Is That All There Is?: The Strange Life of Peggy Lee, by James Gavin
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Is That All There Is?: The Strange Life of Peggy Lee, by James Gavin
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Praised by the New York Times Book Review as “fascinating, suspenseful, careful, musically detailed, and insightful,” this is a long-overdue biography of recording artist and musical legend Peggy Lee.Miss Peggy Lee cast a spell when she sang. She epitomized cool, but her trademark song, “Fever”—covered by Beyoncé and Madonna—is the essence of sizzling sexual heat. Her jazz sense dazzled Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong. She was the voice of swing, the voice of blues, and she provided four of the voices for Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, whose score she co-wrote. But who was the woman behind the Mona Lisa smile? With elegant writing and impeccable research, including interviews with hundreds who knew Lee, acclaimed music journalist James Gavin offers the most revealing look yet at an artist of infinite contradictions and layers. Lee was a North Dakota prairie girl who became a temptress of enduring mystique. She was a singer-songwriter before the term existed. Lee “had incredible confidence onstage,” observed the Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop; yet inner turmoil wracked her. She spun a romantic nirvana in her songs, but couldn’t sustain one in reality. As she passed middle age, Lee dwelled increasingly in a bizarre dreamland. She died in 2002 at the age of eighty-one, but the enchantment with Lee has only grown. “Raucously entertaining [and] full of evocative scenes, wry humor and exasperated sympathy” (Publishers Weekly), Is That All There Is? paints a masterful portrait of an artist who redefined popular singing.
Is That All There Is?: The Strange Life of Peggy Lee, by James Gavin- Amazon Sales Rank: #1061826 in Books
- Published on: 2015-10-06
- Released on: 2015-10-06
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x 1.60" w x 6.00" l, 1.45 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 624 pages
Review “Gavin’s book is fascinating, suspenseful, careful, musically detailed and insightful…” (New York Times Book Review)“Astute, unblinking and ultimately dispiriting biography…of a woman who, like her idol Billie Holiday, could never master her own chaos." (Washington Post)"Absorbing...the meat of Is That All There Is is Gavin’s adroit music writing and the dimension he brings to the details of Lee’s life. His command of the artistry and musicology in the worlds of jazz and Lee’s contemporaries is first rate....Gavin keeps focus on what Peggy Lee was doing musically even as everything else in her life was sensationally spiraling out of control." (New York Journal of Books)"Gavin numbers among that rare breed of biographer capable of tremendous style and substance, meticulous about detail and accuracy yet blessed with exceptional storytelling élan. what emerges is a masterwork of balanced reporting, unflinchingly honest yet eminently respectful." (Maclean's (Canada))"A penetrating portrait of a woman embittered by childhood memories and failed marriages,struggling with alcohol and drugs, yet determined to have a career worthy of her voice…Old and new fans will appreciate this revealing portrait of a troubled and talented woman.” (Booklist)"[A] stimulating biography of the late jazz chanteuse…raucously entertaining…Full of evocative scenes, wry humor and exasperated sympathy, Gavin’s is an engrossing account of a singular talent." (Publishers Weekly)"Nobody writes as eloquently, knowledgeably, and page-turningly about the midcentury music heroes who sang—and lived—our American story as James Gavin. His biography of Peggy Lee immerses us in a singular life of radiant self-invention. Peggy Lee patented the unlikely: she was the first white girl who sang (and felt) black. She sounded cool and soft and ironic and understated, making you lean in. This elegant, confident book does that, too." (Sheila Weller, bestselling author of Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and the Journey of a Generation)"My dad, Nat King Cole, was very friendly with Peggy Lee, his label-mate at Capitol Records. Her mysterious glamour made quite an impression on me. Peggy was a trailblazer—not just as a performer but as a songwriter, at a time when it wasn't very common for singers to write their own songs. James Gavin has captured the essence of the rich musical era that people like my dad and Peggy defined. In his keenly observed, scrupulously researched biography he has also illuminated something very true and touching about the woman behind the glamour. I highly recommend this book." (Natalie Cole)Praise for Stormy Weather"Eventful and suspenseful... A thorough and fluent biography." (The New York Times Book Review)"Magnificent, gripping, marvelously written... [It] may just be one of the best biographies about show business, race, love, sex, and music ever written." (Liz Smith, Variety)"A fascinating study of a complicated woman and the complicated times that shaped her." (Usa Today)"In Gavin's capable hands, Lena Horne's story is both uniquely her own and an integral part of a larger cultural story." (San Francisco Chronicle)“Sympathetic and tough." (The New Yorker)
About the Author James Gavin is the author of Deep in a Dream, Intimate Nights, and Stormy Weather. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Time Out New York, among other publications. He lives in New York City.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Is That All There Is? “When she wanted me to play bluesy she’d say, ‘Trains,’ ” recalled one of Lee’s musicians. The Midland Continental depot at Jamestown, North Dakota, c. 1910.
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Most helpful customer reviews
55 of 66 people found the following review helpful. A Must Read By junamack Based on Mr. Gavin's Vanity Fair article on Peggy Lee some time ago, I approached this book with some trepidation, thinking that it would be an irreverent tell-all account of her life. On the contrary, I found it to be a well-documented book that provided me with much new information, especially updating me on events following Miss Lee's passing.When I finished reading the book this morning,I came away from it with a lump in my throat and a new understanding of the star, her persona,her talent, as well as her sadness and triumphs. Best book I've read so far about Peggy Lee !
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful. Gavin's obvious dislike for his subject sours and undermines the whole book By Doc J Since I thought "Deep in a Dream" - Gavin's book about Chet Baker - was one of the best jazz bios I'd ever read, I was excited to get hisnew one on Peggy Lee, who was such a pioneering original. But its negative tone began with that peculiar title (what was so "strange" about her is not made explicit; instead, the word hangs in the air to throw shade on all that follows).In fact, the entire narrative is drenched with Gavin's palpable contempt for his subject. For example, he's grudging about Lee's unhappy childhood, both reporting and dismissing it, as he repeatedly accuses her of exaggerating for effect. The motivations he attaches to her behavior invariably portray her as monstrously selfish, and he repeatedly demonizes her sexuality as nothing more than predatory, without any genuine feeling and connection. It is the biographer's prerogative to infer and imply when he can't interview his subject, but here his contempt keeps getting in the way of the story. Gavin seemed incapable of reporting on her accomplishments and talent without injecting some snide judgments to undermine them.I was especially offended when he characterized one of Lee's anguished outbursts as "blubbering," which is a mean and mocking way to describe anybody's suffering. But that's the kind of disrespect that mars this book, which is a deliberately unsympathetic and misogynistic portrait of a great artist who deserved far better.
26 of 31 people found the following review helpful. I absolutely love this book By Tammy Lang I absolutely love this book. James Gavin's writing is insightful, incisive, eloquent and elegant and utterly enjoyable - what a joy to read! He brillliantly recounts the life - indeed, the strange life - of the breathtakingly talented and incredibly complex Peggy Lee. Gavin is not afraid to show the real woman behind the serene mask she wore in public, and he deftly unravels the complicated layers of depth, pain, joy, humor, sexuality, cruelty and profound heart within this richly gifted singer and songwriter. By showing us who Peggy was, he deepens our understanding of her work, of her artistry, and creates a vivid portrait of a performer whose demons both drove her to success and pulled her away from any true human connection. His love and respect for his subject is undeniable, and by giving us the full picture, honors Peggy Lee in the most consummate way. Gavin's knowledge is boundless and, though he clearly did a huge amount of research and work, his writing displays the same sublime effortless and ease as the supreme vocal style of Peggy Lee. "Is That All There Is? The Strange Life Of Peggy Lee" is a fascinating book about a mesmerizing spirit. Without a doubt, the definitive biography of one of the greatest singers of any age.
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