Truth, Lies & Hearsay: A Memoir of a Musical Life in and Out of Rock and Roll

Truth, Lies & Hearsay: A Memoir of a Musical Life in and Out of Rock and Roll

Author: John Simon

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2018-09-18

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9781720047162

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Chosen #5 by Billboard Magazine of the Ten Best Music Books of 2018!!!FOR THE ROCK MUSIC FAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING ...from KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Simon's star-studded debut memoir populated with humorous details and matter-of-fact commentary is incredibly readable, with plenty of quote-worthy anecdotes.Over the span of his lengthy career as a music producer, the author worked with some legendary artists, including Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, and The Band. In this remembrance, he details his lifelong engagement with music, which follows the trajectory of American popular music as a whole, from jazz to Broadway musicals to rock 'n' roll. An intriguing memoir about an unusual career involving some celebrated musical figures."Producer John Simon takes you on an incredible journey through his career in music with inside tales and quirky good humor.Celebrated music producer John Simon has produced some of the greatest rock 'n' roll ever recorded including THE BAND's "Music from Big Pink," "The Band," and "The Last Waltz," JANIS JOPLIN's Cheap Thrills, SIMON AND GARFUNKEL's Bookends, and the first albums by LEONARD COHEN and BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS. His contributions to popular music have helped tell the story of a generation in the 1960s and 70s, and now he is sharing his own."WHEN JOHN SIMON JOINED THE BAND'S BROTHERHOOD HE FIT LIKE A GLOVE. I CAN'T IMAGINE ANOTHER RECORD PRODUCER IN THE WHOLE WORLD WHO COULD'VE MATCHED JOHN'S WORK ON: MUSIC FROM BIG PINK AND THE BAND, ALBUMS." - - Robbie Robertson"Reflecting on the amazing life he's led, I found myself thinking he ought to write a book. Then I realized that he did. Now he tells never-before-told tales of those rich, often rollicking years in his colorful new book."--- Steve Israel* * * * * * *Given his truly unique perspective on music and the music business, Simon has been been courted by interviewers for years. With so many anecdotes to choose from, Simon found himself only skimming the surface of his experiences. Now, in writing TRUTH, LIES & HEARSAY, he has drawn on a lifetime of numerous first-hand accounts revealed in this memoir for first time, including: -Getting down the sounds for MUSIC FROM BIG PINK and THE BAND's 2nd album-How everything was changed by a hit record of a PAUL SIMON song that Paul didn't even like-Experiencing the volatile personal dynamics during the recording of CHEAP THRILLS by BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY featuring their new vocalist, JANIS JOPLIN-Living and playing in Woodstock when it was just a small-town safe haven for musicians.-Behind-the-scenes at THE BAND's "farewell concert appearance" -Writing two ballet scores for legendary choreographer TWYLA THARP-Touring with American blues master, TAJ MAHAL-Recording secrets revealed and much, much more!With an unerring ear for music and eye for a good story, John Simon has amassed a collection of remarkable stories to delight any music fan.Read about Leonard Cohen, Levon Helm, Janis Joplin, Robbie Robertson, The Band, Mama Cass, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Gordon Lightfoot, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Wilson Pickett, Peter Yarrow, Gil Evans, Elizabeth Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Les Paul, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Steve Forbert, Marshall McLuhan and The Beatles - -- All of these people and more turn up in the pages of TRUTH, LIES and HEARSAY: A Memoir of a Musical Life In and Out of Rock and Roll.You will really like this book.


John Simon on Film

John Simon on Film

Author: John Ivan Simon

Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 684

ISBN-13: 9781557835079

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(Applause Books). "I find John's critical writing immensely entertaining even when I'm not in agreement... He has the gift, such a rare one, of being able to analyze the work in question, to be able to say why it is that it's so powerful, so touching; or, on the other hand, so trite, so meretricious, or so banal... I find his reviews full of insights and perceptions that make reading a collection of this sort as exciting as reading a gripping novel. John's wit is dazzling and is never displayed for its own sake, but to drive home an aspect of the review... It was exciting for me to read through this collection and see such warm praise for so many films that I feel have been unjustly ignored." Bruce Beresford


John Simon on Theater

John Simon on Theater

Author: John Ivan Simon

Publisher: Applause Theatre & Cinema

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 856

ISBN-13:

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JOHN SIMON ON THEATRE: CRITICISM 1974-2003


The Music of Your Life

The Music of Your Life

Author: John Rowell

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2007-11-01

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 141658319X

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With a voice that is both sophisticated and deeply Southern, author John Rowell evokes the memory of the great Truman Capote in this wonderful collection of short stories, peopled with unforgettable, endearing characters and filled with wry insights. Drawn from the emotional well of a young man who grew up in love with the glittery, glamorous world of music and movies and theater—far removed from his own more prosaic life in North Carolina—and informed with honesty and compassion, the seven short stories that comprise The Music of Your Life showcase the talent of a remarkably gifted writer. Compulsively readable and always accessible, each story takes the reader into the mind and heart of its central character, whether a young boy suffering from Lawrence Welk damage and teetering precariously on the edge of puberty ("The Music of Your Life") or a not-so-young-anymore man for whom fantasy and reality have become a terrifying blur and who finds himself slipping over the edge toward total meltdown ("Wildlife of Coastal Carolina"). Nostalgia plays a part in these stories as a somewhat jaded New York film critic looks back on his life and the movies that shaped him ("Spectators in Love"), and an aging flower-shop owner ruefully assesses the love he found and lost when, as an eighteen-year-old, he embarked on a Hollywood career that never soared but did include one particularly memorable appearance on the I Love Lucy television show ("Who Loves You?") These stories all create entire worlds within which the characters live and struggle to find their way. Funny, touching, serious, and tender, the tales within The Music of Your Life are sure to appeal to anyone who has ever known the awkwardness of being "different," and while life is often harsh for the stories' characters, the bold determination with which they persevere offers inspiration to all.


The Band Photographs 1968-1969

The Band Photographs 1968-1969

Author:

Publisher: Backbeat Books

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781495022517

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(Book). Once in a while a photographer gains the trust of an artist or a band, and his work fuses with that of the artist in such a way that the two become married in the public consciousness. One can think of David Duncan's pictures of Picasso at work or Alfred Wertheimer's pictures of Elvis backstage in 1956. Elliott Landy's chronicle of The Band from 1968-1969 is of similar importance. He was trusted so deeply that this group of photographs is as intimate a portrait of a group of musicians inventing a new music as you are ever likely to come across. Today we call that music "Americana," and it is played all over the world by everyone from Mumford and Sons to the Zac Brown Band. But in 1968, when Elliott first started making these pictures, it was played by six musicians in the town of Woodstock, New York Bob Dylan and a group called The Hawks. They later changed their name to The Band. They had been The Hawks for five years when Bob Dylan pulled them out of Tony Mart's dive bar on the Jersey Shore to be his band.


Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo

Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo

Author: John Lithgow

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2013-10-22

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13: 1442467444

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A lively and lyrical picture book jaunt from actor and author John Lithgow! Oh, children! Remember! Whatever you may do, Never play music right next to the zoo. They’ll burst from their cages, each beast and each bird, Desperate to play all the music they’ve heard. A concert gets out of hand when the animals at the neighboring zoo storm the stage and play the instruments themselves in this hilarious picture book based on one of John Lithgow’s best-loved tunes.


Jolly Lad

Jolly Lad

Author: John Doran

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2020-06-23

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1913689018

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A memoir about the recovery from alcoholism, habitual drug use and mental illness, from broadcaster, and co-founder and editor of The Quietus website, John Doran. Jolly Lad is a memoir about the recovery from alcoholism, habitual drug use and mental illness. It is also about the healing power of music, how memory defines us, the redemption offered by fatherhood and what it means to be working class. “This is not a 'my drink and drug hell' kind of book for several reasons—the main one being that I had, for the most part, had a really good time drinking. True, a handful of pretty appalling things have happened to me and some people that I know or used to know over the years. But I have, for the most part, left them out of this book as they are not illuminating, not edifying and in some cases concern other people who aren't here to consent to their appearance. Instead this book concentrates on what you face after the drink and the drugs have gone.” Jolly Lad is about gentrification; being diagnosed bipolar; attending Alcoholics Anonymous; living in a block of flats on a housing estate in London; the psychological damage done by psychedelic drugs; depression; DJing; factory work; friendship; growing old; hallucinations; street violence and obsessive behaviour—especially regarding music and art.


Music and Politics

Music and Politics

Author: John Street

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-04-17

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 0745636551

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It is common to hear talk of how music can inspire crowds, move individuals and mobilise movements. We know too of how governments can live in fear of its effects, censor its sounds and imprison its creators. At the same time, there are other governments that use music for propaganda or for torture. All of these examples speak to the idea of music's political importance. But while we may share these assumptions about music's power, we rarely stop to analyse what it is about organised sound - about notes and rhythms - that has the effects attributed to it. This is the first book to examine systematically music's political power. It shows how music has been at the heart of accounts of political order, at how musicians from Bono to Lily Allen have claimed to speak for peoples and political causes. It looks too at the emergence of music as an object of public policy, whether in the classroom or in the copyright courts, whether as focus of national pride or employment opportunities. The book brings together a vast array of ideas about music's political significance (from Aristotle to Rousseau, from Adorno to Deleuze) and new empirical data to tell a story of the extraordinary potency of music across time and space. At the heart of the book lies the argument that music and politics are inseparably linked, and that each animates the other.


Any Way the Wind Blows

Any Way the Wind Blows

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Published: 2021-07-06

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 1250254345

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New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell's epic fantasy, the Simon Snow trilogy, concludes with Any Way the Wind Blows. In Carry On, Simon Snow and his friends realized that everything they thought they understood about the world might be wrong. And in Wayward Son, they wondered whether everything they understood about themselves might be wrong. Now, Simon and Baz and Penelope and Agatha must decide how to move forward. For Simon, that means choosing whether he still wants to be part of the World of Mages — and if he doesn't, what does that mean for his relationship with Baz? Meanwhile Baz is bouncing between two family crises and not finding any time to talk to anyone about his newfound vampire knowledge. Penelope would love to help, but she's smuggled an American Normal into London, and now she isn't sure what to do with him. And Agatha? Well, Agatha Wellbelove has had enough. Any Way the Wind Blows takes the gang back to England, back to Watford, and back to their families for their longest and most emotionally wrenching adventure yet. This book is a finale. It tells secrets and answers questions and lays ghosts to rest. The Simon Snow Trilogy was conceived as a book about Chosen One stories; Any Way the Wind Blows is an ending about endings—about catharsis and closure, and how we choose to move on from the traumas and triumphs that try to define us.


Shock and Awe

Shock and Awe

Author: Simon Reynolds

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2016-10-11

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 0062279815

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NPR Great Read of 2016 From the acclaimed author of Rip It Upand Start Again and Retromania—“the foremost popular music critic of this era (Times Literary Supplement)—comes the definitive cultural history of glam and glitter rock, celebrating its outlandish fashion and outrageous stars, including David Bowie and Alice Cooper, and tracking its vibrant legacy in contemporary pop. Spearheaded by David Bowie, Alice Cooper, T. Rex, and Roxy Music, glam rock reveled in artifice and spectacle. Reacting against the hairy, denim-clad rock bands of the late Sixties, glam was the first true teenage rampage of the new decade. In Shock and Awe, Simon Reynolds takes you on a wild cultural tour through the early Seventies, a period packed with glitzy costumes and alien make-up, thrilling music and larger-than-life personas. Shock and Awe offers a fresh, in-depth look at the glam and glitter phenomenon, placing it the wider Seventies context of social upheaval and political disillusion. It explores how artists like Lou Reed, New York Dolls, and Queen broke with the hippie generation, celebrating illusion and artifice over truth and authenticity. Probing the genre’s major themes—stardom, androgyny, image, decadence, fandom, apocalypse—Reynolds tracks glam’s legacy as it unfolded in subsequent decades, from Eighties art-pop icons like Kate Bush through to twenty-first century idols of outrage such as Lady Gaga. Shock and Awe shows how the original glam artists’ obsessions with fame, extreme fashion, and theatrical excess continue to reverberate through contemporary pop culture.