Download or read book Lead Sister written by Lucy O'Brien and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-10-15 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This may well become the definitive biography of Carpenter....Pop music fans will appreciate this strong biography." —Library Journal, Starred Review Named a Financial Times 2023 Best Book of the Year – Pop Music Named one of The Times and The Sunday Times, UK 17 best rock and pop music books of 2023 A groundbreaking biography reevaluating the life and legacy of transcendent musician Karen Carpenter As one of the biggest-selling acts of the 1970s, the Carpenters are celebrated for their melodic pop and unforgettable hits like “Close to You,” “Yesterday,” and “Top of the World.” Though Karen is rightly recognized as one of the greatest singers in popular music, the tragedy of her early death in 1983 at the young age of just thirty-two sometimes overshadows her incredible achievements. She has often been portrayed as a victim, controlled by her family and exploited by the music industry. Forty years after her death, this biography reframes her life and legacy as a pioneering woman with her own vision and agency. With exclusive interviews with friends, musicians, and collaborators, bestselling author Lucy O’Brien explores Karen’s contributions as a singer, drummer, arranger, and producer, and traces the roots of the Carpenters’ iconic sound. Lead Sister also honors Karen’s triumphs in the face of her struggle with anorexia, providing contemporary perspectives on eating disorders and mental health. Despite the chronic nature of her illness, Karen Carpenter was, above all, a creative, dedicated, and assured artist whose music delivers an emotional resonance that has transcended generations—and that is how she should be remembered.
Download or read book Why Karen Carpenter Matters written by Karen Tongson and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2019-06-01 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the '60s and '70s, America's music scene was marked by raucous excess, reflected in the tragic overdoses of young superstars such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. At the same time, the uplifting harmonies and sunny lyrics that propelled Karen Carpenter and her brother, Richard, to international fame belied a different sort of tragedy—the underconsumption that led to Karen's death at age thirty-two from the effects of an eating disorder. In Why Karen Carpenter Matters, Karen Tongson (whose Filipino musician parents named her after the pop icon) interweaves the story of the singer’s rise to fame with her own trans-Pacific journey between the Philippines—where imitations of American pop styles flourished—and Karen Carpenter’s home ground of Southern California. Tongson reveals why the Carpenters' chart-topping, seemingly whitewashed musical fantasies of "normal love" can now have profound significance for her—as well as for other people of color, LGBT+ communities, and anyone outside the mainstream culture usually associated with Karen Carpenter’s legacy. This hybrid of memoir and biography excavates the destructive perfectionism at the root of the Carpenters’ sound, while finding the beauty in the singer's all too brief life.
Download or read book Little Girl Blue The Life of Karen Carpenter written by Randy Schmidt and published by Omnibus Press. This book was released on 2012-03-07 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Karen Carpenter was the instantly recognisable lead singer of the Carpenters. The top-selling American musical act of the 1970s, they delivered the love songs that defined a generation. Karen's velvety voice on a string of 16 consecutive Top 20 hits from 1970 to 1976 – including Close to You, We've Only Just Begun, Rainy Days and Mondays, Superstar, and Hurting Each Other – propelled the duo to worldwide stardom and record sales of over 100 million. Karen's musical career was short – only 13 years. During that time, the Carpenters released 10 studio albums, toured more than 200 days a year, taped five television specials, and won three Grammys and an American Music Award. But that's only part of Karen's story. As the world received news of her death at 32 years of age in 1983, she became the proverbial poster child for anorexia nervosa. Little Girl Blue is an intimate profile of Karen Carpenter, a girl from a modest Connecticut upbringing who became a Superstar. Based on exclusive interviews with nearly 100 friends and associates, including record producers, studio musicians, songwriters, television directors, photographers, radio personalities, classmates, childhood friends, neighbours, personal assistants, romantic interests, hairdressers, and housekeepers.'...thorough and affectionate biography of a singer who's been constantly undervalued by the music industry.' MOJO 'Schmidt cannot be faulted... carefully factual, sensitively pitched book.' The Word 'The first truly convincing account of her nightmarish story.' The Guardian
Download or read book Lead Sister The Story of Karen Carpenter written by Lucy O'Brien and published by Nine Eight Books. This book was released on 2023-03-02 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Carpenters first toured Japan, a journalist mistakenly referred to Karen as the 'lead sister' of the band. This designation stuck and Karen liked it so much that she had a T-shirt custom-made with the slogan, which she wore while drumming on the band's 1976 world tour. The term also sums up the approach of this biography: a celebratory re-evaluation of a pioneering woman. As one of the biggest-selling acts of the 1970s, sibling duo Richard and Karen Carpenter created lush soundscapes of melodic pop, producing global hits like 'We've Only Just Begun', 'Top of the World' and 'Close to You'. However, though Karen is rightly recognised as one of the greatest singers in popular music, the tragedy of her early death in 1983, at the age of just thirty-two, often overshadows all that she achieved. She has long been portrayed as a victim, controlled by her family and exploited by the music industry. This book now seeks to reframe her life and legacy. Through fresh interviews with friends, musicians and co-workers, bestselling author Lucy O'Brien's fascinating profile explores Karen's contributions in the studio as a singer, drummer, arranger and producer, as well as tracing the roots of the Carpenters' sound and of Karen's distinctive vocals. Forty years after her death, it also honours the lead sister's achievements in the face of her struggle with anorexia, as viewed through the lens of new perspectives on eating disorders and mental health. Yet, despite the chronic nature of her illness, Karen Carpenter was, above all, a creative, dedicated and assured artist whose music delivers an emotional resonance that has transcended generations - and that is how she should be remembered.
Download or read book Carpenters written by Mike Cidoni Lennox and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2021-11-16 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction by Richard Carpenter The definitive biography of one of the most enduring and endeared recording artists in history—the Carpenters—is told for the first time from the perspective of Richard Carpenter, through more than 100 hours of exclusive interviews and some 200 photographs from Richard's personal archive, many never published. After becoming multimillion-selling, Grammy-winning superstars with their 1970 breakthrough hit "(They Long to Be) Close to You," Richard and Karen Carpenter would win over millions of fans worldwide with a record-breaking string of hits including "We've Only Just Begun," "Top of the World," and "Yesterday Once More." By 1975, success was taking its toll. Years of jam-packed work schedules, including hundreds of concert engagements, proved to be just too much for the Carpenters to keep the hits coming—and, ultimately, to keep the music playing at all. However, Richard and Karen never took their adoring public, or each other, for granted. In Carpenters: The Musical Legacy, Richard Carpenter tells his story for the first time. With candor, heart, and humor, he sheds new light on the Carpenters' trials and triumphs—work that remains the gold standard for melodic pop. This beautifully illustrated definitive biography, with exclusive interviews and never-before-seen photographs, is a must-have for any Carpenters fan.
Download or read book Yesterday Once More written by Randy L. Schmidt and published by Chicago Review Press. This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a string of number-one hits showcasing Karen Carpenter's warm and distinctive vocals and Richard Carpenter's sophisticated compositions and arrangements, the Carpenters were responsible for some of the most popular music of the 1970s, and this compendium collects more than 50 articles, interviews, essays, reviews, and reassessments that chronicle the lives and career of this brother-sister musical team. Writings from pop journalists and historians such as Daniel J. Levitin, John Tobler, Digby Diehl, Ray Coleman, Robert Hilburn, and Lester Bangs provide insight into the music and personalities of the duo who produced such timeless pop music. From serious musical analyses of the Carpenters' arrangements to lighter pieces in which Karen and Richard discuss dating, cars, and high school, this new edition has been revised and expanded to include nearly a dozen additional pieces, some of which have never been published.
Download or read book Starving for Attention written by Cherry Boone O'Neill and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Why Lhasa de Sela Matters written by Fred Goodman and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2019-11-11 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An artist in every sense of the word, Lhasa de Sela wowed audiences around the globe with her multilingual songs and spellbinding performances, mixing together everything from Gypsy music to Mexican rancheras, Americana and jazz, chanson française, and South American folk melodies. In Canada, her album La Llorona won the Juno Award and went gold, and its follow-up, The Living Road, won a BBC World Music Award. Tragically, de Sela succumbed to breast cancer in 2010 at the age of thirty-seven after recording her final album, Lhasa. Tracing de Sela’s unconventional life and introducing her to a new generation, Why Lhasa de Sela Matters is the first biography of this sophisticated creative icon. Raised in a hippie family traveling between the United States and Mexico in a converted school bus, de Sela developed an unquenchable curiosity, with equal affinities for the romantic, mystic, and cerebral. Becoming a sensation in Montreal and Europe, the trilingual singer rejected a conventional path to fame, joining her sisters’ circus troupe in France. Revealing the details of these and other experiences that inspired de Sela to write such vibrant, otherworldly music, Why Lhasa de Sela Matters sings with the spirit of this gifted firebrand.
Download or read book She Bop II written by Lucy O'Brien and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Popular music grew out of ragtime, vaudeville and the blues to become global mass entertainment. Women like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith were the original pop divas, yet eighty years after they blazed a trail, have their successors achieved the recognition and affirmation they deserve? Or has the only was to success been to slot into saleable images of the cute baby or sexy chanteuse? Lucy O'Brien has written the ultimate hands-on history of women in rock, pop, and soul. Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dusty Springfield, Patti Smith, Madonna, Joni Mitchell, whitney Houston, Courtney Love, Alanis Morissette, Destiny's child - all the key names are here. But She Bop II refuses to look at women artists simply as personalities, problems or victims. From dream babes to rock chicks, riot grrrls and ragamuffins, girlpower, Lilith Fair rock and the rise of the corporate diva, She Bop II is the uncompromising story of women as creators and innovators. Lucy O'Brien is the author of two previous books: the bestsellers Annie Lennox (1991) and Dusty (1989). She has contributed to the Guardian, Sunday Times, Observer, Marie Claire, New Musical Express and The Face, and worked extensively in TV and radio, as both guest pundit and producer.
Download or read book She Bop written by Lucy O'Brien and published by Hal Leonard Corporation. This book was released on 2012-12 with total page 620 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a definitive study of women in popular music, covering groundbreaking musicians from ragtime and vaudeville to punk and hip-hop, and profiles such musicians as Ella Fitzgerald, Madonna, Billie Holiday, and Lady Gaga.
Download or read book Some Kind of Lonely Clown The Music Memory and Melancholy Lives of Karen Carpenter Hardback written by Joel Samberg and published by BearManor Media. This book was released on 2015-10-16 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the HARDBACK version. "This book brings back so many lovely and amusing memories of a sadly missed friend. She was unique and irreplaceable in so many ways. Joel has been thorough in his research, and his love and respect for Karen shine through. Love and thanks for the fun and the magic of her musical soul." -Petula Clark "An insightful look at the life of Karen Carpenter, a singing hero of mine. I had the pleasure of opening for the Carpenters in 1975, but it was more exciting that they recorded several of my songs, particularly 'Solitaire, ' which featured a breathtaking Karen vocal accompanied by Richard's magnificent orchestration. Mr. Samberg's book is a worthy tribute to her everlasting legacy as one of the great vocalists of all time." -Neil Sedaka The popularity of the Carpenters-Karen in particular-has never really waned. In fact, when you consider the online presence, documentaries, tributes and other projects, you might even say that an unofficial Carpenters revival has been brewing for years. Many remember the velvety voice that helped the Carpenters sell 100 million records, but not everyone knows that beyond the gifted singer was also a love-starved romantic, conflicted sister, obedient daughter, unpredictable jester, modest millionaire, optimistic dreamer, wannabe mother, emotional wreck, generous friend, and melancholy clown. How is it that someone whose stardom lasted just a dozen years, and who might have given it all up in a heartbeat, is still so beloved and still fascinates more than three decades after her untimely death?
Download or read book I Walked the Line written by Vivian Cash and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-09-04 with total page 648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Johnny Cash died in September 2003, the world mourned the loss of the greatest country music star of all time. I Walked the Line is the life story of Vivian Cash, Johnny's first wife and the mother of his four daughters. It is a tale of long-kept secrets, lies revealed, betrayal and, at last, the truth. Johnny and Vivian were married for nearly fourteen years. These years spanned Johnny's military service in Germany, his earliest musical inclinations, their struggling newlywed years, Johnny's first record deal with Sun Records (alongside Elvis Presley), his astounding rise to stardom, and his well-known battles with pills and the law. Vivian decided that, near the end of her life and with backing from Johnny, she should tell the whole story, even the parts at odds with the iconic Cash family image such as Johnny's drug problems; Vivian's confrontation with June Carter about her affair with Johnny and, most sensationally, the Cash family secret of June's lifelong addiction to drugs and the events leading up to her death. Also revealed are unpublished love letters between the couple, family photographs and artefacts. I Walked the Line is a powerful memoir of joy and happiness, injustice and triumph and is an essential read for all Cash fans.
Download or read book Madonna written by Lucy O'Brien and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-03-26 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Material Girl . . . Immaculate sexpot . . . Superstar . . . Mother . . . Kabbalah enthusiast . . . For three decades she has defied categorization. . . . She remains one of our greatest living pop icons. Here is the groundbreaking biography that finally solves the mystery at the heart of Madonna's chameleonlike existence. 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.
Download or read book Viola Davis written by Kathy Furgang and published by Enslow Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2018-07-15 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Give your readers a fascinating biography about one of the most honored and respected actresses in Hollywood. This accessible, easy-to-follow book about Viola Davis provides an engaging timeline of the actress's life. Viola's early years helped shape the roles she chose as an adult. Playing everyday Americans such as wives, mothers, and hired help got her noticed by moviegoers and critics alike, and led to her becoming the only African-American woman to be nominated for three Academy Awards. The engaging text is accompanied by dynamic, full-color photographs, as well as direct quotes from Viola herself.
Download or read book It Takes Blood and Guts written by Skin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-09-24 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'One of the most important females in British music of my lifetime.' Colin Murray 'A beautiful, raw and exhilarating book that will leave you feeling empowered.' Fearne Cotton ‘The pioneering Skunk Anansie frontwoman’s memories offer a very different take on the Britpop era…Skin’s story is one of a rhomboid peg spurning both the round and square hole, drilling dimensions of her own…We now have a lot of language – intersectionality, microaggressions – to describe many of the events in this memoir. However, nothing can really equal candid, first-hand experience, recounted matter of factly here. It would be instructive for anyone who thought they knew the story of the 90s to spend 300 pages in Skin’s Skin.’ OBSERVER ‘The epic tale of Glastonbury’s Black British headliner… Skin is one of the Britpop decade’s forgotten epics… Skin’s feet are positioned firmly on the ground throughout; she’s a winningly genial, sweary soul on paper. 4 stars’ Jude Rogers, MOJO ‘The former Skunk Anansie singer pulls no punches in this heady trawl through her life from tough beginnings in Brixton to work as an LGBTQ+ activist and beyond’ The I 'It’s the story of a trailblazer, and gives a refreshingly re-angled perspective on the Britpop era.' Evening Standard, 'Best music books of 2020' Lead singer of multi-million-selling rock band Skunk Anansie, solo artist, LGBTQ+activist and all around trail blazer – Skin is a global icon, and she has been smashing stereotypes for over twenty-five years. Her journey from Brixton to one of the most influential women in British rock is nothing short of extraordinary. ‘It’s been a very difficult thing being a lead singer of a rock band looking like me and it still is. I have to say it’s been a fight and it will always be a fight. That fight drives you and makes you want to work harder… It’s not supposed to be easy, particularly if you’re a woman, you’re black or you are gay like me. You’ve got to keep moving forward, keep striving for everything you want to be.’ Born to Jamaican parents, Skin grew up in Brixton in the 1970’s. Her career as an artist began in the ‘90s, when Skunk Anansie was formed in the sweat-drenched backrooms of London’s pubs. Since then she has headlined Glastonbury and toured the world, both as lead singer of Skunk Anansie and as a solo artist. Her success has been groundbreaking in every way, which has come at a personal cost. She has always been vocal about social and cultural issues, and was championing LGBTQ+ rights at a time when few artists were out and gay. Told with honesty and passion, this is the story of how a gay, black, working-class girl with a vision fought poverty and prejudice to write songs, produce and front her own band, and become one of the most influential women in British rock.
Download or read book Shell Shocked written by Howard Kaylan and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (Book). If Howard Kaylan had sung only one song, the Turtles' 1967 No. 1 smash hit "Happy Together," his place in rock-and-roll history would still be secure. But that recording, named in 1999 by BMI as one of the top 50 songs of the 20th century, with over five million radio plays, is only the tip of a rather eye-opening iceberg. For nearly five decades, Howard Kaylan has been a player in the rock-and-roll revolution. In addition to his years with the Turtles, Kaylan was a core member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention and the dynamic duo Flo and Eddie, and part of glam rock history with Marc Bolan and T. Rex. He's also given street cred and harmonies to everyone from John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Alice Cooper to the Ramones and Duran Duran, to name just a few. Howard Kaylan's life has been a dangerous ride that he is only too happy to report on, naming names and shedding shocking tales of sex, drugs, and creative excess. Shell Shocked will stand alone as not only one of the best-told music-biz memoirs, but one with a truly candid and unmatchable story of rock-and-roll insanity and success from a man who glories in it all.
Download or read book Prude written by Emily Southwood and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a culture obsessed with sex, the era of Dad’s Playboy is long gone. Today, endless free porn is a click away and full-frontal photos appear on sites as accessible as Twitter, yet many couples struggle with the underlying issues of pornography. Emily Southwood considered herself to be sexually liberal—until her fiancé landed a job filming porn for a network reality TV show and her whole world changed overnight. Once confident in her relationship, she suddenly felt jealous, insecure, and obsessively comparative to the porn stars her fiancé was around everyday. She was forced to confront feelings she didn’t even know she had: about the treatment of women in the porn industry, the hush-hush attitude toward women watching pornography, and the unrealistic expectations about sex that are often propagated by porn. Prude is a humorous memoir that explores why there is so little communication about porn in relationships. Southwood tells the story of her transformation from feeling sexually liberal-minded to realizing she had issues with porn and the industry her fiancé was a part of. She reveals her bizarre journey to conquer her discomfort around porn—and how she ends up finding herself (and ultimately fixing her relationship for good) along the way.
