Title search results
Showing 1 - 20 of 211 items
The Cole Porter story
By Cole Porter. 1965
The composer's contribution to popular music is treated with affectionate appreciation in an introduction by Arthur Schwartz. There follows an…
account of his career by Porter himself, and the rest of the book consists of discussion by HublerGlenn Gould: a life and variations
By Otto Friedrich. 1989
Crazy, eccentric, obsessive, and bizarre are just some of the terms that have been used to describe Glenn Gould. Friedrich…
has used direct quotes from many of the people whom Gould knew during his short career, which ended at age fifty in 1982, in order to paint a picture of a man who was almost a recluse as far as his personal life was concerned, but who was also a genius, totally and obsessively devoted to his musicChadwick, Yankee composer
By Victor Yellin. 1990
George Whitefield Chadwick, like most classically trained musicians before World War II, received a German education. Upon his return to…
the United States, his music was performed more frequently than that of most Americans of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This biography traces his life and work as an innovative teacher and a composer of music with a distinctly American twistAlberta Hunter: a celebration in blues
By Frank Taylor. 1987
Biography of legendary blues singer Alberta Hunter, who died in 1984 at the age of eighty-nine. Begins with Hunter growing…
up poor and black in Memphis, and moves on to her success with European audiences, as she sang to packed houses in Paris and London. Hunter was hard-working, tough, and intensely privateBob Dylan: behind the shades : a biography
By Clinton Heylin. 1991
In a biography based largely on interviews, Heylin looks at the singer-songwriter's first fifty years, and examines the relationship between…
Dylan's life and his work. Heylin recounts Dylan's Minnesota childhood, as Robert Allen Zimmerman, his New York years writing "protest" songs, his 1966 motorcycle accident, his conversion to Christianity, and his use of changing musical stylesLives of the musicians: good times, bad times (and what the neighbors thought)
By Kathleen Krull. 1993
Lively portraits of twenty well-known composers and musicians, filled with anecdotes and amusing facts. Included are Bach, Verdi, Clara Schumann,…
Foster, Joplin, Gershwin, and Guthrie. For grades 3-6 and older readersThe blues singers: ten who rocked the world
By Julius Lester. 2001
Capsule biographies of ten great blues singers: Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Mahalia Jackson, Muddy Waters, Billie Holiday, B.B. King, Ray…
Charles, Little Richard, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin. Includes personal anecdotes and reflections that link the singers to the larger musical tradition. For grades 3-6 and older readers. 2001The life of Mendelssohn
By Peter Jameson Mercer-Taylor. 2000
Biography of the German composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847). Discusses his career from childhood as a prodigy to maturity as composer,…
performer, and scholar. Examines his Jewish heritage in the culture of the era, his heavy obligations to his young family, and his compositions during the decade preceding his early death. 2000Beethoven's hair
By Russell Martin. 2000
An investigation of the convoluted history of a lock of Beethoven's hair, taken from the composer's head at his death…
in 1827. Reconstructs the snippet's odyssey from Austria to America, where it was purchased in 1994 by two Beethoven devotés intent on forensic analysis to explain Beethoven's medical problems, deafness, and cause of death. 2000Stevie Wonder
By Tenley Williams. 2002
Biography of the composer, pianist, and singer whose musical talent was evident from childhood. Discusses Stevie Wonder's recording success despite…
being "blind, black, and broke" when he started. For grades 6-9. 2002Shake, rattle & roll: the founders of rock & roll
By Holly George-Warren. 2001
Biographical sketches of fourteen rock and roll stars: Bill Haley, Fats Domino, LaVern Baker, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley,…
Bo Diddley, Carl Perkins, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Wanda Jackson, Ritchie Valens, and James Brown. Uncontracted braille. For grades 4-7 and older readers. 2001Elvis Presley
By Bobbie Ann Mason. 2003
Award-winning novelist explores the mystique of America's first rock-and-roll superstar, Elvis Presley (1935-1977). Explains Presley's musical roots and his close…
family ties, asserting that the entertainer's achievement of the American dream was his undoing. 2003The Richard Rodgers reader
By Geoffrey Block. 2002
Essays about the career of the popular American composer for the musical stage. Critical overviews introduce key phases of Rodgers's…
creative life: collaborations with Lorenz Hart from 1919 to 1943, with Oscar Hammerstein between 1943 and 1960, and on his own in later years, to 1979. Includes selections from Rodgers's own writings. 2002Piano notes: the world of the pianist
By Charles Rosen. 2002
Distinguished concert pianist and music critic sheds light on essential aspects of playing this demanding and rewarding instrument. Rosen discusses…
the aesthetics, acoustics, and techniques of performance and recording as well as performers' styles and manners. Includes little-known lore and insights about famous musicians. Also includes musical examples. 2002Reminiscences by members of "the greatest rock n' roll band in the world," tracing their British roots and rise to…
international fame beginning in the 1960s. Also includes essays by business participants in the Stones' career and fellow performers, including American singer Sheryl Crow. Some strong language. 2003Lullaby of birdland: The Autobiography of George Shearing (Bayou Jazz Lives Ser.)
By George Shearing, Alyn Shipton. 2004
Reminiscences by congenitally blind jazz pianist Shearing about his 1920s English childhood and early success in London before he immigrated…
to America in 1947. Recounts hobnobbing in New York with jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie among others and recording with his famed quintet. 2004Sanity and grace: a journey of suicide, survival, and strength
By Judy Collins. 2003
Grammy-nominated recording artist reflects on the loss of her thirty-three-year-old son, Clark, who committed suicide in 1992. Supplementing her account…
with journal entries and song lyrics, Collins describes events surrounding his death and shares her personal struggle to cope with and understand his decision. Some strong language. 2003Blind Boone: piano prodigy
By Madge Harrah. 2004
Presents the life and career of blind pianist John William "Blind" Boone (1864-1927), who toured the United States after the…
Civil War bringing ragtime, classical, and African American music to the concert stage for forty-seven years. For grades 5-8. 2004Chronicles: Volume 1
By Bob Dylan. 2004
First of a three-volume memoir by music legend Bob Dylan. Describes his intellectual development, folk songs and blues he listened…
to in the 1960s, and the growth of his artistic conscience. Recalls early days in Greenwich Village, transient loves, lasting friendships, and experiences in New Orleans and Woodstock. Bestseller. 2004Celia: my life
By Celia Cruz, Ana Cristina Reymundo. 2004
Autobiography by the Afro-Cuban singer, the "Queen of Salsa," who died in 2003. Reminisces about her upbringing and early career…
in Havana and her road to international success. Recalls her voluntary exile after Castro came to power, her long marriage, and associations with other musicians. Foreword by Maya Angelou. 2004