The Gangster of Love: Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Performer, Preacher, Pimp [Paperback] Review

"If you want to keep your sweet dreams of our guitar hero, don't read this book." The author says in the preface. Rather than focusing on the brighter side of Watson's life and career, this book also attempts to dig deep into his "dark side" as well including his complicated relationships with the ladies and his family members. Some of the stories here aren't very pretty, but they are what you usually don't see on other publications or liner notes. The book contains as an appendix approximately 40 pages of information sources list the author referenced for writing. I would say this alone should interest fans of Watson, not to mention the complete discography which also constitutes a part of the appendix.

True the resolutions of some photos aren't really good, and it's also true that there are some English grammar problems (as the author is Dutch), however, still that doesn't diminish the value of the book so much. It is a very interesting read, and it's well worth checking out if you are a fan of Watson's music.

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Product Description:
This first biography of Johnny "Guitar" Watson (1935-1996) paints an intriguing portrait of this American blues funk composer. His fans appreciate his historical role in black American music. Rappers honored him with samples.In this book tens of musicians reveal the life story of the struggling guitarist who became eternal with "Gangster Of Love" and "A Real Mother For Ya".Besides hundreds of others, the love bandit had three First Ladies he lived with for years. They tell their untold love stories and explain how they stimulated his music as Muse, and how they financed his music business as Maecenas, helping to produce gold albums by working as prostitute, thief or booster. His musicians reveal: how did he compose his incredible oeuvre?This book includes:* The first complete Discography with 280 songs,* Register with hundreds of related artists, and 470 References,* 117 Illustrations, of which 4 in full color.

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Stevie Wonder - A Musical Guide to the Classic Albums (Book) [Paperback] Review

Stevie Wonder deserves to be treated as he is here, an important classic composer.His music from the 1970s will be listened to longer than most of the music that has been produced during our life times.Ignore the author's downplaying of Secret Life of Plants and even Songs in the Key of Life.I don't know what he was thinking there, especially because his insight on Where I'm Coming From through Innervisions is usually right on.I disagree with him, however, when he seems to imply that Stevie would not have made great albums without the production of Margouleff and Cecil.With those songs and his talent, he would have made great albums no matter what.The synthesizers just wouldn't have sounded as great.

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Product Description:
Stevie Wonder, winner of 19 Grammy Awards and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is a much-beloved American icon and an indisputable genius not only of soul and rhythm and blues, but also popular music in general. Author Steve Lodder tells Wonder's story from a fresh musical perspective, concentrating on his most productive period, 1971-1981. After an in-depth look at Wonder's background and his early history with Motown, Lodder explores in detail the musical characteristics and influences found on the classic albums from the '70s: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life. Taking full advantage of the new opportunities afforded by synthesizer technology and multitracking, and inspired by the lyrical depth of Marvin Gaye and Sly Stone, Wonder created a series of albums as popular as they are acclaimed. The book features 80 color and B&W photos - many never before published.

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Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story [Paperback] Review

Warning!: if people are honest you might hear some things you'd rather not read. In this case however, it does mean that through Ray Charles' own words we hear about his life up till 1978 when the book came out.

His youth was hard, becoming blind around age 7, going to a special school and losing his mom when she was only in her thirties were hard. Music is of course the theme that runs through it all, though I personally would have liked to have read more about the musical side of his life than the two things that make up an important part of the book: heroin and sex.

He seems to have been addicted to both but he has always said that heroin was his own choice and that he wasn't pushed into it by other people. That makes it all very openhearted and in a way bearable. The part where he decided to stop smack is heartbreaking and genuine.

He also talks lightly about his blindness, which is great, you forget most of the time that he couldn't see a thing.

The ghostwriter himself has carefully written that Ray himself went over the pages time and time again so we can be pretty sure that everything in it is true to his heart.

We could have done with some more musical history, but it's a great book to read nonetheless

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Product Description:
Ray Charles (1930-2004) led one of the most extraordinary lives of any popular musician. In Brother Ray, he tells his story in an inimitable and unsparing voice, from the chronicle of his musical development to his heroin addiction to his tangled romantic life.Overcoming poverty, blindness, the loss of his parents, and the pervasive racism of the era, Ray Charles was acclaimed worldwide as a genius by the age of thirty-two. By combining the influences of gospel, jazz, blues, and country music, he invented, almost single-handedly, what became known as soul. And throughout a career spanning more than a half century, Ray Charles remained in complete control of his life and his music, allowing nobody to tell him what he could and couldn't do. As the Chicago Sun-Times put it, Brother Ray is "candid, explicit, sometimes embarrassing, often hilarious, always warm, touching, and deeply human-just like his music."

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Black Pearls: Blues Queens of the 1920s [Paperback] Review

Did you know that women were the first popular blues singers? Black Pearls explores the pioneering women who in the 20's changed the record instustry and music as we know it. Having read a few blues books by now, I found that portions in the introductory sections lacked the sort of awe-inspiring insight that makes for an excellent blues book. And my attention span had me skipping half-way through the chapter on lyrical analysis. Howvever, once I got to the sections that focus on the individual performers, this book excelled. There are many who seem hellbent on denying these particular women a hallowed place in the history of popular music (read Alan Lomax's brief dismissal of the classic blues era in his "The Land Where the Blues Began"), but Harrison's prodigious biographical and musical insights really open the door to a greater appreciation of the women she features. As a companion, I might suggest the cd "Classic Blues Women" by Rhino Records.

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