A candid and colorful memoir by the singer, songwriter, and “Duchess of Coolsville” (Time). This troubadour life is only for the fiercest hearts, only for those vessels that can be broken to smithereens and still keep beating out the rhythm for a new song . . . Last Chance Texaco is the first-ever no-holds-barred account of the life of two-time Grammy Award-winner and Rickie Lee Jones in her own words (Hilton Als). It is a tale of desperate chances and impossible triumphs, an adventure story of a girl who beat the odds and grew up to become one of the most legendary artists of her time, turning adversity and hopelessness into timeless music. With candor and lyricism, she takes us on a singular journey through her nomadic childhood, her years as a teenage runaway, her legendary love affair with Tom Waits, and ultimately her longevity as the hardest working woman in rock and roll. Rickie Lee’s stories are rich with the infamous characters of her early songs—“Chuck E’s in Love,” “Weasel and the White Boys Cool,” “Danny’s All-Star Joint,” and “Easy Money”—but long before her notoriety in show business, there was a vaudevillian cast of hitchhikers, bank robbers, jail breaks, drug mules, and a pimp with a heart of gold, and tales of her fabled ancestors. This intimate memoir by one of the most trailblazing and tenacious women in music is filled with never-before-told stories of the girl in the raspberry beret, whose songs defied categorization and inspired American pop culture for decades. “A striking, distinctive self-portrait.” —The New York Times “Terrific . . . Jones is as fearless in prose as she is on stage.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Men leave, fame fizzles, family breaks your heart . . . but Jones knows a good story and how to tell it.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “[The] premiere song-stylist and songwriter of her generation.” —Hilton Als, Pulitzer Prize–winner and author of White Girls

A collection of previously published works on performance and stardom, examining the relationship between genre and performance, the position of the star within ideology, the construction of a semiotics of performance and stardom, the function of the actor within experimental or independent cinema, and the distinction between performance and everyday behavior. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

On stage from her childhood, Martha Raye (1916-1994) proudly embraced the role of the clown, her gift for slapstick comedy enhanced by a fine singing voice. She became a star with her first feature film, Rhythm on the Range (1936), as the zany, loudmouthed girl looking for love--or chasing it as it ran away. She won popular and critical acclaim with The Martha Raye Show (1954-1956) before it was abruptly cancelled, partly because of her chaotic personal life. Drawing on new interviews with her colleagues, this retrospective covers the life and career of an enduringly funny lady who influenced a generation of women comedians. Her reign as a top NBC star of the 1950s is covered, along with her appearances on popular variety shows, her roles in fondly remembered series like The Bugaloos, McMillan and Alice, and her film career that teamed her with the likes of Jack Benny, Charlie Chaplin and Doris Day.

The guy looked at me with a stare that would have frozen antifreeze. "You the new groupie, huh?" "Yeah," I said. "So?" "So no one wants you here. Why don't you go back where you came from?" I can't go back, I wanted to say. That was the thing about living in a group home. There was nowhere for me to go but forward. Brent Hartinger's second novel, a portrait of a subculture of teenagers that many people would like to forget, is as powerful and provocative as his first book, Geography Club.

"An examination of the origin, history, development, and societal impact of television"--Provided by publisher.

LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.

"If there was a book like Brought to You By when I came into the advertising business, it would have saved me ten years of hard knocks. I plan to buy it by the box load and hand it out as my gift to any young person who expresses interest in getting into the advertising business." ?Jerry Della Femina, President, Jerry Della Femina & Partners "The most exciting and comprehensive explanation of how a single medium rose to be one of the most definitive forces in our culture." ?John Gerzema, Managing Director, Fallon NYC "A fun-filled journey of reminiscences for those of us old enough to remember the early days of TV advertising. Samuel also provides a powerful analogy that puts the roles of regulation, freedom, and the profit motive of the Internet in perspective." ?Paul J. Groncki, Ph.D., VP, Director of Marketing Research, J.P. Morgan "Incredibly thought-provoking for anyone interested in the shaping of our commercial culture." ?Megan Kent, Executive Director, Brand Planning, Bozell Worldwide "All scholars interested in how and why advertisers used commercials to advance a triumphant and optimistic American Way will find Brought to You By an exciting read." ?Lary May, Professor of American Studies, University of Minnesota "This important book examines and credits, warts and all, the undeniable engine behind our country's thirst for growth and belief in endless possibilities?the television commercial." ?Mark R. Morris, Chairman, Bates North America "For the general reader or the specialist seeking to understand the commercial roots of our experience economy, I cannot imagine a more perceptive guide." ?John F. Sherry, Jr., Professor of Marketing, Northwestern University "Fascinating reading, capturing a pivotal moment in the shaping of the most powerful generation in history, baby boomers." ?Benny Sommerfeld, Business Development Manager, Volvo Cars N.A.