This book, by Sheila Weller, was published in 2008. I had read an excerpt from it in Vanity Fair and found it interesting, but I never gave it another thought. Then a couple of weeks ago I came across the book at Best Buy but I decided against purchasing it because I never re-read books and it would just be more clutter for me to organize. Someone must have wanted me to read this book because the next day at the library there it was, staring me in the face. I am extremely superstitious so I checked the book out. Little did I know that this book about 3 female singer/songwriters would captivate me as it did. I devoured 527 pages of these women's lives in a little over a week. (Thank you to my wonderful husband Andrew and son Quentin for letting mommy have some super intense "alone" reading time.)
The books run the same biography course as the next celebrity bio--childhood, discovery, success, the personal price of success, making peace with success; but it also intersects all their lives and contrasts all pivotal moments in their lives. What I found while reading was that all these women were pioneers in the folk/pop musical spectrum. Without them we may not have had Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, and a slew of other female singer/songwriters that filled my 90's musical repertoire. They were not writing, for the most part, political music as their 60's counterparts had done before them. They were writing about their lives and loves, freedom (in a personal sense), and sexuality-which had never been sung about so openly and frankly by women. Their fame arose at the same time women's lib was streaming into America's consciousness. Women were identifying with something on the radio that seemed to be male dominated for quite some time. Fame brought them notoriety and financial success but it did not protect them from the heartache, which we all experience. The book delves into their marriages-Carole 4, Joni 2, Carly 2-and relationships (casual included) which for the most part were filled with misery, jealousy, and a woman's need to make her husband/significant other feel like a man, even if that meant diminishing one's success to keep him happy. One thing that took me by surprise is that the 70's/early 80's rock scene was quite incestuous. These girls overlapped lovers once or twice.
I was exposed to a lot of different music growing up but I can honestly say that Carole, Joni, and Carly were not a part of my musical education until my late 20's. I had heard some Carole King songs but I didn't really KNOW who she was until I started watching "Gilmore Girls" in 2000. The show uses Carole's "Where You Lead" as its theme song, and beginning November 2005 it was the song I sang to my son to put him to sleep so it has become extremely special to me.
Joni Mitchell was introduced to me by way of the movie "Practical Magic" starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. "A Case of You" is featured in the movie as Nicole drives to see her sister. But it was not until I saw "Love Actually" that I realized the power of her songs. If you have not seen the movie, please do not read the following that is in italics--the part where Emma Thompson's character discovers that her husband is involved with someone else, Joni's song "Both Sides Now" is played. Ms. Thompson's performance and the weight of the song affected me so, that I felt the character's betrayal as if it had been done to me personally. Her songs are not considered mainstream but are usually hailed by the hardcore music elite.
Carly Simon is the one singer that I think is the most recognized of all these ladies. I am pretty sure that everyone knows the words to "You're So Vain". I purchased a greatest hits CD of hers and it retained a permanent residence in my car CD player for a couple of months. Her songs are catchy. Excellent music to have on a road trip or to play while you cook.
If any of you are into reading biographies or are into the evolution of music, I definitely recommend this read. As for me, I will be downloading the Carole King and Joni Mitchell greatest hits to my iPod so I may continue my musical education.
No comments:
Post a Comment