundational text Women and Music in Cross Cultural Perspective, and her career evolved in tandem with the emergence and development of the field. In this intellectual memoir, Koskoff describes her journey through the maze of social history and scholarship related to her work examining the intersection of music and gender. Koskoff collects new, revised, and hard-to-find published material from mid-1970s through 2010 to trace the evolution of ethnomusicological thinking about women, gender, and music, offering a perspective of how questions emerged and changed in those years, as well as Koskoff's reassessment of the early years and development of the field. Her goal: a personal map of the different paths to understanding she took over the decades, and how each inspired, informed, and clarified her scholarship. For example, Koskoff shows how a preference for face-to-face interactions with living people served her best in her research, and how her now-classic work within Brooklyn's Hasidic community inflamed her feminist consciousness while leading her into ethnomusicological studies. An uncommon merging of retrospective and rumination, A Feminist Ethnomusicology: Writings on Music and Gender offers a witty and disarmingly frank tour through the formative decades of the field and will be of interest to ethnomusicologists, anthropologists, scholars of the history and development of feminist thought, and those engaged in fieldwork. Includes a foreword by Suzanne Cusick framing Koskoff's career and an extensive bibliography provided by the author.
The Fender Stratocaster: The Life and Times of the World's Greatest Guitar and Its Players
by Dave HunterA history of the iconic guitar from its creation through its numerous variations to the twenty-first century, with profiles of some of its greatest players.The Fender Stratocaster just may be the ultimate guitar. Curvaceous and stylish. Anatomically perfect for playing. Three pickups and a whammy bar. Tone to die for. And somewhere along the way, it changed the world of music.In the hands of players from Eldon Shamblin to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ike Turner to Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy to Eric Clapton, the Stratocaster has been central to country, blues, punk, rock ‘n’ roll, even jazz.Here is the complete story of this legendary guitar. Packed with more than seven hundred photos and memorabilia, plus profiles of the great Strat players, this book is the perfect tribute to the Stratocaster.Dig in and feel the music.
Ferruccio Busoni and His Legacy
by Erinn E. KnytAn analysis of the composer’s unconventional teaching style and philosophy, his relationship with his students, and his effect on twentieth century music.Many students of renowned composer, conductor, and teacher Ferruccio Busoni had illustrious careers of their own, yet the extent to which their mentor’s influence helped shape their success was largely unexplored until now. Through rich archival research including correspondence, essays, and scores, Erinn E. Knyt presents an evocative account of Busoni’s idiosyncratic pedagogy—focused on aesthetic ideals rather than methodologies or techniques—and how this teaching style and philosophy can be seen and heard in the Nordic-inspired musical works of Sibelius, the unusual soundscapes of Varèse, the polystylistic meldings of music and technology in Louis Gruenberg’s radio operas and film scores, the electronic music of Otto Luening, and the experimentalism of Philip Jarnach. Equal parts critical biography and interpretive analysis, Knyt’s work compels a reconsideration of Busoni’s legacy and puts forth the notion of a “Busoni School” as one that shaped the trajectory of twentieth-century music.“Erinn Knyt’s Ferruccio Busoni and His Legacy is a most welcome addition to the literature on Busoni as a fine example of research based on primary sources.” —Bach
Fertile Ground in Middle Level General Music
by Stephanie CronenbergFertile Ground in Middle Level General Music guides music educators to inspire their middle level students (grades 5–8) to engage more deeply in the general music classroom, where students are given the opportunity to "try on" a range of roles: musician, composer, listener, and critic. The book outlines the Fertile Ground Framework, a teacher's aide for curricular decision-making that unites the middle level concept with the National Core Arts Standards while emphasizing the developmental needs and cultural identities of students. This resource-rich book provides teachers with an array of adaptable classroom support tools, including: Lesson sequences Activity ideas Teacher resources and worksheets "Do-Now" exercises Featuring the real-world perspectives of thirteen music educators, Fertile Ground in Middle Level General Music is both practical and theoretical, presenting methods for creating rich, inspiring learning environments in middle level general music classrooms of all shapes and sizes, and highlighting the unacknowledged strengths that already exist therein. Focused on the aim of motivating students to pursue lifelong music learning, this book helps instructors find joy and excitement in teaching a wide array of musical topics to diverse groups of middle level music students.
Fertile Ground in Middle Level General Music
by Stephanie CronenbergFertile Ground in Middle Level General Music guides music educators to inspire their middle level students (grades 5–8) to engage more deeply in the general music classroom, where students are given the opportunity to "try on" a range of roles: musician, composer, listener, and critic. The book outlines the Fertile Ground Framework, a teacher's aide for curricular decision-making that unites the middle level concept with the National Core Arts Standards while emphasizing the developmental needs and cultural identities of students. This resource-rich book provides teachers with an array of adaptable classroom support tools, including: Lesson sequences Activity ideas Teacher resources and worksheets "Do-Now" exercises Featuring the real-world perspectives of thirteen music educators, Fertile Ground in Middle Level General Music is both practical and theoretical, presenting methods for creating rich, inspiring learning environments in middle level general music classrooms of all shapes and sizes, and highlighting the unacknowledged strengths that already exist therein. Focused on the aim of motivating students to pursue lifelong music learning, this book helps instructors find joy and excitement in teaching a wide array of musical topics to diverse groups of middle level music students.
Fever: The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee
by Peter RichmondThe first major biography of the legendary singer—an enthralling accountof a charismatic artist moving through the greatest, most glamorous era of American music "I learned courage from Buddha, Jesus, Lincoln, and Mr. Cary Grant." So said Peggy Lee, the North Dakota girl who sang like she'd just stepped out of Harlem. Einstein adored her; Duke Ellington dubbed her "the Queen." With her platinum cool and inimitable whisper she sold twenty million records, made more money than Mickey Mantle, and along with pals Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby presided over music's greatest generation. Yet beneath the diamonds she was still Norma Delores Egstrom, insecure and always looking for acceptance. Drawing on exclusive interviews and new information, Peter Richmond delivers a complex, compelling portrait of an artist and an era that begins with a girl plagued by loss, her father's alcoholism, and her stepmother's abuse. One day she gets on a train hoping her music will lead her someplace better. It does—to a new town and a new name; to cities and clubs where a gallery of brilliant innovators are ushering in a brand-new beat; to four marriages, a daughter, Broadway, Vegas, and finally Hollywood. Richmond traces how Peggy rose, right along with jazz itself, becoming an unstoppable hit-maker ("Fever," "Mañana," "Is That All There Is?"). We see not only how this unforgettable star changed the rhythms of music, but also how—with her drive to create, compose, and perform—she became an artist whose style influenced k.d. lang, Nora Jones, and Diana Krall. Fever brings the lady alive again—and makes her swing.
Fever: How Rock 'n' Roll Transformed Gender in America
by Tim RileyIn Fever, music critic Tim Riley argues that while political and athletic role models have let us down, rock and roll has provided enduring role models for men and women. From Elvis Presley to Tina Turner to Bruce Springsteen to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, Riley makes a persuasive case that rock and roll, far from the corrosive force that conservative critics make it out to be, has instead been a positive influence in people's lives, laying out gender-defying role models far more enduringly than movies, TV, or "real life."
Fever: Little Willie John's Fast Life, Mysterious Death, and the Birth of Soul
by Susan WhitallLittle Willie John lived for a fleeting 30 years, but his dynamic and daring sound left an indelible mark on the history of music. His deep blues, rollicking rock 'n' roll and swinging ballads inspired a generation of musicians, forming the basis for what we now know as soul music. Born in Arkansas in 1937, William Edward John found his voice in the church halls, rec centers and nightclubs of Detroit, a fertile proving ground that produced the likes of Levi Stubbs and the Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. One voice rose above the rest in those formative years of the 1950s, and Little Willie John went on to have 15 hit singles in the American rhythm & blues chart, with considerable cross-over success in pop. Some of his songs might be best known by their cover versions ("Fever" by Peggy Lee, "Need Your Love So Bad" by Fleetwood Mac and "Leave My Kitten Alone" by The Beatles) but Little Willie John's original recording of these and other songs are widely considered to be definitive, and it is this sound that is credited with ushering in a new age in American music as the 1950s turned into the 60s and rock 'n' roll took its place in popular culture. The soaring heights of Little Willie John's career are matched only by the tragic events of his death, cutting short a life so full of promise. Charged with a violent crime in the late 1960s, an abbreviated trial saw Willie convicted and incarcerated in Walla Walla Washington, where he died under mysterious circumstances in 1968. In this, the first official biography of one of the most important figures in rhythm & blues history, author Susan Whitall, with the help of Little Willie John's eldest son Kevin John, has interviewed some of the biggest names in the music industry and delved into the personal archive of the John family to produce an unprecedented account of the man who invented soul music."Little Willie John is the soul singer's soul singer." - Marvin Gaye. "My mother told me, if you call yourself 'Little' Stevie Wonder you'd better be as good as Little Willie John." - Stevie Wonder "Willie John was one of the most brilliant singers you would ever want to come across, bar none. There are things that were great, there are things that were good. Willie John was past great." - Sam Moore "Little Willie John did not know how to sing wrong, know what I mean?"- Dion "Little Willie John was a soul singer before anyone thought to call it that." -James Brown
A Few Honest Words: The Kentucky Roots of Popular Music
by Jason Howard&“This book&’s combination of interviews and history makes for an entertaining study of the heart of American roots music.&” —Library Journal In industry circles, musicians from Kentucky are known to possess an enviable pedigree—a lineage as prized as the bloodline of any bluegrass-raised Thoroughbred. With native sons and daughters like Naomi and Wynonna Judd, Loretta Lynn, the Everly Brothers, Joan Osborne, and Merle Travis, it&’s no wonder that the state is most often associated with folk, country, and bluegrass music. But Kentucky&’s contribution to American music is much broader: It&’s the rich and resonant cello of Ben Sollee, the velvet crooning of jazz great Helen Humes, and the famed vibraphone of Lionel Hampton. It&’s exemplified by hip-hop artists like the Nappy Roots and indie folk rockers like the Watson Twins. It goes beyond the hallowed mandolin of Bill Monroe and banjo of the Osborne Brothers to encompass the genres of blues, jazz, rock, gospel, and hip-hop.A Few Honest Words explores how Kentucky&’s landscape, culture, and traditions have influenced notable contemporary musicians. Featuring intimate interviews with household names (Naomi Judd, Joan Osborne, and Dwight Yoakam), emerging artists, and local musicians, Jason Howard&’s rich and detailed profiles reveal the importance of the state and the Appalachian region to the creation and performance of music in America. &“Skillfully documents a new era of Kentucky roots music. His book deserves a place in the history of American song.&” —The Courier-Journal
A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman
by Robert Hilburn'Randy Newman is our great master of American song and storytelling' Bruce Springsteen'At last, the biography that Randy Newman has long deserved. The emotional precision, the humour and sweep, the truths and secrets behind his remarkable body of work . . . it's all here in Robert Hilburn's heartfelt and indispensable account of America's finest songwriter. Leave it to Hilburn to pull back the curtain on the incredible life of Newman, a shy genius who clearly trusted him enough to point him in all the right directions. It's more than a great read, it's an invitation to re-visit Randy Newman's work with renewed appreciation for the man who uniquely defined the American Experience just when we needed it most' Cameron CroweRandy Newman is widely hailed as one of America's all-time greatest songwriters, equally skilled in the sophisticated melodies and lyrics of the Gershwin-Porter era and the cultural commentary of his own generation, with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon among his most ardent admirers. While tens of millions around the world can hum 'You've Got a Friend in Me', his disarming centrepiece for Toy Story, most of them would be astonished to learn that the heart of Newman's legacy is in the dozens of brilliant songs that detail the injustices, from racism to class inequality, that have contributed to the division of our nation. Rolling Stone declared that a single Newman song, 'Sail Away', tells us more about America than 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. And yet, his legacy remains largely undocumented in book form - until now.In A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY, veteran music journalist Robert Hilburn presents the definitive portrait of an American legend. Hilburn has known Newman since his club debut at the Troubadour in 1970, and the two have maintained a connection in the decades since, conversing over the course of times good and bad. Though Newman has long refused to talk with potential biographers, he now gives Hilburn unprecedented access not only to himself but also to his archives, as well as his family, friends, and collaborators. Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, John Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Chuck D, James Taylor, and New York Times' Pulitzer-winning columnists, Thomas Friedman and Wesley Morris, among others, contributed to the book. In addition to exploring Newman's prolific career and the evolution of his songwriting, A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY also dives into his childhood and early influences, his musical family that ruled Hollywood movie scores for decades, the relationships that have provided inspiration for his songs, and so much more.As thought-provoking and thorough as it is tender, this book is an overdue tribute to the legendary songwriter whose music has long reflected and challenged the America we know today.
A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman
by Robert Hilburn'Randy Newman is our great master of American song and storytelling' Bruce Springsteen'At last, the biography that Randy Newman has long deserved. The emotional precision, the humour and sweep, the truths and secrets behind his remarkable body of work . . . it's all here in Robert Hilburn's heartfelt and indispensable account of America's finest songwriter. Leave it to Hilburn to pull back the curtain on the incredible life of Newman, a shy genius who clearly trusted him enough to point him in all the right directions. It's more than a great read, it's an invitation to re-visit Randy Newman's work with renewed appreciation for the man who uniquely defined the American Experience just when we needed it most' Cameron CroweRandy Newman is widely hailed as one of America's all-time greatest songwriters, equally skilled in the sophisticated melodies and lyrics of the Gershwin-Porter era and the cultural commentary of his own generation, with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon among his most ardent admirers. While tens of millions around the world can hum 'You've Got a Friend in Me', his disarming centrepiece for Toy Story, most of them would be astonished to learn that the heart of Newman's legacy is in the dozens of brilliant songs that detail the injustices, from racism to class inequality, that have contributed to the division of our nation. Rolling Stone declared that a single Newman song, 'Sail Away', tells us more about America than 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. And yet, his legacy remains largely undocumented in book form - until now.In A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY, veteran music journalist Robert Hilburn presents the definitive portrait of an American legend. Hilburn has known Newman since his club debut at the Troubadour in 1970, and the two have maintained a connection in the decades since, conversing over the course of times good and bad. Though Newman has long refused to talk with potential biographers, he now gives Hilburn unprecedented access not only to himself but also to his archives, as well as his family, friends, and collaborators. Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, John Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Chuck D, James Taylor, and New York Times' Pulitzer-winning columnists, Thomas Friedman and Wesley Morris, among others, contributed to the book. In addition to exploring Newman's prolific career and the evolution of his songwriting, A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY also dives into his childhood and early influences, his musical family that ruled Hollywood movie scores for decades, the relationships that have provided inspiration for his songs, and so much more.As thought-provoking and thorough as it is tender, this book is an overdue tribute to the legendary songwriter whose music has long reflected and challenged the America we know today.
A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman
by Robert Hilburn&“Randy Newman is our great master of American song and storytelling."--Bruce Springsteen &“At last, the biography that Randy Newman has long deserved. The emotional precision, the humor and sweep, the truths and secrets behind his remarkable body of work . . . it&’s all here in Robert Hilburn&’s heartfelt and indispensable account of America&’s finest songwriter. Leave it to Hilburn to pull back the curtain on the incredible life of Newman, a shy genius who clearly trusted him enough to point him in all the right directions. It&’s more than a great read, it&’s an invitation to re-visit Randy Newman&’s work with renewed appreciation for the man who uniquely defined the American Experience just when we needed it most.&”--Cameron Crowe "[A] penetrating biography. . . . While the book posits Newman as a writer of sociopolitical import, its emotional narrative is driven by the more personal aspects of his story: a complex family legacy, childhood struggles with strabismus (crossed eyes) and a lifelong tendency toward sadness and isolation."--Bob Mehr, New York Times "An illuminating and masterful achievement."--Booklist (starred review) The definitive biography of songwriter Randy Newman, told with his full cooperation, by acclaimed biographer and longtime Los Angeles Times music critic, Robert Hilburn Randy Newman is widely hailed as one of America&’s all-time greatest songwriters, equally skilled in the sophisticated melodies and lyrics of the Gershwin-Porter era and the cultural commentary of his own generation, with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon among his most ardent admirers. While tens of millions around the world can hum &“You&’ve Got a Friend in Me,&” his disarming centerpiece for Toy Story, most of them would be astonished to learn that the heart of Newman&’s legacy is in the dozens of brilliant songs that detail the injustices, from racism to class inequality, that have contributed to the division of our nation. Rolling Stone declared that a single Newman song, &“Sail Away,&” tells us more about America than &“The Star-Spangled Banner.&” And yet, his legacy remains largely undocumented in book form—until now. In A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY, veteran music journalist Robert Hilburn presents the definitive portrait of an American legend. Hilburn has known Newman since his club debut at the Troubadour in 1970, and the two have maintained a connection in the decades since, conversing over the course of times good and bad. Though Newman has long refused to talk with potential biographers, he now gives Hilburn unprecedented access not only to himself but also to his archives, as well as his family, friends, and collaborators. Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, John Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Chuck D, James Taylor, and New York Times&’ Pulitzer-winning columnists, Thomas Friedman and Wesley Morris, among others, contributed to the book. In addition to exploring Newman&’s prolific career and the evolution of his songwriting, A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY also dives into his childhood and early influences, his musical family that ruled Hollywood movie scores for decades, the relationships that have provided inspiration for his songs, and so much more. As thought-provoking and thorough as it is tender, this book is an overdue tribute to the legendary songwriter whose music has long reflected and challenged the America we know today.
Fiddle
by Vivian WagnerFiddling suddenly seemed vitally important, even necessary, for me to learn. Perhaps it had to do with grief for my mom's death, and with the fact that I was just starting to feel the inklings of a midlife crisis coming on. All I knew consciously, though, was that I had to learn it.After a chance encounter with fiddle music, Vivian Wagner discovered something she never knew she had lacked. The fiddle had reawakened not only her passion for music, but for life itself. From the remote workshop of a wizened master fiddle maker in the Blue Ridge Mountains to a klezmer band in Cleveland, from Cajun fiddle music in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans to a fiddle camp in Tennessee, Vivian's quest to master the instrument becomes a journey populated by teachers and artisans--and ultimately creates a community that fortifies her through an emotionally crushing loss. Intimate and enlightening, this is a story about the unique gifts of the fiddle, the redeeming power of music, the freedom of improvisation--and the importance of knowing that even though a song may reach its end, there's always a new tune to learn. . ."Charming, smart, lyrical and surprising. I recommend it to anyone--savage beast or not--who needs their soul soothed." --Suzanne Finnamore, international bestselling author of Split
A Fiddle For Angus
by Budge WilsonAngus' family is musical. Everyone has their own instrument and everyone knows how to make music. But Angus can only hum along to his family's playing, and humming isn't good enough. Angus wants to join his family's orchestra. When Angus' father tells him the family will give him an instrument, he can't choose until he hears the fiddle at a ceilidh. But fiddling is hard; he can't make the music he wants. With patience, practice, and lots of lessons, Angus' fingers learn how to play, and the music inside him finds a way out. Budge Wilson's story will ring true for every young musician and is a fitting tribute to the music makers of Cape Breton.