One of America's finest R&B singers shares her own turbulent life, in an anecdotal memoir that recalls her rise from poverty to the heights of musical fame and her struggle with addiction, obesity, loss, and broken love affairs. 30,000 first printing. $30,000 ad/promo. Tour. - (Baker & Taylor)
The noted rhythm and blues singer shares her own turbulent life, in an anecdotal memoir that recalls her rise from poverty to the heights of musical fame and her struggle with addiction, obesity, loss, and broken love affairs - (Baker & Taylor)
Here is the intimate - and shockingly candid - story of one of the great women of American music. Considered among the finest soul singers of the rock-'n'-roll era, Etta James tells her mesmerizing tale in a voice uniquely her own - big, bold, and unrepentant. Without a trace of self-pity, the singer describes her chaotic childhood; gospel prodigy at age six, raucous rhythm-and-blues star at sixteen, she exudes a spirit of defiance and daring that has her breaking musical boundaries even as her life falls into disarray.
Along with uncensored war stories of early R & B and full-blown portraits of legends like Sam Cooke and Little Richard, Etta James paints a landscape that extends from Watts to Harlem, from South Side Chicago through the badlands of Texas. Her wild world is peopled with an all-star roster of musical geniuses, notorious pimps, and famed record executives. A former heroin addict, she is candid in detailing her dependency on high-priced drugs and wrong-headed men. Her insider's narration of the Golden Age of Soul, when her "Tell Mama" topped the charts, is unsparing. - (Blackwell North Amer)
intimate anecdotes about pop music's legendary talents, Rage to Survive offers a graphic chronicle of one woman's triumphs and tragedies--the rollercoaster life of Etta James, the grand diva of Rhythm and Blues. Photos. - (Random House, Inc.)