Music Books

Out of print book came quickly and condition was very good, service was quick. I will be back.

I loved this book! The entire time I listed to this book on cassette I felt I was hearing privileged information...yet Jess Oppenheimer shared his intellectual jewels freely as if they were common everyday thoughts. Well, for him, they were. What a genius. And what a witty, creative, generous, and responsible man! If he were alive I'd write him a fan letter.

This is an excellent informative book about the "I Love Lucy" show and a must have for any Lucy fan! The cd that is included is worth the price of the whole set alone. In the cd it includes hours of hilarious episodes from I Love Lucy and My Favorite Husband starring Lucille Ball, you will also receive lost scenes from the shows on the cd. I am not much of a reader but this book you just can't put down because it is so good and of course I love Lucy! The book doesn't look thick on the picture shown on Amazon but it is a nice thick paperback book and includes lots of wonderful pictures of the cast of I Love Lucy and fun information that you may have not of known about I love Lucy and how it became to be produced.

I THOUGHT THE BOOK WAS VERY INTERESTING AND INFORMTIVE! IT WAS HILARIOUS AND I JUST COULDNT PUT IT DOWN. IT ONLY TOOK ME THREE DAYS TO READ IT. I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING HOW IT TOLD ABOUT THE LIFE OF JESS OPPENHEIMER AS WELL AS THE LIFE OF LUCILLE BALL AND OTHER CAST MEMBERS FROM THE SHOW I LOVE LUCY. I REALLY LOVE THIS BOOK AND I THINK EVERY I LOVE LUCY FAN SHOULD READ IT!!!

I'd like to start with a clarification: this book is not a biography of Lucy, it is the creator's (Jess Oppenheimer) memoir. As such, there are many parts of the book that have nothing to do with Lucy, including episodes from Oppenheimer's childhood and young adult life.

However, this is still a GREAT book! It is well-written and full of entertaining annecdotes. "Laughs, Luck, and Lucy" follows Oppenheimer's slow rise to the top in the Hollywood radio industry. He describes Lucille Ball's program, "My Favorite Husband," which became the basis for "I Love Lucy." The book also includes some behind the scenes information about the making of "I Love Lucy."

The included audio cd is fun because it has clips from both "I Love Lucy" and "My Favorite Husband."

If you are only interested in information specifically about Lucille Ball, this might not be the book for you (try her autobiography, "Love, Lucy"). However, if you (like me) are fascinated with everything surrounding "I Love Lucy" and the Hollywood entertainment industry of the 1940s and 1950s, this is a great read!

I love this book! It's very imaginative and great fun for big and small alike.

What an inspiring book. It brings me and my daughter Jaime much closer together. The story readings never were the same after we found Sophie. Dayle Dodds did it again! Another bestseller!

I like to sing too. I like when she said I have big toes. I like thunderstorms. I like that girl because she is funny.

I don't know how I found this book for my daughter, but it is our favorite. I read the entire story in a southern drawl and sing all of Sophie's songs off key, loud and twangie until we laugh ourselves silly! All this fun sends my daughter off to happy dreams, and sends me off with a smile on my face for the rest of the night. This is not just a story- this is ENTERTAINMENT!!

As Sophie Adams says, "I looooooooove to sing!" and so she does. This is a really special book. Charming story line with a real cowgirl twang to the language. Great illustrations that add to the story. And, songs...wonderful songs that Sophie makes up and sings to her family. And you'll sing too. It's impossible not to. A family favorite and a must for all home libraries.

"It seems that there are too many drumers whose work is of a rough-and-ready variety and whose technical proficiency suffers in comparison with that of the players of other instruments.

Of course, TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY CAN COME ONLY THROUGH CONTINUED, WELL-DIRECTED PRACTISE.
The more practise one does the more proficiency he acquires.

Many concert pianists practise hours and hours every day.
They continue practising after they graduate from the student period and enter into the professional field.
Violinists, cornetists and the players of other instruments do likewise.
Through regular and systematic practise they "keep in shape".....

"Stick Control" is a highly specialized practise-book, dealing with just one branch of the art of drumming....."
[from the book of the preface by George Lawrence Stone]

A wonderful book to study and learn from. If you wish to improve your stick control, or challenge yourself in rudiment training, then get this book.

First off: initially this book just looks like a purge of random Right and Left hand patterns. If that were the case, Stone could have easily listed 250-65,000 examples. However, Stone chose the most practical patterns from this large number of possibilities. Awesome :)

I used this book to teach my hands to work with my LEFT foot doing the 2-3 rhuma clave rhythm. (naturally, just from practicing like that, i am able to do the other claves). before working with this book, i could BARELY do the clave and with any other hand rhythms. Now, not only can practically solo around the kit with the clave -- yay! :D -- but now I have come up with so many ways to practice the book, that I should have plenty of practice material for years to come.

AWESOME book. if you're going to practice it with ONLY the hand patterns, you might just get bored and discouraged. mix it up! make sure you have a steady pattern going on with the foot while you play the patterns with the hands. practice all of the exercises on the first 2-3 pages... then move the hand from the snare to other places on the drumset (if you're using this book for drumset). or try playing the right foot with the right hand..... this book is limitless.

I'm a beginner, unfortunately without hours a day to dedicate to practice. I do like to sit down with my pad and some sticks whenever I get a chance though. That being said, this book is very easy to understand, with no super-technical text or music notation. It's something anyone can pick up and start using right away.

Coupled with my Korg MA-30 metronome, this book has helped me improve so much that I decided to keep a log of metronome speeds over the last few weeks. Every time I sit down to practice, I write down the metronome speed for each exercise that I can play at with no mistakes. I have gone up 10 beats per minute (as high as 14 on some simpler ones) over a few weeks, in just a few minutes a day! Well, it's a lot for me :)

The funny thing is, I haven't even made it past the first page of exercises yet. For a beginner like me, they are difficult enough for now. When I get good enough at the first page, I'll move on to the second, and so forth. This further cements the book's value, there is enough material in here for a lifetime of learning, and if you're already a pro, enough material to keep you conditioned.

I'm still very slow but I can see benefit every day in both speed and timing. If you get this book and stay with it, I bet you will too. I recommend keeping a log so you can track your progress! Positive reinforcement will only make you want to practice more!

I was told that this was the best book for drums, by my drum teacher, a drumming student, and by a drummer friend. I read it, and I bought it, and I worked through it. I now think this is the best book I had ever seen on drums. Of course I can not say drumS, but Drum. It is specifically about the snare but it can really help you see beats, and stick control. If you do not know exactly how to read the music here then this is not the book for you. If you have a person who may be able to help you, or you have experience reading drum notation (which is not hard to begin with) then you are all set. Buy this book and learn how to control your drumming.

This is a great book for anyone to read. Very practical and easy to understand for any age group or financial income. Everyone should read this book!

To be clear, I am not a friend or relative of the author, nor am I associated with his publishing house or anything. I am giving this a five-star review because it deserves it.

The author is great at disseminating the identities that people take on regarding finance- such as the Scrooge, the Traveler, etc. He makes it abundantly clear why we think and feel the way we do about money. He encourages us to go into our earliest memories regarding money(if they're anything like mine, that's not so pleasent). I was really impressed with this book. I just finished reading "Conscious Finance", and this was far better. It ezplores the belief systems behind our actions, and then tells us how to actually change those beliefs.

Finally, a financial advisor with the courage to tell us that financial magazines are nuts for telling us to switch around our portfolios every time there's a full moon! I always intuitively knew this, but I was grateful to have back-up from an expert.

This is not a get-rich-quick book. Hardly. I'd say it was refreshingly conservative and reaffirming- the author doesn't demand that you never take on student debt, assume that everybody reading his book must already make $100,000+ a year, or tell you that paying your kid's college tuition payment is your no. 1 priority in life. No. He speaks to those that don't make a fortune, don't have a degree in finance, and don't always have their s*** together. Finally! I can read a book on finance and not feel guilty!

That said, he makes great points about saving and consumer debt- nothing really new, but without a bunch of complicated, left-brained, holier-than-thou nonsense. I felt encouraged after reading his book. That is a new one for me. For anyone who reads Money magazine or the like and feels like a failure because they don't have $10,000 to invest in some new stock or mutual fund every month, may I respectfully suggest reading this book. It will be an eye-opener.

Is it me or are all these "reviews" obviously endorsements from the author's large network of friends and contacts? I can't find a single "review" in the 25+ here that gives even a single sentence of detail about the book -- not one! These are all generic "terrific finance book for everyone - 5 stars!" Plus, nearly all these reviews were posted within the first 6 days of the release and each gave 5 stars. Not plausible.

I don't blame the author for asking friends to put reviews up, but then have them actually read the book and put together a real REVIEW, not a vacuous endorsement. This is especially important since there is no "See Inside" capability with this book. I depend on Amazon reviews when making decisions on products I'm buying here. I don't appreciate an obvious attempt to subvert the process.

This is one book that I'll keep on my shelf and re-read, and refer to as reference. The author's 35 years of experience really shows in his analysis on financial personality types and risk tolerance. He had me pegged! Based on a short self-test, he predicted the kind of spender and investor I am with accuracy. The book does go into pretty good detail for the beginning investor; it can make your brain hurt. But, that's what's great about it- the amount of information packed into this short book makes it well worth buying and keeping on hand.
The reason I only gave 4 stars: I disagree with him about not paying your mortgage off as quickly as possible. He uses calculations to show that by getting tax breaks for mortgage interest, you'll come out ahead if you invest the extra money instead. There's one thing he, and other authors who advocate this, have never addressed- the Standard Deduction. If you have unusually high deductions such as medical bills that puts your itemized deductions above the standard, then his system make sense. But, if all of your deductions, including the mortgage interest, comes beneath the standard deduction the government gives to everyone, then you would take the standard. So, you wouldn't be getting any additional deduction for the interest than you would without it. This makes it highly impractical to pay three times the value of your mortagage, if you have the extra money to pay it off more quickly.
No, I'm not a financial expert; I'm actually a complete novice when it comes to investing. But I have worked as a tax preparer, and in my own returns, I've always taken the standard deduction, since I didn't have enough itemized to top it. So, for me his recommendation makes no sense at all. You would have to evaluate your own deductions, and if you itemize, your tax savings, to make an informed choice as to whether you'd be better off investing the money, instead of making additional payments on your house. But, I think it's irresponsible for him to make a blanket statement that no one should try to pay off their house early.
That's the only thing I found wrong with the book. Other than that it taught me alot, and is well worth the read.

I have to agree with Lapis' assertion that most of the reviews appear to be fraudulent. Click on "see my other reviews" and most of them have only one review...for this book. I'm sure most amazon.com users don't post only one review. It's difficult enough to not carried away reviewing books and other consumer goods. It is extremely suspicious and I agree with Lapis that I often make purchasing decisions based on user reviews.

This book was very helpful. As someone who currently has no "mentor" so to speak in the film industry, this book has acted as my temporary guide. It addresses many problems screenwriters go through, as well as warning people of the pitfalls that many aspiring screenwriters fall into. Highly recommended.

I own several screenwriting books and consider this one to be in the top 3 (McKee and Vogler being the other 2). The reason is because this is one of the few screenwriting books with information coming straight from successful screenwriters. This is key, because through their insights you can better understand how they work, think, and live. And this ultimately affects your writing positively because a lot of the uncertainties during the writing process are discussed. It won't teach you about structure etc, but it contains information that to me was equally vital: how to think as a successful screenwriter.

In real estate they discuss the three "L's" Location, location, location. This is the three "W's" Write, Write and Write more. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to write a screen play.

This is a must read for anyone who aspires to be a screen writer. Any wannabe writer has their own personal favorite blogs, a blog that helps inspire, motivate and teach them. This book is almost a best of those blogs from successful writers whose movies they have written have actually BEEN PRODUCED.
The one main theme of this book is just write and write and write because you love writing and not because you want the Hollywood celebrity lifestyle. Great writing will open a lot of doors for one and most importantly, keep that door open.
In my opinion, I like to study and and read how successful writers from all genres got their first break, their work ethic and how most importantly they work through writer's block and rejection. Again, Karl Iglesias' book does that successfully.

I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Iglesias at the Screenwriting Expo. He knows his craft, he loves the business. And he's brutally honest in conveying the realistic odds of breaking into Hollywood. While no one ever says it's easy, he can tell you just how hard. This book is a must read for any aspiring screenwriter. Interviewing some of the greatest screenwriters, they all are forthcoming in telling their own tales of struggle, achievement, success, and most of them, frustration.

This book may be geared toward all screenwriters, however it succeeds in leaps and bounds, by telling the realistic truth any up-and-coming screenwriter needs to hear. Too often people are putting together a script hoping to win the lotttery, sell it for mid-six figures, and not taking the time to understand that the money should never be the motivating factor of writing any script. And if that's your only motivation, you'll never succeed in making your dream come true. This book reminds those of us that do it for a different reason, what that reason is. It's the love of writing. Anything else, any other reason, is simply a waste of time and energy.

Mr. Iglesias lays it out in plain view, through interview after interview, just how much of an uphill battle it is get someone to simply give your script a look, and even then, chances of your selling it are slim. Nicholas Kazan once spoke at a seminar. He told them to go turn in their registration forms and go home. He then told them that if any of them seriously entertained that advice, they would never make it. It's all about challenge and it's all about sacrifice. This book will help you realize how important both of those things are.

This book is not only about creating music, but it's also about the business of music. From tips on buying instruments and equipment, to finding practice space, to touring and promoting your music, Michael W. Dean crams his book full of useful information. Plus it contains pearls of practical wit and wisdom, including: A musical use for used pantyhose; a simple workout regimen for drummers; and how to be invited to stay at someone's house for as long as you want, rent-free. Overall, I learned a lot, and the book was a very enjoyable read.

Michael has done it again. Reading both $30 Film School and $30 Music School back to back has definitely given my confidence and knowledge a jump-start.
With the $30 series and the documentary DIY OR DIE, Michael W Dean has created a foundation to start your own artistic journey and equip you with enough knowledge to survive in what can be a very cutthroat environment.

It is time to wake up, take control of what is left of your life and make an impression to last the ages. The $30 series is here to help prevent you from making the mistake of living old with regret.
For $30 you get way more than what you pay for.

The book's OK, but it's not about music: it's about running a garage band -- which is very different: in music school you study your instrument, solfege, harmony, and counterpoint; in a band you need to know how to find gigs, how to fight with your bandmates and come on top -- every time, all the time, how to deal with the gear, etc. With this in mind, the book is a good read for a newbie (but if you have a couple of years' experience in that area it is unlikely that you'll find anything you don't already know).

What's next for the author? I'm hoping for a $30 Brain Surgery School book, why not. After having starved in the company of beautiful women, one realizes that a man's gotta eat. ;-) God bless.

The title of this book caught my eye and I bought it after reading 1 page. It is well written and informative without being dry. Along with the practical advice given on purchasing gear, dealing with bandmembers, club owners, recording and other facets of getting your music heard, integrity and win/win situations are stressed throughout it. I have already applied some of the info presented and have undergone some major attitude adjustments (positive ones) toward my music and my musical goals. Although there is a lot of humor and an easygoing style about this book, it is very serious in its focus on how to get your music out there. Anybody who wants to pursue music further than garage band status should read this book. People who want to be big rock stars would benefit from $30 Music School, too, as it may prove to be a reality check for them.

Michael's writing style realy makes this an enjoyable read. This how-to for garage banding covers everything from managers and road managers and bookers to the handful of guitar and keyboard chords you need for rock 'n roll to tutorials for various software packages. Hmm. Like a boyscout manual for punk rockers. Lots of anecdotes and real-world advise.

This book would be an invaluable asset to have handy to anyone who reads a lot.It is a large book ,1144 pages.It is the type of book that will be turned to frequently when you come across something in your reading that you would like to know a bit more about without going to a lot of trouble or checking a lot of sources. The book covers a lot more than literature and authors. It is an encyclopedia in every sense of the word.For instance ,if you have never heard of an author,or a book,that is mentioned somewhere ;there's a good chance that here you will find enough to serve your needs.However;if you do know the author and his works ,you will probably basically know what is in this book.
Although most of the reviewers are very "well read";don't assume this is not the book for the "ordinary reader".I consider myself in that second group;and I can vouch that it is very down to earth and jam packed full of information,usable for everybody,regardless of their background or knowledge.
I must also warn you that when you pick it up there is a great tendency to flip around it from one thing to another. It is no problem to spend an hour or more glancing through it. It is also the type of thing that can be left around for anyone to pick up,open at a page at random;and they will find something to interest them.
It's difficult to say what all's in the book;because it covers all types of things other than literature.
Just a few for instances;

Pg 321..we get all the rulers of England from 829-
present,including their time in office.
Pg.44..explanation of Gordian knot.
Pg.434.. background of the guillotine.
Pg.491..Huguenots
Pg.581..Last Supper
Pg.717-718..Napoleon I,II &III explained.
Artists are covered.I found it interesting that max Ernst is included but not M.C.Escher. We get definitions such as epigram,epilogue,epinicion and epiphany on Pg.325.A flip of pages to 1020, and we get a short explanation of the Thirty Year War,mixed in with authors and book titles.
What I've been trying to convey is the wide range of entries in the book and that it covers much more than literature and authors. It is a bit of a guess what you will find;but that is part of the enjoyment you will getfrom this book.You'll find "whore of Babylon" but not "The Butcher's Apron".The Pulitzer Prize winners are all listed.
I could go on forever;I'll quit now,as most readers have gotten my pointby now.I hope so,anyway.
If you buy this book,or buy it for someone who reads a lot;you'll never regret it.

This is the kind of work which when first dipped into leads to the temptation to dip into it more and more . The sheer amount of information is so great, the entries so various in subject that endless delight is to be found in learning more and more. There are however as with most things, a few problems and limitations.
Take for instance the opening entry of the Encyclopedia, the entry on 'Aaron'. We truly learn important things about Moses' brother and mouthpiece. But for anyone who knows Biblical literature not to speak of its commentaries, the entry is a shortcut of shortcuts. And thus misleading. For it does not tell of Aaron's role as leader of the Temple ceremony worship, does not explain his connection with Moses in a deep way, nor even mention their sister Miriam, does not tell of the death of Aaron's son in offering up strange fire, does not tell anything about Aaron's role as ' man of peace beloved by the people'. One of the great farewell scenes of world- literature Aaron's climbing to the top of Har Ha-Hor is not mentioned.
I take this one example to indicate another simple truth. An encylopedia of this kind is always best on a subject one does not really know much about. Then anything we are told , adds to our knowledge if not necesarily our understanding.
In checking out a number of articles I did not find ' inaccuracy' here. In confronting other subjects I knew nothing about I did have a sense that I was getting reliable information.
This is again a good tool and source for attaining first knowledge of a subject.
However if one really wants to know and understand the meaning of a particular subject my recommendation would be to supplement this work with other sources of information.

I love my 4th edition and am glad I've kept my 2nd edition as now I have the best of both worlds. New info in 4th and the deleted info in the 2nd. The only thing I would do to improve the next edition is go back to the alphabet tabulations.

He drove an ambulance during World War 1, before becoming one of America's most famous novelists. Who wrote "Death of a Salesman"? Who wrote "Manhattan Transfer? Who created the character, Sherlock Holmes"? Holden Caulfield was the main character of what famous novel? Who wrote "Catch-22"? These are just some of the questions that "Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia" can answer. Bruce Murphy's book offers biographical notes on writers, synopsis of famous books, plays and poems, descriptions of characters and detailed explanation of literary terms and movements.

I have had my copy of Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia since its publication in 1987 and have found no better reference tool for writing research papers and for general literary inquiries. Although "Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia" is over-due for a major facelift, it continues to be a valuable tool - I keep my copy at arms reach along with my copy of "Oxford Companion to American Literature", by James D. Hart.

I purchased this for myself my second year of college. Being an English major especially interested in the Modernists, it soon became the most used volume in my bookcase. A fantastic quick reference when crunched for time and excellent for understanding those oh-so-esoteric literary allusions. It's wonderful, with references for historical and artistic events and movements, novels, epics, authors, poets . . . a must for any lover and/or student of literature. This would make a fantastic gift, too!

This book has exactly what Billy Joel plays on the piano during his songs, including all the piano solos (even the awesome one from 'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant'). It even has some of the other instrumental parts transcribed in case you want to incorporate them into your playing (when the piano isn't playing, for instance). Billy Joel was an awesome pianist but only some of the songs are really hard to play. If you want to accompany Billy Joel's songs at the piano then this is definitely the book you want to buy. If you just want to play the melodies/harmonies without singing then you should buy a book of arrangements instead.

The best Billy Joel piano book out there for the money. After using many less accurate and sometimes less user-friendly books, I have to say this is far and away the best available. All the riffs are included, accurate, and easy to read. If you are a fan and a pianist, this should be the first place you put your money!

Overall, my cursory experience with this book is great; if I could play the songs (I'm only "early intermediate"), it seems that the transcriptions mostly sound pretty good.

However, as one other reviewer said, it seems that "the editors got a little lazy in parts" (although that reviewer did not pick up on the problem I've found). Basically, in the first song I started working on ("Just the Way You Are"), I immediately found at least one error in use of "accidentals." A sharp is (seemingly) incorrectly added (4th measure on p. 45); if the sharp were to be added at all, it should have been as a "reminder" (in parentheses). (The same note (F [in the key of D]) was set as an accidental to "natural" in the previous measure.) As it's written--with a sharp--technically it's a double sharp (because in the key of D, F is automatically sharp, and--as I understand it--accidentals are automatically "reset" to the "default" at the onset of the next measure). It's possible this is correct (as a double sharp), but I really don't think so).

Granted, "one song" is a small sample size; but finding this editorial error in the first song I tried will make me wary during my adventure with these pieces. However, because of this, I can only give the book "four stars" ("five stars"--to me--represents flawlessness).

Meanwhile, I'll continue to enjoy this otherwise excellent book!

The editors of this Keyboard Book deserve the applause supplied by reviewers here. The transcriptions are neat and reasonably comprehensive.

However, as pointed out by another reviewer, there are anomalies, minor though they may be (pardon the pun). For example page 126 bar 3, the first bar of the bridge of Always A Woman has arpeggiated right-hand notes which, if compared closely with the studio recording, are at odds with those recorded. Not radically, but different nevertheless.

This volume has 16 songs in it, representing a fair cross-section of Joel's well-known and lesser-known works. Quite a few piano players may be disappointed by the editors' choices, but there's no way you could do justice to the weight and variety of his output in one volume, so leave some space on your shelf for Vols II and III and maybe more...

The Book represents good value. On another note (gotta stop doing that), as an Australian purchaser of goods from Amazon I feel the company deserves a pat on the back for speed and efficiency when it comes to processing and delivering products to "out-of-town" destinations.

I purchased this along with the Elton John book, both being childhood idols of mine. I found this book to be a great resource not only for performing Billy's songs but to analyze his stylistic traits and chord progressions from a theoretical standpoint. After sitting down for two hours just listening and reading along (which I recommend doing), you begin to see inside the mind of a great modern composer who has strong ties to classical music. As a music teacher and professional pianist, I would say this is a must have for your collection, whether you plan to cover these songs in a band or just to entertain yourself and your friends.

Having said that, I think the editors got a little lazy in parts. The 'fills' as they call them are not consistently written and hard to follow when playing. There are also a few 'throwaway' songs, made to make the book longer but having no real appeal to anyone except BJ freaks. Many of the popular songs that were selected have so much guitar anyway that going to the trouble to write out quarter-note chords seems trite. I'd much rather have Angry Young Man, Root Beer Rag, The Ballad of Billy the Kid, Don't Ask Me Why and Summer, Highland Falls than songs that I can get on olga.net and sound just like the recording. We'll have to hope for additions in the 3rd Edition, but what's in there is more than enough to get your feet wet! Enjoy!

Blue Monday is an interesting but not a compelling read. We never get inside Fat's head to understand the man, so we get an expanded discography. The dates, times and places seem to be well researched which begins to wear after a while. The matter of fact style just does not bring Fat's personal life into focus, although there are many descriptions of incedents about him. He remains a mystery in reference to his personal motivation, dual life style, and reclusive habits.
Russ H.

I guess if Antoine "Fats" Domino could keep the President and First Lady waiting, then he could keep us waiting for his first biography - this is a Natural Born book about a musical genius, intriquing personality, and unassuming cultural revolutionary.
The author tells his story and includes many entertaining anecdotes about life at home and on the road with several sets of support players - the greatest names of course being Dave Bartholomew, Herb Hardesty, and Lee Allen. We get a strong picture of the smiling, "safe" rock and roller, as the often defiant man's-man. And a complex artist/showman: he could sing The Rooster Song while flashing rings to make Freddie Blassie envious.
A great bunch of previously unpublished black and white photographs from Look magazine, among other handsome prints of lesser known shots really bolster the text.
A serious ommission for the audiophiles: not even a selected discography and no sessionography. [Though there are "Notes" in the back of the book on the mysterious Broadmoor recordings, including personnale and dates!]. Of course the '50s period sessions can be found as a booklet in the Bear Family 8-CD set, and in a European book, "Jazz Records"; also in a fairly recent issue of Goldmine magazine. But Fats Domino ABC-Paramount, Mercury, Broadmoor and Reprise FD session data has never, to my knowledge, appeared in print, and what a fabulous component that would have made.
Speaking of the ABC-Paramount tracks, the author did not mention in the text a very important 4-CD set, "The Paramount Years", which included the *incredibly* rare fourth l.p. for that label, plus the 1980 "If I Get Rich" from another record company!
The idea that "The Fat Man" is the first R & R record also doesn't agree with me. Yes, the elements are there, the upbeat shuffle and bright lead vocal, but that powerful sound (and many others by Fats in that '49 to '54 period) were not *primarily* for the youth. The first discs to be produced for teenage tastes came much later. I wouldn't even include "Tutti Frutti" in that category, as it too, lyrically and instrumentally echoed an earlier, "swingin'" sound. [It was "Ready Teddy" folks which screamed out...Rock and Roll!!!].
Still, this book should be "required reading" for those dedicated followers of those Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

Boy ol Boy, Rick Coleman has written a great book on the TRUE story of Rock & Roll! I know as I was there and if you want to know what it was really like to be on the scene when true rock & roll was called race music on a juke box, Boogie Woogie and the down home blues was taking over the country then get this book and turn others on to it also. No one person was more responsible for the birth of R&R and R&B than the Fat Man! This was long before Elvis, Haley and the hand full of others came on the bandwagon. [...]

Rick Coleman's new book "Blue Monday" is the first full biography of Fats Domino. Many interesting things are therein.
- Fats was the first black rock & roll star. His records made the pop charts before r&r's dawn in 1955.
- Kids did not buy albums in the 50s, but Fats' albums sold, meaning he had an adult following like Louis Armstrong's.
- Fats concerts were often scenes of teenage riots. He may be known for `Blueberry Hill,' but his fierce rolling piano ignited his audience.
- "Blueberry Hill" was the product of a botched session. Engineer Bunny Robyn edited together the best parts of several incomplete takes and simply repeated the chorus.
- The string-laden "Walkin' To New Orleans" was a big breakthrough which traditionalists lamented. But it hit R&B (#2) even higher than pop (#6).
- Roy Brown once ditched a plan to have Fats open for him on tour. Fats never forgot it, and refused to have Brown open shows for him when the tables were turned.

Of the Big Five (EP, FD, CB, JLL, LR), Fats is the least lionized because he was not a "rebel." Historians normally embrace only people with bold lifestyles.

From his first record in 1949 until his harrowing escape from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Antoine "Fats" Domino has defined New Orleans and its culture. This book puts Fats, his city, and his music into perspective in amazing detail. In the process, Rick Coleman convincingly demonstrates that Fats and his collaborators--especially songwriter/arranger Dave Bartholomew and producer Cosimo Matassa--have as solid a claim as Elvis, Carl, and Jerry Lee with Sam Phillips in Memphis or Wolf, Muddy, and Chuck with the Chess brothers in Chicago as the prime architects of rock 'n' roll. The product of more than 20 years of exhaustive research, this is, surprisingly, the first biography of one of the greatest early rock stars. Coleman had his work cut out for him; Fats is notoriously reclusive. Nevertheless, you come away from this book admiring Fats's talent and drive, and Coleman's exhaustive research and evocative writing. All the other great Louisiana rockers are here--the bayou wild men, backwoods musical savants, and forgotten honkers, shouters, string-benders, and drum-thumpers who helped create the Crescent City sound. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the real, complete history of rock 'n' roll instead of the revisionist pap that passes for such. -Mark Hoffman, co-author of "Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf"

This book introduces jazz to a young audience. It explores the sounds, rhythms, and emotions of the genre through colorful pictures and rhythmic words similar to the beat of "scat" singing.
Lots of the words are there just for the sound of them. By focusing on the sound words, students could develop spelling strategies that help them move from phonemes, the sounds they make, to graphemes, the written representations of those sounds.

This book is excellent. The illustrations and musical text allow for early readers to really enjoy and learn from this book. Perfect for preschool and kdg age. I used this book as the basis of a jazz unit, it worked wonderfully.

"Charlie Parker Played Be Bop" was my son's favorite book when he was two and nine years later we still have fun reading it. I now purchase a copy for new parents to read to thier babies. As a speech language pathologist, I want to share to magic of words and the music they can make! This book is an absolute MUST read for all children.

I wasn't sure how my little one would respond to this book even though I love it. If I ask, "Do you want to read about Charlie Parker?," she lights up and starts literally starts to bop. The baby digs it. Just more evidence that the jazz is a universal language. I like the introduction to poetry, rhythm and randomness ("Never leave your cat alone"). I bought two other copies and gave them to my friends for their babies.

I am an elementary school music teacher with students ranging from pre-K to 5th grade. I read this book to all of my pre-K and kindergarten through second grade classes and sometimes the mood strikes me to read it to older students. There is something in here for most every age. Everyone loves it.

So why does Raschka draw chicken feet in such odd places, e.g., on overshoes, alphabet letters, pancake flippers?

Well, rumor has it that one day Charlie Parker was driving back to his boarding house and, as luck would have it, he hit and killed a chicken that had run out into the street from someone's front yard. Such chickens are called "yardbirds". The alleged events include Parker doing the unthinkable, namely, backing up his car, picking up the dead chicken (aka "roadkill"), taking it to his landlady (hey, it was fresh!), her cooking it, and him eating it. When friends heard this story, Parker was known forever after as "Yardbird", which was eventually shortened to just "Bird".

If you didn't catch the part about the chicken feet on your own, don't feel badly. Insiders like Rachka and myself know it and now you do too. Rachka has done a terrific job in providing a lot of feeling about some very notable personalities. Plus he does it with humor, some of which is very subtle.

My students probably have as much fun going through Parker's history as with the book itself. But all of that is just the preliminaries: I then have to read it several more times with the students reading and acting out the story. We have a rockin' good time.