FACT: In September 1964, the Beatles, their private flight diverted by Hurricane Dora, made an unplanned visit to Key West. FICTION: Poolside at their motel, the Fab Four fell into conversation with a snappy-dressing local named Bert the Shirt, who listened as the band worked out a harmony to the most beautiful song he'd ever heard--and wouldn't hear again for over half a century. FACT: That night, the Beatles played an unannounced free concert in the motel bar. Everyone was welcome. Local musicians showed up with guitars and keyboards, and had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of jamming with the Beatles till 4 am. This legendary event has forever after been known to Key West locals as THE PARADISE GIG.FICTION: Next day, hung over and exhausted, the Beatles left for the airport, having somehow lost a stained and battered notebook that held a priceless stash of unrecorded songs. NOW CUT TO THE PRESENT: A beautiful woman is doing a yoga headstand on a Key West beach when she's abducted by a pair of thugs. An aspiring young singer is offered a recording deal that seems a bit too good to be true. Bad things happen to a couple of one-hit wonders...And old Bert hears a new song that is hauntingly familiar, but that he can't quite place.Could it possibly be the same song he'd heard at poolside so many years before? Could it be that all the present mayhem circles back through the decades to THE PARADISE GIG? Could the precious, even sacred, Beatles notebook possibly turn up after all these years? Could Bert be the hero who would rediscover that stash of unheard songs for music lovers everywhere-and save a young singer's life in the process? With Nacho, his intrepid Chihuahua, at his side, and with no one but bumbling detective Pete Amsterdam for an ally, the undaunted Bert the Shirt sets out through the Florida haze to piece it all together, learning along the way how much the world has changed-and how much it has not. In equal parts suspenseful and nostalgic, funny and romantic, this time-bending caper celebrates the power of music and the many tricks of memory, the joys of youth and the comforts of age, and the free and funky spirit of Key West.

Puterbaugh delivers an all-access pass to the life and times of one of rock and roll's most popular, inventive, and enduring bands, with 16 pages of rare photos.

A man is caught in a fight between his brother and a Mafia boss.

The Stranglers were at the vanguard of punk and new wave whilst never really being accepted as 'proper' punks. Still going to this day, but without original guitarist Hugh Cornwell, the classic line up is Cornwell, Jean Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield and Jett Black. This is the line-up covered in this book which goes from the band's conception to Cornwell's departure in 1990.

Herb Hicks is an artist who understands the fear behind painting a self-portrait but who also appreciates that a candid recounting of events in life can provide an emotional catharsis. It is with this theory in mind that he shares his fascinating personal experiences and insight into his views as he recalls a unique journey through a creative life filled with adventures and misadventures. In his memoir, Hicks begins with remembrances from his childhood growing up in North Dakota, where he emulated his cowboy heroes by riding a pretend horse, wearing real bearskin chaps, and firing a Red Ryder BB gun at imaginary desperadoes. As he matured, he found a passion for music, formed his own combo, and began traveling to and from gigs that took him from North Dakota to Montana and beyond. Motivated by his love for music, Hicks eventually landed in California, where he began playing professionally and found a new passion as a visual artista discovery that leads him down an unforgettable path, questioning his challenges, choices, chances, and changes. To and from Gigs is the intimate memoir of a musician, artist, and teacher who embarked on a lifelong search to find his better self.

Adriana Fernandez is a young, beautiful, and talented pianist and singer. Unfortunately, while growing up in Belém, Brazil, Adriana has encountered more than her fair share of bad luck, including a nasty encounter with a hoodlum named Joao Ramires that turns Adriana's world upside down. But still, Adriana has a rare musical gift: she can spin incredible piano melodies from her fingers, melodies to calm even the most troubled and tormented heart. Meanwhile, American couple Tom and Maggie Duchensky are looking for a piano player for their nightclub, The Jazzy Truth. The question is: is lovely Adriana Fernandez the right woman for the job? Because Tom has just discovered that he is going blind. And Maggie doesn't know if their love is strong enough to survive this crisis. Meanwhile, Adriana's own past is about to disrupt her present in a very terrifying way, plunging her into a deadly situation that will require all of her courage to survive. Will those who experience this Blind Melody see the light of Love? Or will darkness—both visual and emotional—win out in the end?

compiled by workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the state of Washington ; sponsored by the Washington State Historical Society. Rev. ed. /$bwith added material by Howard McKinley Corning.

A “fascinating, intimate” oral history of the golden age of the rock concert based on nearly 100 interviews with musicians, fans, and others (Publishers Weekly). Decades after the rise of rock music in the 1950s, the rock concert retains its power as a unifying experience—and as a multi-billion-dollar industry. In Rock Concert, acclaimed music writer Marc Myers delves into the history of this cultural phenomenon, weaving together ground-breaking accounts from the people who were there. Myers combines the tales of icons like Joan Baez, Ian Anderson, Alice Cooper, Steve Miller, Roger Waters, and Angus Young with the disc jockeys, audio engineers, and music journalists, and promoters who organized it all, like Michael Lang, co-founder of Woodstock, to create a rounded and vivid account of live rock’s stratospheric rise. Rock Concert offers a backstage view of rock ‘n’ roll as it evolved through live performance—from the rise of R&B in the 1950s, to the hippie gatherings of the ‘60s, and the growing arena tours of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Elvis Presley’s gyrating hips, the “British Invasion” of the Beatles, the Grateful Dead’s free flowing jams, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall are just a few of the defining musical acts that drive this rich narrative.