Vanilla Doo-Wop
Vanilla Doo-Wop

Author: Robert Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2017-03-07

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 1365804607

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Vanilla Doo-Wop shares accounts of various white vocal groups originating along the Atlantic Coast during the late fifties and early sixties. Many of these artists became endearing music legends, recording many lasting tunes. Others achieved notoriety as a one-hit wonder with a single tune. In Vanilla Doo-Wop, read how a melody composed for one promising group was unceremoniously given to another and became a Top Five hit. See how a popular group turned down a song that would be recorded by their former lead singer and become one of the top rock and roll songs of all time. Learn of the vocalist whose hit record came out while he served military duty. He later joined one of America's most successful rock groups to sing lead on their biggest hit ever. Stroll down Memory Lane as we recall many of the era's great songs, by some of the finest doo-wop artists. These intriguing stories are all here, plus many more in Vanilla Doo-wop.

Dion and the Belmonts: Early Doo-wop and Rock and Roll Years
Dion and the Belmonts: Early Doo-wop and Rock and Roll Years

Author: Robert Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2017-04-03

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13: 1365868699

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DION and the BELMONTS: Early Doo-wop and Rock and Roll Years explores this popular Bronx group's rise to stardom with such hits at "I Wonder Why" and "Teenager in Love." After separating as a group, Dion scored big with "Runaround Sue," "The Wanderer" and "Abraham, Martin and John." The Belmonts hit big with "Come On Little Angel" and "Tell Me Why." The book includes a chronological biography and partial discographies of their works, individually and collectively. Relive our musical past with one of America's most beloved doo-wop vocal groups - Dion and the Belmonts.

The Music of the 4 Seasons Featuring Frankie Valli
The Music of the 4 Seasons Featuring Frankie Valli

Author: Robert Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-07-07

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 1387927094

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The 4 Seasons & Frankie Valli, rank among the top American vocal acts of all time. Collectively, they amassed seven #1 hits, 18 Top Ten, and an incredible 61 singles in the Hot 100. They also placed 32 LPS on the top albums charts. Their hit making years spanned more than a half-century. Their hits include: Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man, Rag Doll, Working My Way Back to You, Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, My Eyes Adored You, December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night), Grease... Their stardom was no overnight success, as they struggled through lean years and recorded many flops while searching for that elusive hit record. The rag-to-riches story has been told via an award-winning Broadway musical & a Clint Eastwood produced motion picture. Learn about the hits, misses, obscure album tracks and B-sides as they sang their way from delinquents to esteemed members of the R&R Hall of Fame. The book examines the music they made famous and tells of all the glorious years that passed between.

The Music of Del Shannon
The Music of Del Shannon

Author: Robert Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2019-12-26

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 035989948X

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Charles Westover grew up in a small midwestern town, learning guitar at an early age. After graduating high school, he joined the Army, married and shipped off to Europe where he honed his singing and guitar skills. Back home, Westover joined a local band while working at a carpet store.Soon he co-wrote, ""Runaway,"" one of the great rock and roll songs of the era and took on the stage name Del Shannon. Shannon went on to record many more hits and became a superb interpreter of the songs of other. He was the first American recording artist to cover a Beatles' tune, wrote Peter and Gordon's ""I Go to Pieces,"" and produced hit records for Brian Hyland and and the rock group, Smith. At a time when his career seemed to be on the upswing, Shannon's live ended tragically at his Southern California home. A rock legend himself, he would eventually be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you appreciate the great rock singers of the past, you will want to read The Music of Del Shannon.

This Winter's Eve... A Christmas Tale
This Winter's Eve... A Christmas Tale

Author: Robert Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2017-04

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13: 1365865452

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THIS WINTER'S EVE... is a delightful tale of a young boy's life as summer passes and Christmas nears. Meet his family and friends and explore his neighborhood as a new school year begins. Watch as summer eases into autumn, trees shed their leaves and blustery winter arrives. Excitement ensues as new Christmas catalogs appear in the mail. Shortly, the small town readies for the approaching season. Decorations go up on streetlamps and in the festive shops that line Main Street. Experience the child's thrill of going with his father to get a tree, his joy assembling the family's raggedy old Nativity set, and gaining a small part in the church Christmas play.Frigid conditions make for father's ingenuity to save the family's baby chicks.But, wonder and disappointment mark the boy's days as Santa's visit nears. THIS WINTER'S EVE... is small town Christmas at its finest.

The Music of Bobby Goldsboro
The Music of Bobby Goldsboro

Author: Robert Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-11-19

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 0359235719

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Luck was with Bobby Goldsboro when Roy Orbison came through the area on tour. Orbison took on Goldsboro's band and Bobby stuck with him for the next three years. Bobby went solo and soon scored a modest hit with "Molly," a song that he despised. A short while later, however, he scored a top ten song with his own "See the Funny Little Clown." Other hits followed but his superb "Broomstick Cowboy" was mistakenly seen by many radio stations as a Vietnam War protest songs and they refused to play it. Going against the grain, a Detroit station did air it and it became #1 in that area. His "Honey" was the top record for 1968 reaching #1 on every chart. "Watching Scotty Grow" was also a big hit. The early 70s saw the excellent "Summer (The First Time)" make waves. England voted it the best summer song ever. Bobby hosted a top-rated TV variety program, The Bobby Goldsboro Show, wrote and produced an Easter special for Disney and took up oil painting, of which his art is highly regarded.

Hepcats & Rockabilly Boys
Hepcats & Rockabilly Boys

Author: Robert Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-08-27

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 0359046150

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In the 1950s, country music merged with the rising new fad called ""rock and roll"" to form what would become known as ""Rockabilly."" In short, Rockabilly was fast paced, guitar and bass driven ditties with thundering rhythms. The songs were often less than memorable made up with a conglomeration of silly lyrics and phrases like ""bop,""""shake,""""mama,"" and""go cat!"" Cars, especially Cadillacs, and colors, pink and black, were prevalent in many of the songs. Songs like ""Oobie Doobie,"" ""Ubangi Stomp,"" ""Be Boppin' Baby,"" and ""Rockin' In the Congo"" were common record chart contenders. Many up and coming country crooners would go on to achieve widespread acclaim as names like Presley, Holly and Orbison conquered radio station playlists. They, among others, would become R&R legends. Others like Jack Scott, Boyd Bennett, and Dale Hawkins, found success to a lesser degree in the new genre. It's many of these ""lesser knowns"" that Hepcats & Rockabilly Boys explores. Here are some of their stories...

The Rabbit's Tale: A Tale for Children
The Rabbit's Tale: A Tale for Children

Author: Robert Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-03-14

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 1387661000

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Tranquil woodland lives are turned topsy-turvy when Jowls, a malicious canine, is taken in at a nearby farm. The dog's violent upbringing plagues him making him the bane of farm and forest creatures. Encounters between Sebastian Rabbit and Jowls are hostile and trouble for the rabbit ensues. It's a tale of flight and fright. The story's climactic ending threatens animals and humans alike. Meet such memorable characters as the rabbits, Sebastian and Mari, callous Jowls, the mouse and squirrel families, Mole, Toad and conniving Snake in this stirring page-turner of a tale written an audience of both young and old! The Rabbit's Tale demonstrates how vastly different adversaries can rally together to the well being of all.

Mackinac Drift
Mackinac Drift

Author: Robert F. Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2019-05-14

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 0359654770

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Michigan's historic Mackinac Island is considered the gem of the Great Lakes. Victorian-style homes, historic military forts and limestone formations grace the island. Michigan Highway M-185 circles the island even though its only traffic are horse-drawn carriages and bicycles--motorized vehicles are prohibited.Mackinac Island is peaceful, serene and a major summer vacation destination. The story: Two hundred years before, a fortune disappeared when American colonial forces recapture Mackinac Island from British occupiers. Through chance encounters, a modern day trio of ne'er-do-wells come together to share a house. Summer tourist season arrives and with it come scores of island visitors. Devious, tough-as-nails Josie, invites companions Wayland and Diggs to visit the island. The men happen upon a life-altering discovery. Companionship soon declines into primal instincts, greed and cruelty. Double crosses abound, sinking readers to unforeseen depths in this thrilling island mystery.

Outlast the Rain
Outlast the Rain

Author: Robert Reynolds

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2018-01-04

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1387487671

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Navy service school buddies ship off to Vietnam and find themselves temporarily abandoned upon their arrival. It's an ominous welcome to Da Nang. The young men are eventually assigned to a security police unit protecting Navy interests within the city. A tight knit group in the beginning, as time passes personalities clash and tension increases. Frequent rocket attacks and grueling shifts keep the men on edge. Personal differences cause dissension within the group.Financial opportunities within the country's thriving black-market prove tempting for some. An out of country visit only increases a risky involvement in the Southeast Asian underworld and an encounter with U.S. military and Vietnamese law enforcement authorities. Unforeseen events lead to a series of misfortunes and a sudden, unexpected conclusion. Outlast the Rain is a gripping, authentic tale of military life overseas; camaraderie and friendship, replete with greed, crime and betrayal in the exotic Far East during the Vietnam War era.