A delightful music history that gives pop its proper due without losing any of the fizzy fun along the way.
A sprawling, 600-page, swiftly moving chronicle of the birth of popular music.
Stanley, whose previous history, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Pop Music From Bill Haley to Beyoncé, cleverly captured the heyday of pop music, turns his uncanny ability to draw connections between far-flung generations of musicians to the first half of the 20th century. As the author shows, this is the era when pop music was born—when “records…were made to sell, music…was intended to be heard by the largest possible audience”—and the recording and performance industries developed alongside the music. Stanley profiles numerous larger-than-life figures, from the brilliant yet tragic heroes Scott Joplin and Irving Berlin, through the birth of jazz and big bands, to iconic superstars like Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra. The author’s pithy summary of Sinatra’s appeal demonstrates his descriptive skill: “The tenderness in his voice was all the more effective because of the flip side, the toughness that could mutate into drunken divorcee bitterness on something like ‘That’s Life.’ Love and hate, kindness and intolerance in equal measure.” Stanley calls Sinatra the “fulcrum” of the book, embodying what came before and providing the blueprint for the careers that came after—all the way up to the current music scene. This author’s ability to assess the history of his subject through the lens of today’s music sets this book apart. As he finds the links between Carole King and Garland (“ ‘It Might as Well Rain Until September’ could have been sung by Judy Garland in Meet Me in St Louis”) or Paul McCartney’s connections to both Matt Monro and Peggy Lee, Stanley makes the argument that good music is good music. “John Lennon disparagingly referred to these efforts as Paul’s ‘granny music,’ ” writes the author. “But who doesn’t love their granny?”
A delightful music history that gives pop its proper due without losing any of the fizzy fun along the way.Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63936-250-9
Page Count: 624
Publisher: Pegasus
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.
A carefully curated personal portrait.
First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781510782693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
