Biography: Spotlight on Musicians
--by Hanje Richards
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There is something for every musical taste in the Copper Queen Library's Biography Section: From B.B. King to Raffi; from Leonard Bernstein to Frank Sinatra; from Janis Joplin to Jimmy Buffett; from Louis Armstrong to Frank Zappa. You can read the authorized biographies, the unauthorized biographies, and the autobiographies of musicians of every style.
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Here is a selection of some of the musicians who are included in our Biography Section:
.L
ouis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life (by Laurence Bergreen) - Louis Armstrong was the founding father of jazz and one of this century's towering cultural figures. Born in 1901 to the sixteen-year-old daughter of a slave, he came of age among the prostitutes, pimps, and rag-and-bone merchants of New Orleans. He married four times and enjoyed countless romantic involvements in and around his marriages. A believer in marijuana for the head and laxatives for the bowels, he was also a prolific diarist and correspondent, a devoted friend to celebrities from Bing Crosby to Ella Fitzgerald, a perceptive social observer, and, in his later years, an international goodwill ambassador.
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And, of course, he was a dazzling musician. From the bordellos and honky-tonks of Storyville -New Orleans's red light district - to the upscale nightclubs in Chicago, New York, and Hollywood, Armstrong's stunning playing, gravelly voice, and irrepressible personality captivated audiences and critics alike. Recognized and beloved wherever he went, he nonetheless managed to remain vigorously himself.
ouis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life (by Laurence Bergreen) - Louis Armstrong was the founding father of jazz and one of this century's towering cultural figures. Born in 1901 to the sixteen-year-old daughter of a slave, he came of age among the prostitutes, pimps, and rag-and-bone merchants of New Orleans. He married four times and enjoyed countless romantic involvements in and around his marriages. A believer in marijuana for the head and laxatives for the bowels, he was also a prolific diarist and correspondent, a devoted friend to celebrities from Bing Crosby to Ella Fitzgerald, a perceptive social observer, and, in his later years, an international goodwill ambassador..
And, of course, he was a dazzling musician. From the bordellos and honky-tonks of Storyville -New Orleans's red light district - to the upscale nightclubs in Chicago, New York, and Hollywood, Armstrong's stunning playing, gravelly voice, and irrepressible personality captivated audiences and critics alike. Recognized and beloved wherever he went, he nonetheless managed to remain vigorously himself.
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S
oloist: A Lost Dream, An Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music (Nathanial Ayers) (by Steve Lopez) - When Steve Lopez saw Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, he found it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years earlier, Ayers had been a promising classical bass student at Juilliard – ambitious, charming, and also one of the few African-Americans – until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by schizophrenia. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is homeless, paranoid, and deeply troubled, but glimmers of that brilliance are still there.
S
oloist: A Lost Dream, An Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music (Nathanial Ayers) (by Steve Lopez) - When Steve Lopez saw Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, he found it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years earlier, Ayers had been a promising classical bass student at Juilliard – ambitious, charming, and also one of the few African-Americans – until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by schizophrenia. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is homeless, paranoid, and deeply troubled, but glimmers of that brilliance are still there. .
Over time, Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers form a bond, and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayers’ life. Lopez collects donated violins, a cello, even a stand-up bass and a piano; he takes Ayers to Walt Disney Concert Hall and helps him move indoors. For each triumph, there is a crashing disappointment, yet neither man gives up. In the process of trying to save Ayers, Lopez finds that his own life is changing, and his sense of what one man can accomplish in the lives of others begins to expand in new ways.
Over time, Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers form a bond, and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayers’ life. Lopez collects donated violins, a cello, even a stand-up bass and a piano; he takes Ayers to Walt Disney Concert Hall and helps him move indoors. For each triumph, there is a crashing disappointment, yet neither man gives up. In the process of trying to save Ayers, Lopez finds that his own life is changing, and his sense of what one man can accomplish in the lives of others begins to expand in new ways.
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Leonard
Bernstein (by Humphrey Burton) - Flamboyant composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), who was America's ambassador to the world of serious music for most of his jam-packed life, has long needed a sober, well-researched and encompassing biography, and this is it.
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From the start "Lenny" was a determinedly colorful character, insistent on the limelight, extravagant of gesture and emotion. Whether he could have become a great composer, rather than a highly talented musical entertainer whose best-remembered work remains his Broadway musicals, will never be known; for his whole professional life was an agonized tightrope walk between the frenzies of adulation that greeted his conducting and his guilty sense that he was betraying his creative gift by not spending more time in the workroom. And even the slim body of work he did create in his crowded life emerged more often than not from collaborations with lyricists and librettists, almost as if he was afraid to be alone with his muse.
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Pirate
Looks at 50: Jimmy Buffett (by Jimmy Buffett) - Jimmy takes us from the legendary pirate coves of the Florida Keys to the ruins of ancient Cartegena. Along the way, we hear a tale or two of how he got his start in New Orleans, how he discovered his passion for flying planes, and how he almost died in a watery crash in Nantucket harbor. We follow Jimmy to jungle outposts in Costa Rica and on a meandering trip down the Amazon, through hair-raising negotiations with gun-toting customs officials and a 3-year-old aspiring co-pilot. And he is the inimitable Jimmy Buffett through it all.
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Bernstein (by Humphrey Burton) - Flamboyant composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), who was America's ambassador to the world of serious music for most of his jam-packed life, has long needed a sober, well-researched and encompassing biography, and this is it..
From the start "Lenny" was a determinedly colorful character, insistent on the limelight, extravagant of gesture and emotion. Whether he could have become a great composer, rather than a highly talented musical entertainer whose best-remembered work remains his Broadway musicals, will never be known; for his whole professional life was an agonized tightrope walk between the frenzies of adulation that greeted his conducting and his guilty sense that he was betraying his creative gift by not spending more time in the workroom. And even the slim body of work he did create in his crowded life emerged more often than not from collaborations with lyricists and librettists, almost as if he was afraid to be alone with his muse.
.
Pirate
Looks at 50: Jimmy Buffett (by Jimmy Buffett) - Jimmy takes us from the legendary pirate coves of the Florida Keys to the ruins of ancient Cartegena. Along the way, we hear a tale or two of how he got his start in New Orleans, how he discovered his passion for flying planes, and how he almost died in a watery crash in Nantucket harbor. We follow Jimmy to jungle outposts in Costa Rica and on a meandering trip down the Amazon, through hair-raising negotiations with gun-toting customs officials and a 3-year-old aspiring co-pilot. And he is the inimitable Jimmy Buffett through it all. For Parrotheads, for armchair adventurers, and for anyone who appreciates a good yarn and a hearty laugh, here is the ultimate backstage pass – you'll read the kind of stories Jimmy usually reserves for his closest friends and you'll see a wonderful, wacky life through eyes of the man who's lived it.
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Lon
g Time Gone: The Autobiography of David Crosby (by David Crosby and Carl Gottlieb) - Crosby, founder of the 1960s rock group the Byrds and, later, leader of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, tells in great detail the story of his rise to fame and subsequent depraved life as a slave to drugs. His fast-paced narrative is punctuated by the explanatory text of his long-time friend, screenwriter, director and actor, Carl Gottlieb, as well as by the recollections of other friends, lovers and associates. In a milieu dominated by rock'n'roll, sex, and drugs, Crosby descended to a hell of addiction that ended only after his arrest on gun and narcotics charges and forced detoxification in a Texas jail. Now drug-free for over two years, Crosby is able to write candidly about his 14 years of addiction, sparing us none of the horrors.
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Mil
es: An Autobiography (by Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe) - The brilliant bad man of jazz trumpetry unburdens himself of his hate and anger as well as of his good feelings about life, friendship, sex, drugs, women and cars.
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For the first time, Miles talks about his five-year silence. He speaks frankly and openly about his drug problem and how he overcame it. He condemns the racism he has encountered in the music business and in American society generally. And he discusses the women in his life. But above all, Miles talks about music and musicians, including the legends he has played with over the years: Bird, Dizzy, Monk, Trane, Mingus, and many others.
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Ga
rcia: An American Life (by Blair Jackson) - He was there when Dylan went electric, when a generation danced naked at Woodstock, and when Ken Kesey started experimenting with acid. Jerry Garcia was one of the most gifted musicians of all time, and he was a member of one of the most worshiped rock 'n' roll bands in history. Now, Blair Jackson, who covered the Grateful Dead for twenty-five years, gives us an unparalleled portrait of Garcia – the musical genius, the brilliant songwriter and, ultimately, the tortured soul plagued by his own addiction. With more than forty photographs, many of them previously unpublished, the ultimate tribute to the man who, Bob Dylan said, "had no equal."
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Da
rk Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia (by Robert Greenfield) - For more than thirty years, Jerry Garcia was the musical and spiritual center of the Grateful Dead, one of the most popular rock bands of all time. In Dark Star, the first biography of Garcia published after his death, Garcia is remembered by those who knew him best. Together the voices in this oral biography explore his remarkable life: his childhood in San Francisco; the formation of his musical identity; the Dead's road to rock stardom; and his final, crushing addiction to heroin. Interviews with Jerry's former wives, lovers, family members, close friends, musical partners, and cultural cohorts create a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a rock-and-roll icon – and at the price of fame.
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Q: T
he Autobiography of Quincy Jones (by Quincy Jones) - Musician, composer, producer, arranger, and pioneering entrepreneur, Quincy Jones has lived large and worked for five decades alongside the superstars of music and entertainment – including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Ray Charles, Will Smith, and dozens of others.
.
Lon
g Time Gone: The Autobiography of David Crosby (by David Crosby and Carl Gottlieb) - Crosby, founder of the 1960s rock group the Byrds and, later, leader of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, tells in great detail the story of his rise to fame and subsequent depraved life as a slave to drugs. His fast-paced narrative is punctuated by the explanatory text of his long-time friend, screenwriter, director and actor, Carl Gottlieb, as well as by the recollections of other friends, lovers and associates. In a milieu dominated by rock'n'roll, sex, and drugs, Crosby descended to a hell of addiction that ended only after his arrest on gun and narcotics charges and forced detoxification in a Texas jail. Now drug-free for over two years, Crosby is able to write candidly about his 14 years of addiction, sparing us none of the horrors..
Mil
es: An Autobiography (by Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe) - The brilliant bad man of jazz trumpetry unburdens himself of his hate and anger as well as of his good feelings about life, friendship, sex, drugs, women and cars..
For the first time, Miles talks about his five-year silence. He speaks frankly and openly about his drug problem and how he overcame it. He condemns the racism he has encountered in the music business and in American society generally. And he discusses the women in his life. But above all, Miles talks about music and musicians, including the legends he has played with over the years: Bird, Dizzy, Monk, Trane, Mingus, and many others.
.
Ga
rcia: An American Life (by Blair Jackson) - He was there when Dylan went electric, when a generation danced naked at Woodstock, and when Ken Kesey started experimenting with acid. Jerry Garcia was one of the most gifted musicians of all time, and he was a member of one of the most worshiped rock 'n' roll bands in history. Now, Blair Jackson, who covered the Grateful Dead for twenty-five years, gives us an unparalleled portrait of Garcia – the musical genius, the brilliant songwriter and, ultimately, the tortured soul plagued by his own addiction. With more than forty photographs, many of them previously unpublished, the ultimate tribute to the man who, Bob Dylan said, "had no equal.".
Da
rk Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia (by Robert Greenfield) - For more than thirty years, Jerry Garcia was the musical and spiritual center of the Grateful Dead, one of the most popular rock bands of all time. In Dark Star, the first biography of Garcia published after his death, Garcia is remembered by those who knew him best. Together the voices in this oral biography explore his remarkable life: his childhood in San Francisco; the formation of his musical identity; the Dead's road to rock stardom; and his final, crushing addiction to heroin. Interviews with Jerry's former wives, lovers, family members, close friends, musical partners, and cultural cohorts create a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a rock-and-roll icon – and at the price of fame..
Q: T
he Autobiography of Quincy Jones (by Quincy Jones) - Musician, composer, producer, arranger, and pioneering entrepreneur, Quincy Jones has lived large and worked for five decades alongside the superstars of music and entertainment – including Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Ray Charles, Will Smith, and dozens of others. .
Quincy Jones grew up poor on the mean streets of Chicago’s South Side, brushing against the law and feeling the pain of his mother’s descent into madness. But when his father moved the family west to Seattle, he took up the trumpet and was literally saved by music. A prodigy, he played backup for Billie Holiday and toured the world with the Lionel Hampton Band before leaving his teens. His musical achievements, in a career that spans every style of American popular music, have yielded an incredible seventy-seven Grammy nominations, and are matched by his record as a pioneering music executive, film and television producer, tireless social activist, and business entrepreneur – one of the most successful black business figures in America.
.Quincy Jones grew up poor on the mean streets of Chicago’s South Side, brushing against the law and feeling the pain of his mother’s descent into madness. But when his father moved the family west to Seattle, he took up the trumpet and was literally saved by music. A prodigy, he played backup for Billie Holiday and toured the world with the Lionel Hampton Band before leaving his teens. His musical achievements, in a career that spans every style of American popular music, have yielded an incredible seventy-seven Grammy nominations, and are matched by his record as a pioneering music executive, film and television producer, tireless social activist, and business entrepreneur – one of the most successful black business figures in America.
Jones is a complex, many-faceted man with far more than his share of talents and an unparalleled vision, as well as some entirely human flaws. It also features vivid testimony from key witnesses to his journey – family, friends, and musical and business associates.
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Love, J
anis (by Laura Joplin) - A revealing and intimate biography about Janis Joplin, the Queen of Classic Rock, written by her younger sister.
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Through the eyes of her family and closest friends, we see Janis as a young girl, already rebelling against injustice, racism, and hypocrisy in society. We follow Janis as she discovers her amazing talents in the Beat hangouts of Venice and North Beach – singing in coffeehouses, shooting speed to enhance her creativity, challenging the norms of straight society. Janis truly came into her own in the fantastic, psychedelic, acid-soaked world of Haight-Asbury. At the height of her fame, Janis's life is a whirlwind of public adoration and hard living. Laura Joplin shows us not only the public the wild ride from awkward small-town teenager to rock 'n' roll queen. She also shows us the private Janis, struggling to perfect her art, searching for the balance between love and stardom, battling to overcome her alcohol addiction and heroin use in a world where substance abuse was nearly universal.
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At the heart of Love, Janis is an astonishing series of letters by Janis herself that have never been previously published.
.
B
lues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B.B. King (by B.B. King and David Ritz) - From the rural poverty of the Mississippi Delta to his celebrated position as the world's leading blues musician, B.B. King has led a remarkable life. In this riveting autobiography, he dramatizes his whirlwind adventures from the Memphis of the forties to the Moscow of the nineties with unflinching candor and sincerity – disclosing his complex relationships with women and chronicling his experience with racism, the Civil Rights movement, and the shifting politics of show business.
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Most of all, B.B. 's story is the story of the blues – the evolution from country acoustic to urban electric; the birth and explosion of rock 'n' roll – and B.B.' s own long but ultimately triumphant struggle for crossover success, during which he remained unwaveringly true to the music of his heart.
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M
adonna: Like an Icon (by Lucy O’Brien) - Drawing upon scores of candid interviews with producers, musicians, collaborators, lovers, and friends, Lucy O'Brien's Madonna: Like an Icon explores the complex personality and legendary drive that have made Madonna the most famous female pop artist of our time. From her mother's premature death to Madonna's dynamic arrival on the New York club scene, from "Like a Virgin" to Evita and beyond, every stage of this dazzling star's life and career is brilliantly illuminated – the stereotypes deconstructed, the lies exposed, the artist examined, the legend celebrated.
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The Life of a Children's Troubadour: An Autobiography (by Raffi) - Little is known about Raffi the man, or his evolution into a children's music superstar. Prompted by the death of both his parents within hours of each other in 1995, Raffi Cavoukian has broken his silence, writing with bitterness and affection about his strictly disciplined childhood in Cairo, Egypt, and later, in Toronto, and his slow rise to the top. Most interesting here is Raffi's professional resumé, which proves to be a sort of primer for independent musicians. As a floundering folk singer/songwriter, he formed his own record label (Troubadour) before embracing his calling as a children's performer, often considered a less prestigious career choice.
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H
is Way: Frank Sinatra: An Unauthorized Biography (by Kitty Kelley) - This is the book Frank Sinatra failed to stop, the unauthorized biography of one of the most elusive public figures of our time. Celebrated journalist Kitty Kelley spent three years researching government documents (Mafia-related material, wiretaps, and secret testimony) and interviewing more than 800 people in Sinatra's life (family, colleagues, law-enforcement officers, personal friends). Fully documented, highly detailed and filled with revealing anecdotes, here is the penetrating story of the explosively controversial and undeniably multi-talented legend who ruled the entertainment industry for more than fifty years.
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Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography (by Jimmy McDonough) - Neil Young is one of rock and roll’s most important and enigmatic figures, a legend from the sixties who is still hugely influential today. He has never granted a writer access to his inner life – until now. Based on six years of interviews with more than three hundred of Young’s associates, and on more than fifty hours of interviews with Young himself, Shakey is a fascinating, prodigious account of the singer’s life and career. Jimmy McDonough follows Young from his childhood in Canada to his co-founding of Buffalo Springfield to the huge success of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to his comeback in the nineties. Filled with never-before-published words directly from the artist himself, Shakey is an essential addition to the top shelf of rock biographies.
.
Z
appa: A Biography (by Barry Miles) - Ten years after his death, Frank Zappa continues to influence popular culture. With almost one hundred recordings still in print, Zappa remains a classic American icon. Scores of bands have been influenced by (and have shamelessly imitated) his music, and a talented roster of musicians passed through Zappa’s bands. Now comes the definitive biography of Zappa by Barry Miles, who knew Zappa personally and was present at the recording of some of his most important albums. Miles follows Zappa from his sickly Italian-American childhood in the 1940s to his youthful pursuit of what was a lifelong dream: becoming a classical composer.
.
Love, J
anis (by Laura Joplin) - A revealing and intimate biography about Janis Joplin, the Queen of Classic Rock, written by her younger sister..
Through the eyes of her family and closest friends, we see Janis as a young girl, already rebelling against injustice, racism, and hypocrisy in society. We follow Janis as she discovers her amazing talents in the Beat hangouts of Venice and North Beach – singing in coffeehouses, shooting speed to enhance her creativity, challenging the norms of straight society. Janis truly came into her own in the fantastic, psychedelic, acid-soaked world of Haight-Asbury. At the height of her fame, Janis's life is a whirlwind of public adoration and hard living. Laura Joplin shows us not only the public the wild ride from awkward small-town teenager to rock 'n' roll queen. She also shows us the private Janis, struggling to perfect her art, searching for the balance between love and stardom, battling to overcome her alcohol addiction and heroin use in a world where substance abuse was nearly universal.
.
At the heart of Love, Janis is an astonishing series of letters by Janis herself that have never been previously published.
.
B
lues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B.B. King (by B.B. King and David Ritz) - From the rural poverty of the Mississippi Delta to his celebrated position as the world's leading blues musician, B.B. King has led a remarkable life. In this riveting autobiography, he dramatizes his whirlwind adventures from the Memphis of the forties to the Moscow of the nineties with unflinching candor and sincerity – disclosing his complex relationships with women and chronicling his experience with racism, the Civil Rights movement, and the shifting politics of show business..
Most of all, B.B. 's story is the story of the blues – the evolution from country acoustic to urban electric; the birth and explosion of rock 'n' roll – and B.B.' s own long but ultimately triumphant struggle for crossover success, during which he remained unwaveringly true to the music of his heart.
.
M
adonna: Like an Icon (by Lucy O’Brien) - Drawing upon scores of candid interviews with producers, musicians, collaborators, lovers, and friends, Lucy O'Brien's Madonna: Like an Icon explores the complex personality and legendary drive that have made Madonna the most famous female pop artist of our time. From her mother's premature death to Madonna's dynamic arrival on the New York club scene, from "Like a Virgin" to Evita and beyond, every stage of this dazzling star's life and career is brilliantly illuminated – the stereotypes deconstructed, the lies exposed, the artist examined, the legend celebrated..
The Life of a Children's Troubadour: An Autobiography (by Raffi) - Little is known about Raffi the man, or his evolution into a children's music superstar. Prompted by the death of both his parents within hours of each other in 1995, Raffi Cavoukian has broken his silence, writing with bitterness and affection about his strictly disciplined childhood in Cairo, Egypt, and later, in Toronto, and his slow rise to the top. Most interesting here is Raffi's professional resumé, which proves to be a sort of primer for independent musicians. As a floundering folk singer/songwriter, he formed his own record label (Troubadour) before embracing his calling as a children's performer, often considered a less prestigious career choice.
.
H
is Way: Frank Sinatra: An Unauthorized Biography (by Kitty Kelley) - This is the book Frank Sinatra failed to stop, the unauthorized biography of one of the most elusive public figures of our time. Celebrated journalist Kitty Kelley spent three years researching government documents (Mafia-related material, wiretaps, and secret testimony) and interviewing more than 800 people in Sinatra's life (family, colleagues, law-enforcement officers, personal friends). Fully documented, highly detailed and filled with revealing anecdotes, here is the penetrating story of the explosively controversial and undeniably multi-talented legend who ruled the entertainment industry for more than fifty years..
Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography (by Jimmy McDonough) - Neil Young is one of rock and roll’s most important and enigmatic figures, a legend from the sixties who is still hugely influential today. He has never granted a writer access to his inner life – until now. Based on six years of interviews with more than three hundred of Young’s associates, and on more than fifty hours of interviews with Young himself, Shakey is a fascinating, prodigious account of the singer’s life and career. Jimmy McDonough follows Young from his childhood in Canada to his co-founding of Buffalo Springfield to the huge success of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to his comeback in the nineties. Filled with never-before-published words directly from the artist himself, Shakey is an essential addition to the top shelf of rock biographies.
.
Z
appa: A Biography (by Barry Miles) - Ten years after his death, Frank Zappa continues to influence popular culture. With almost one hundred recordings still in print, Zappa remains a classic American icon. Scores of bands have been influenced by (and have shamelessly imitated) his music, and a talented roster of musicians passed through Zappa’s bands. Now comes the definitive biography of Zappa by Barry Miles, who knew Zappa personally and was present at the recording of some of his most important albums. Miles follows Zappa from his sickly Italian-American childhood in the 1940s to his youthful pursuit of what was a lifelong dream: becoming a classical composer. .
Zappa brings together the many different personalities of this music legend together for the first time: the self-taught musician and composer who gained fame with the "rock" band the Mothers of Invention; the political antagonist who mocked presidents while being invited by Vaclav Havel to represent Czechoslovakia’s cultural interests in the United States, and Zappa the family man, who was married to the same woman for over thirty years.
posted by msbw @ 11:44 PM
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