More than 30 million Americans who were born between 1946 and 1956 and entered adolescence during the 1960s had no idea how wild the ride would be through that restless, freewheeling, chaotic, and at times angry decade, a blur of sights and sounds through which we hung on for dear life. Popular music became the soundtrack that both reflected and sculpted the shifting political and sociological climate of the era. Playlists of top 40 and progressive rock radio stations were spectacularly eclectic, encompassing rockabilly, rhythm and blues, surf music, jazz, folk standards, calypso, romantic ballads, the British Invasion, novelty tunes, folk-rock, art rock, and psychedelia. But as familiar as fans became with the songs that they embraced, they knew little about the performers who recorded them. How did these performers spend their childhoods? What inspired them to pursue careers in music? What kinds of struggles did they encounter? How did they cope with fame at a young age? And what changes did they undergo during their adult years?
For the Record, Volume 1, the first in a four-volume series issued by Vaune Howard Publishing, is an updated and more expansive edition of Echoes of the Sixties, our first book initially published in trade paperback form by Billboard Books in 1999, then reissued as an e-book by EditPros LLC in 2011. This authorized biographical book tells the true life stories of singers and musicians who achieved fame as soloists or members of hit-making, influential bands.
Through conversations with performers and family members, we share fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses into the lives of these talented musicians and singers:
Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs ("Sugar Shack"), Gary "U.S." Bonds ("Quarter to Three"), the Tokens ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight"), the Angels ("My Boyfriend's Back"), Peter and Gordon ("A World Without Love"), the Beau Brummels ("Laugh, Laugh"), Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs ("Wooly Bully"), the Lovin' Spoonful ("Summer in the City"), Gary Puckett and the Union Gap ("Lady Willpower"), Country Joe and the Fish ("I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die"), and Iron Butterfly ("In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida").
The collective goal of these performers was to gain a recording contract, to perpetuate their music in vinyl grooves for the record. And our goal in writing this book was to explore the paths that they followed in pursuing their dreams - professional as well as personal - and to document that for the record.
In this book, these singers and musicians candidly describe the exhilaration as well as the stress and heartaches that they experienced, their dreams, the obstacles they overcame, and the insights that they gained. We collaborated with the performers, who reviewed and authenticated our manuscripts. Through their stories, we learn something about ourselves.
The 398-page paperback edition contains 102 photos. The e-book edition contains 11 photos.
