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.
Born in poverty in Tennessee, Dolly Rebecca Parton had ambition and determination in spades. Her first single, the ironic Dumb Blonde, launched the now legendary career of a singer-songwriter with a pure country voice and a gift for story-telling. Smart as a whip, Dolly Parton shrugged aside the male-dominated world of Nashville to command her own destiny, creating huge business enterprise in the process: She owns Dollywood theme park and other hospitality venues; she has hosted her own television programs and appeared in films with Jane Fonda, Burt Reynolds and Sylvester Stallone; her Imagination Library project sends free books to children all over the world – For Dolly, dreams are everything and nothing – you gotta roll your sleeves up and get stuck in. Collating interviews and encounters with Dolly Parton from 1967 onwards, Not Dumb Not Blonde proves just that. As in her songs, she is unfailingly entertaining, frank and feisty. These are the words of an artist and performer who, beneath the bravado, is deadly serious about her music and career, and this duality proves to be a touching, insightful and joyous read.
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
“It's going to be one hell of a great—everlastingly great—book with humor, tears, fun, emotion, and love,” Judy Garland said of her plans to tell her life story. But she died at the age of forty-seven before seeing it through. Judy Garland on Judy Garland is the closest we will likely come to experiencing and exploring the legend's abandoned autobiography. Collecting and presenting the most important Garland interviews and encounters that took place between 1935 and 1969, this work opens with her first radio appearance under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and concludes with her last known interview, one taped for Radio Denmark just months before her death. What makes this collection unique and distinguishes it from the plethora of Garland biographies is that it places Judy in the role of storyteller. She wrote a number of essays for various publications and sat for countless print, radio, and television interviews. These and the other autobiographical efforts she made are proof that Judy Garland wanted her story told, and wanted it told in her own words. Finally, here it is.
Nobody knows Dolly like Dolly," declares Dolly Parton. Dolly's is a rags-to-riches tale like no other. A dirt-poor Smoky Mountain childhood paved the way for the buxom blonde butterfly's metamorphosis from singer-songwriter to international music superstar. The undisputed "Queen of Country Music," Dolly has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and has conquered just about every facet of the entertainment industry: music, film, television, publishing, theater, and even theme parks. It has been more than fifty years since Dolly Parton arrived in Nashville with just her guitar and a dream. Her story has been told many times and in many ways, but never like this. Dolly on Dolly is a collection of interviews spanning five decades of her career and featuring material gathered from celebrated publications including Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, and Andy Warhol's Interview magazine. Also included are interviews which have not been previously available in print. Dolly's feisty and irresistible brand of humor, combined with her playful, pull-up-a-chair-and-stay-awhile delivery, makes for a fascinating and inviting experience in down-home philosophy and storytelling. Much like her patchwork "Coat of Many Colors," this book harkens back to the legendary entertainer's roots and traces her evolution, stitching it all together one piece at a time.
The third of Judy Garland's five husbands, Sid Luft was the one man in her life who stuck around. He was chiefly responsible for the final act of Judy's meteoric career, producing her iconic, Oscar-nominated performance in A Star Is Born and expertly shaping her concert career. Previously unpublished, and only recently found, Sid Luft's intimate autobiography tells their story. Their romance lasted Judy's lifetime, despite the separations, the reconciliations, and the divorce. Under Luft's management, Judy Garland came back, bigger than ever, building a singing career that rivaled Sinatra's. However, Judy's drug dependencies and suicidal tendencies put a tremendous strain on their relationship. Despite everything, Sid never stopped loving Judy and never forgave himself for not being able to ultimately save her from the demons that drove her to an early death.
There was a Cool Cat who swallowed a hat. I don't know why he swallowed the hat. HEY, dig that cat! A sax, a trumpet, a trombone, and more... Join Cool Cat and the Meow-Meow Band for this jazzy take on the popular children's rhyme, "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly.
To Philadelphia Phillies fans, he was the soundtrack of summer. To millions of football fans across America, he was the "Voice of the NFL." And as open and giving as Harry Kalas was throughout his professional and personal life, there are countless layers of the man that have remained unknown . . . until now. Author Randy Miller interviewed more than 160 people -- including all of Harry's surviving family, many of his close friends from childhood to present, numerous colleagues from baseball and the NFL, and even Harry's longtime personal psychologist -- to craft a loving and shockingly honest portrayal of one of the most celebrated broadcasters in the history of sports. With incredible details from all phases of his life -- from his upbringing in the Chicago suburbs, to his Hall of Fame broadcasting career in baseball, to his ubiquitous voiceover work with the NFL, to his personal vices for drinking and women, to his legendary friendship with Richie "Whitey" Ashburn, to his ongoing feud with on-air partner Chris Wheeler -- Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas will surprise, delight, and enlighten all fans of the man they called "Harry the K.
The 400 Best Things Ever Said About How to Play Baseball Randy Voorhees and Mark Gola The first book of baseball quotations to focus exclusively on how to play the game, As Koufax Said . . . brings together 400 of the best, most helpful and entertaining quotes about the game of baseball for players, coaches, and diehard followers. The result is a collection that offers intelligent, useful, and accurate advice to any fan of the national pastime.
About sixty miles north of Houston on Interstate 45, a giant statue soars above the piney woods of East Texas. Its a white concrete image of General Sam Houston, the first and third president of the Republic of Texas. Like everything in this state, it is oversized, and at seventy feet tall, its the largest statue of an American hero in the country. The statue welcomes the traveler to Huntsvillea small sleepy college town that was the home of Sam Houston, and which now is the home of Sam Houston State University (SHSU) and another Texas icon, the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC). On one side of its wall, convicts struggle with the rigors of prison life, and on the other at the university, another group of youths struggle with the demands of college. The contrast between the two serves as a metaphor for modern American life. This story is seen from the point of view of a man who experienced events on both sides of the prison wall. On one side of the wall, Randy White was a guardknown as Boss White to the inmates. On the other side was Randy White, a college student in 1972 and the Bearkats (the SHSU basketball team) official statistician. He was part of the story when the Bearkats became a basketball legend in the early seventies. Football is the renowned culture of Texas. If one has any doubts, then look at the Dallas Cowboys and the popularity of its cheerleading. Now there are cheerleading squads in the NFL as well as on the college football scene. There is nothing new or unique about that. But none are as famous as the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. To make the squad and wear the white short shorts and blue-and-white bolero jackets today is more prestigious than making the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes back in the forties. Such is the stature of football in Texas. So Texas is definitely football country. Basketball lives in the outskirts, something to be played in between football seasons. Sam Houston State Universitys basketball team had been lackluster for forty years. Nobody expected much from SHSU basketball in 1972, until the early seventies, back when a bunch of basketball players, intent on winning, burst on the scene like a perfect storm. Such is the one that brewed up one October day off New England, and it came out of nowhere. A confluence of different weather-related phenomena had combined to produce what was termed a perfect storm. That same perfect storm hit Huntsville. It was as if someone had put into a cauldron a unique combination of talent, coaching, spirit, camaraderie, and a new social awareness and mixed them upand out came a dream team, a dream season, a perfect storm. This is the story of that perfect storm, that dream season.
WrestleCrap: The Very Worst of Professional Wrestling examines some of the ridiculously horrible characters and storylines that pro wrestling promoters have subjected their fans to over the past twenty years. Why would any sane person think that having two grown men fight over a turkey was actually a reasonable idea' Was George Ringo, the Wrestling Beatle, really the best gimmick that a major promotional organization could come up with' And who would charge fans to watch a wrestler named the Gobbeldy Gooker emerge from an egg' In an attempt to answer such questions and figure out just what the promoters were thinking, authors Randy Baer and R.D. Reynolds go beyond what wrestling fans saw on the screen and delve into the mindset of those in the production booth. In some instances, the motivations driving the spectacle prove even more laughable than what was actually seen in the ring. Covering such entertainment catastrophes as an evil one-eyed midget and a wrestler from the mystical land of Oz, not to mention the utterly comprehensible Turkey-on-a-Pole match (a gimmick which AWA fans might recall), WrestleCrap is hysterically merciless in its evaluation of such organizations as the WCW and the WWF. This retrospective look at the wrestling world's misguided attempts to attract viewers will leave wrestling fans and critics alike in stitches.
To Philadelphia Phillies fans, he was the soundtrack of summer. To millions of football fans across America, he was the ''Voice of the NFL.'' And as open and giving as Harry Kalas was throughout his professional and personal life, there are countless layers of the man that have remained unknown . . . until now. Author Randy Miller interviewed more than 160 people-including all of Harry's surviving family, many of his close friends from childhood to present, numerous colleagues from baseball and the NFL, and even Harry's longtime personal psychologist-to craft a loving and shockingly honest portrayal of one of the most celebrated broadcasters in the history of sports. With incredible details from all phases of his life-from his upbringing in the Chicago suburbs, to his Hall of Fame broadcasting career in baseball, to his ubiquitous voiceover work with the NFL, to his personal vices for drinking and women, to his legendary friendship with Richie ''Whitey'' Ashburn, to his ongoing feud with on-air partner Chris Wheeler-Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas will surprise, delight, and enlighten all fans of the man they called ''Harry the K.
WrestleCrap: The Very Worst of Professional Wrestling" examines some of the ridiculously horrible characters and storylines that pro wrestling promoters have subjected their fans to over the past twenty years. Why would any sane person think that having two grown men fight over a turkey was actually a reasonable idea? Was George Ringo, the Wrestling Beatle, really the best gimmick that a major promotional organization could come up with? And who would charge fans to watch a wrestler named the Gobbeldy Gooker emerge from an egg? In an attempt to answer such questions and figure out just what the promoters were thinking, authors Randy Baer and R.D. Reynolds go beyond what wrestling fans saw on the screen and delve into the mindset of those in the production booth. In some instances, the motivations driving the spectacle prove even more laughable than what was actually seen in the ring. Covering such entertainment catastrophes as an evil one - eyed midget and a wrestler from the mystical land of Oz, not to mention the utterly comprehensible Turkey - on - a - Pole match (a gimmick which AWA fans might recall), "WrestleCrap" is hysterically merciless in its evaluation of such organizations as the WCW and the WWF. This retrospective look at the wrestling world's misguided attempts to attract viewers will leave wrestling fans and critics alike in stitches.
In 1997, World Championship Wrestling was on top. It was the number-one pro wrestling company in the world, and the highest-rated show on cable television. Each week, fans tuned in to Monday Nitro, flocked to sold-out arenas, and carried home truckloads of WCW merchandise. It seemed the company could do no wrong. But by 2001, however, everything had bottomed out. The company -- having lost a whopping 95% of its audience -- was sold for next to nothing to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. WCW was laid to rest. What went wrong? This expanded and updated version of the bestselling Death of WCW takes readers through a detailed dissection of WCW's downfall, including even more commentary from the men who were there and serves as an object lesson -- and dire warning -- as WWE and TNA hurtle toward the 15th anniversary of WCW's demise.
This in-depth companion guide celebrates movies centered on sports-oriented stories, characters, events, or backdrops, complete with more than 200 black-and-white movie stills.
The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak is the story of two larger-than-life characters and the son whom their lives helped to shape. Ruth Fertel was a petite, smart, tough-as-nails blonde with a weakness for rogues, who founded the Ruth's Chris Steak House empire almost by accident. Rodney Fertel was a gold-plated, one-of-a-kind personality, a railbird-heir to wealth from a pawnshop of dubious repute just around the corner from where the teenage Louis Armstrong and his trumpet were discovered. When Fertel ran for mayor of New Orleans on a single campaign promise-buying a pair of gorillas for the zoo-he garnered a paltry 308 votes. Then he purchased the gorillas anyway! These colorful figures yoked together two worlds not often connected-lazy rice farms in the bayous and swinging urban streets where ethnicities jazzily collided. A trip downriver to the hamlet of Happy Jack focuses on its French-Alsatian roots, bountiful tables, and self-reliant lifestyle that inspired a restaurant legend. The story also offers a close-up of life in the Old Jewish Quarter on Rampart Street-and how it intersected with the denizens of “Back a' Town,” just a few blocks away, who brought jazz from New Orleans to the world. The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak is a New Orleans story, featuring the distinctive characters, color, food, and history of that city-before Hurricane Katrina and after. But it also is the universal story of family and the full magnitude of outsize follies leavened with equal measures of humor, rage, and rue.
The historical context of family violence is explored, as well as the various forms of violence, their prevalence in specific stages of life, and responses to it made by the criminal justice system and other agencies. The linkage among child abuse, partner violence and elder abuse is scrutinized, and the usefulness of the life-course approach is couched in terms of its potential effect on policy implications; research methods that recognize the importance of life stages, trajectories, and transitions; and crime causation theories that can be enhanced by it.
Although the title suggests otherwise this book has absolutely nothing to do with either Warsaw, Poland or the month of August. Instead it's a satirical look at a small Midwestern town in the late 60's and early 70's. This book depicts bizarre behavior to the extent that I didn't feel it was necessary to state that the story was based on fictional characters. I'm assuming anyone who thought this book was about them is currently either in therapy or taking copious amounts of recreational drugs. If you don't normally read fiction consider reading it to use as an operator's manual on how not to screw up your life. Reviews from the books characters: Amos: "I intend to sue for defamation of character." Bernadette: "I think Ron is just misunderstood. I think basically he's a good person. However, I feel it's important to note that I've known him for less than a year." Grandpa: "This kid will end up killing me." Buttons the cat: "I will have my revenge.
A description of major battle sites, past and present. Such battles as Paducah, Perryville, and Middle Creek played a significant role in the outcome of the Civil War. Through firsthand documents, maps, and photographs, this volume provides an overview of the thirteen major conflicts that took place in the Bluegrass State. Sections detail the level of preservation of each site to provide readers with a contemporary perspective.
The Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Administration, Second Edition provides in-depth information needed to be a successful company officer, battalion, commander, deputy chief or chief executive officer, providing the necessary base curriculum to meet the FESHE requirements.
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