Series in Composers
Books in Composers
Light Our Fire: My Wedding to Jim Morrison
What's it like to be married to the superstar lead singer of the Doors? Patricia Kennealy Morrison gives a loving and detailed account of the pagan handfasting ceremony that bound her forever with the legendary rock superstar Jim Morrison. The intimate portrait of Jim that emerges—a tender and vulnerable face that was shown to very few—makes this book essential reading. The reader has the good fortune of meeting Patricia in the process and empathizing with this smart, deeply spiritual professional woman who has fallen hopelessly in love with a young man whose genius has made him famous and whose demons have made him notorious.
Mariah Carey Revisited
Recounting the Cinderella story of her broken, bi-racial home and incredible rise to fame, an unauthorized biography of Mariah Carey describes her personal life, examines her bold new image, and reveals her hard work, persistence, and new collaborations with hip hop artists. Original. 25,000 first printing.
Miracle and Wonder
*For a more up-to-date version check out Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon (Special Edition) What happens when Paul Simon, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in music history, and Malcolm Gladwell, the best-selling author, sit down together, with a tape recorder and a guitar? Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon is part memoir, part investigation, and unlike any creative portrait you’ve ever heard before. Recorded over a series of 30 hours of conversation between Simon, Gladwell, and Gladwell’s oldest friend and co-writer, journalist and Broken Record podcast co-host Bruce Headlam, the conversation flows from Simon’s music, to his childhood in Queens, NY, to his frequent collaborators including Art Garfunkel and the nature of creativity itself. Gladwell and Headlam traveled from the mountains of Hawaii to Simon’s own backyard studio to record an artist they’ve idolized since childhood. Woven throughout the audiobook is distinctive commentary about Simon’s songwriting alongside archival audio footage and never-before-heard live studio versions and original recordings of beloved hits including “The Boxer", “The Sound of Silence", and “Graceland”. Between conversations, Gladwell deploys his signature blend of historical research and social science in an attempt to understand how a boy from 1940s Queens conjured near-perfect songs over an incredible 65-year career. Along the way, he gathers reflections on Simon’s particular genius from the likes of Sting, Herbie Hancock, Renee Fleming, Jeff Tweedy, Aaron Lindsey, and Roseanne Cash. The result is an intimate audio biography of one of America’s most popular songwriters. Brimming with music and conversation, Miracle and Wonder is a window into Simon’s legendary career, what it means to be alive as an artist, and how to create work that endures.
Nelson Riddle: The Man behind the Music
David Morrell isn’t only an acclaimed thriller author. He’s also a former professor of American Studies who writes in-depth profiles about music and film legends. Frank Sinatra. Nat “King” Cole. Ella Fitzgerald. Judy Garland. Peggy Lee. Rosemary Cloony. Linda Ronstadt. No matter their various styles, these and other iconic popular singers had one thing in common—much of their best work was arranged by Nelson Riddle, whose renown within the world of arrangers rivaled that of the legends for whom he wrote. Indeed, some critics maintain that, if not for Riddle, Sinatra might not have overcome his mid-career failure and climbed to the superstar status that he eventually attained. In Nelson Riddle: The Man Behind the Music, bestselling author David Morrell discusses the career of a musical genius, who changed popular music and proved that a great arranger is as important as a great song and a great singer. This groundbreaking study describes Riddle’s remarkable achievements, analyzing the musical principles that made his arrangements so unmistakable and influential. At its core is the irony that a man whose music is described as “light” and “bright” should have been so bitter and disappointed in his life.