-
Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $26.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
The greatest Southern storyteller of our time, New York Times best-selling author Rick Bragg, tracks down the greatest rock and roller of all time, Jerry Lee Lewis - and gets his own story, from the source, for the very first time.
A monumental figure on the American landscape, Jerry Lee Lewis spent his childhood raising hell in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi; galvanized the world with hit records like "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire", that gave rock and roll its devil’s edge; caused riots and boycotts with his incendiary performances; nearly scuttled his career by marrying his 13-year-old second cousin - his third wife of seven; ran a decades-long marathon of drugs, drinking, and women; nearly met his maker, twice; suffered the deaths of two sons and two wives, and the indignity of an IRS raid that left him with nothing but the broken-down piano he started with; performed with everyone from Elvis Presley to Keith Richards to Bruce Springsteen to Kid Rock - and survived it all to be hailed as "one of the most creative and important figures in American popular culture and a paradigm of the Southern experience."
Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story is the Killer’s life as he lived it, and as he shared it over two years with our greatest bard of Southern life: Rick Bragg. Rich with Lewis' own words, framed by Bragg’s richly atmospheric narrative, this is the last great untold rock-and-roll story, come to life on the page.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Ava's Man
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutin’ a beloved bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South. This time he’s writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his family’s table through the worst of the Great Depression
-
-
Deeply moving
- By Kate on 08-12-03
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Hag
- The Life, Times, and Music of Merle Haggard
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Merle Haggard was one of the most important country music musicians who ever lived. The Hag tells, without compromise, the extraordinary life of Merle Haggard, augmented by the deep secondary research, sharp detail, and ample anecdotal material that biographer Marc Eliot is known for, and enriched and deepened by more than 100 new and far-ranging interviews.
-
-
A Major Disappointment
- By Kafe Society on 02-17-22
By: Marc Eliot
-
Where I Come From
- Stories from the Deep South
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrated author and newspaper columnist Rick Bragg brings us an ode to the stories and history of the Deep South, filled with “eclectic nuggets about places and people he knows well” (USA Today) and written with honesty, wit, and deep affection. A collection of wide-ranging and endearingly personal columns — from Bragg’s love of Tupperware (his mother preferred margarine tubs and thought Tupperware was “just showing off”) to the decline of country music, from the legacy of Harper Lee to the metamorphosis of the pickup truck.
-
-
Great writing as usual
- By Tina on 10-30-20
By: Rick Bragg
-
All Over But the Shoutin'
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This haunting, harrowing, gloriously moving recollection of a life on the American margin is the story of Rick Bragg, who grew up dirt-poor in northeastern Alabama, seemingly destined for either the cotton mills or the penitentiary, and instead became a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. It is the story of Bragg's father, a hard-drinking man with a murderous temper and the habit of running out on the people who needed him most.
-
-
ABRIDGED
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-16
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Prince of Frogtown
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rick Bragg closes his circle of family stories with an unforgettable tale about fathers and sons inspired by his own relationship with his 10-year-old stepson.
-
-
This guy can write.
- By colleen on 03-08-14
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Best Cook in the World
- Tales from My Momma's Southern Table: A Memoir and Cookbook
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the beloved, best-selling author of All over but the Shoutin', a delectable, rollicking food memoir, cookbook, and loving tribute to a region, a vanishing history, a family, and, especially, his mother. In The Best Cook in the World, Rick Bragg finally preserves his heritage by telling the stories that framed his mother's cooking and education, from childhood into old age. Because good food always has a good story.
-
-
Delicious Tales
- By Noreen on 05-08-18
By: Rick Bragg
-
Ava's Man
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutin’ a beloved bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South. This time he’s writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his family’s table through the worst of the Great Depression
-
-
Deeply moving
- By Kate on 08-12-03
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Hag
- The Life, Times, and Music of Merle Haggard
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Merle Haggard was one of the most important country music musicians who ever lived. The Hag tells, without compromise, the extraordinary life of Merle Haggard, augmented by the deep secondary research, sharp detail, and ample anecdotal material that biographer Marc Eliot is known for, and enriched and deepened by more than 100 new and far-ranging interviews.
-
-
A Major Disappointment
- By Kafe Society on 02-17-22
By: Marc Eliot
-
Where I Come From
- Stories from the Deep South
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrated author and newspaper columnist Rick Bragg brings us an ode to the stories and history of the Deep South, filled with “eclectic nuggets about places and people he knows well” (USA Today) and written with honesty, wit, and deep affection. A collection of wide-ranging and endearingly personal columns — from Bragg’s love of Tupperware (his mother preferred margarine tubs and thought Tupperware was “just showing off”) to the decline of country music, from the legacy of Harper Lee to the metamorphosis of the pickup truck.
-
-
Great writing as usual
- By Tina on 10-30-20
By: Rick Bragg
-
All Over But the Shoutin'
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This haunting, harrowing, gloriously moving recollection of a life on the American margin is the story of Rick Bragg, who grew up dirt-poor in northeastern Alabama, seemingly destined for either the cotton mills or the penitentiary, and instead became a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. It is the story of Bragg's father, a hard-drinking man with a murderous temper and the habit of running out on the people who needed him most.
-
-
ABRIDGED
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-16
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Prince of Frogtown
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rick Bragg closes his circle of family stories with an unforgettable tale about fathers and sons inspired by his own relationship with his 10-year-old stepson.
-
-
This guy can write.
- By colleen on 03-08-14
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Best Cook in the World
- Tales from My Momma's Southern Table: A Memoir and Cookbook
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the beloved, best-selling author of All over but the Shoutin', a delectable, rollicking food memoir, cookbook, and loving tribute to a region, a vanishing history, a family, and, especially, his mother. In The Best Cook in the World, Rick Bragg finally preserves his heritage by telling the stories that framed his mother's cooking and education, from childhood into old age. Because good food always has a good story.
-
-
Delicious Tales
- By Noreen on 05-08-18
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Speckled Beauty
- A Dog and His People
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All Over but the Shoutin', the warmhearted and hilarious story of how his life was transformed by his love for a poorly behaved, half-blind stray dog.
-
-
Finest Book on Audible, Bar None (imho)
- By Mary Burnight on 08-12-22
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Grand Tour
- The Life and Music of George Jones
- By: Rich Kienzle
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a masterful biography laden with new revelations, veteran country music journalist/historian Rich Kienzle offers a definitive, full-bodied portrait of legendary country singer George Jones and the music that remains his legacy. Kienzle meticulously sifted through archival material, government records, and recollections by colleagues and admirers, interviewing many involved in Jones' life and career. The result: an evocative portrait of this enormously gifted, tragically tormented icon.
-
-
Interesting story, bad reading
- By Amazon Customer on 05-12-16
By: Rich Kienzle
-
Johnny Cash
- The Life
- By: Robert Hilburn
- Narrated by: Charles Pittard
- Length: 21 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive, intimate, no-holds-barred biography of Johnny Cash. People don't just listen to Johnny Cash - they believe in him. Although part of his life has been told on film, there are many compelling layers to his story that have remained hidden - until now. Robert Hilburn tells the unvarnished truth about a musical icon whose personal life was far more troubled and his artistry much more profound than even his most devoted fans have realized.
-
-
Awesome!
- By Steven L. on 10-13-15
By: Robert Hilburn
-
I Am a Soldier, Too
- The Jessica Lynch Story
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On March 23, 2003, Private First Class Jessica Lynch was crossing the Iraqi desert with the 507th Maintenance Company when the convoy she was traveling in was ambushed, caught in enemy crossfire. All four soldiers traveling with her died in the attack. Lynch, perhaps the most famous P.O.W. this country has ever known, was taken prisoner and held captive in an Iraqi hospital for nine days. Her rescue galvanized the nation; she became a symbol of victory, of innocence and courage, of heroism; and then, just as quickly, of deceit and manipulation.
-
-
Yada...Yada...Yada....
- By David on 11-19-03
By: Rick Bragg
-
Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll
- By: Peter Guralnick
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 29 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The music that Phillips shaped in his tiny Memphis studio, with artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, introduced a sound that had never been heard before. He brought forth a singular mix of black and white voices passionately proclaiming the vitality of the American vernacular tradition while at the same time declaring, once and for all, a new, integrated musical day.
-
-
Good Rockin' Tonight!
- By tru britty on 11-16-15
By: Peter Guralnick
-
Waylon
- An Autobiography
- By: Waylon Jennings, Lenny Kaye
- Narrated by: Waylon Jennings
- Length: 2 hrs and 58 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born dirt poor, Jennings went from country disc jockey to country superstar, leading the revolution in country music with his platinum album The Outlaws. Through his eyes we see the Nashville scene in the early days, and through his honest, no-holds-barred storytelling, we follow his struggle to overcome drugs and impending bankruptcy to establish himself as one of the living legends of country music.
-
-
Amazing. But not unabridged.
- By Dave on 04-26-18
By: Waylon Jennings, and others
-
It's a Long Story
- My Life
- By: Willie Nelson, David Ritz - contributor
- Narrated by: Christopher Ryan Grant
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Unvarnished. Funny. Leaving no stone unturned"...So say the publishers about this audiobook I've written. What I say is that this is the story of my life, told as clear as a Texas sky and in the same rhythm that I lived it. It's a story of restlessness and the purity of the moment and living right. Of my childhood in Abbott, Texas, to the Pacific Northwest, from Nashville to Hawaii, and all the way back again. Of selling vacuum cleaners and encyclopedias while hosting radio shows and writing song after song, hoping to strike gold.
-
-
An Enjoyable Listen
- By Patrick on 05-19-15
By: Willie Nelson, and others
-
Last Train to Memphis
- The Rise of Elvis Presley
- By: Peter Guralnick
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 22 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley is the first biography to go past that myth and present an Elvis beyond the legend. Based on hundreds of interviews and nearly a decade of research, it traces the evolution not just of the man but of the music and of the culture he left utterly transformed, creating a completely fresh portrait of Elvis and his world. This volume tracks the first 24 years of Elvis' life, covering his childhood, the stunning first recordings at Sun Records, and the early RCA hits.
-
-
I'm an Elvis fan now
- By Vicki on 07-12-13
By: Peter Guralnick
-
Life
- By: Keith Richards, James Fox
- Narrated by: Johnny Depp, Joe Hurley
- Length: 23 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Now at last Keith Richards pauses to tell his story in the most anticipated autobiography in decades. And what a story! Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records in a coldwater flat with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, building a sound and a band out of music they loved. Finding fame and success as a bad-boy band, only to find themselves challenged by authorities everywhere....
-
-
Ins and outs
- By Jesse on 11-07-10
By: Keith Richards, and others
-
Coal Miner's Daughter
- By: Loretta Lynn
- Narrated by: Sissy Spacek
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Reissued for the 40th anniversary of the Oscar-winning, Sissy Spacek-starring film of the same name, Coal Miner's Daughter recounts Loretta Lynn's astonishing journey to become one of the original queens of country music. Loretta grew up dirt poor in the mountains of Kentucky, she was married at 13 years old, and became a mother soon after. At the age of 24, her husband, Doo, gave her a guitar as an anniversary present. Soon, she began penning songs and singing in front of honky-tonk audiences and eventually made her way to Nashville, securing her place in country music history.
-
-
Over the top . .
- By Tracy F. on 07-03-21
By: Loretta Lynn
-
Country Music
- A History
- By: Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns
- Narrated by: Brian Corrigan, Dayton Duncan, Ken Burns
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The rich and colorful story of America's most popular music and the singers and songwriters who captivated, entertained, and consoled listeners throughout the 20th century - based on the upcoming eight-part film series to air on PBS in September 2019.
-
-
Immersed in country music!
- By Lori Hanson on 09-30-19
By: Dayton Duncan, and others
-
Hank
- The Short Life and Long Country Road of Hank Williams
- By: Mark Ribowsky
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After he died in the backseat of a Cadillac at the age of 29, Hank Williams - a frail, flawed man who had become country music's first real star - instantly morphed into its first tragic martyr. Having hit the heights with simple songs of despair, depression, and tainted love, he would, with that outlaw swagger, become in death a template for the rock generation to follow.
-
-
Hank or F*ck the south
- By Todd Vickers on 07-13-21
By: Mark Ribowsky
Related to this topic
-
Tammy Wynette
- Tragic Country Queen
- By: Jimmy McDonough
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling biographer Jimmy McDonough tells the story of the small-town girl who grew up to be the woman behind the microphone, whose meteoric rise led to a decades-long career full of tragedy and triumph. Through a high-profile marriage and divorce, her dreadful battle with addiction and illness, and the struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving Nashville, Tammy Wynette turned a brave smile toward the world and churned out masterful hit songs though her life resembled the most heartbreaking among them.
-
-
Loved It!
- By Eileen on 03-19-10
By: Jimmy McDonough
-
Man of Constant Sorrow
- My Life and Times
- By: Ralph Stanley, Eddie Dean
- Narrated by: Ed Sala
- Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Man of Constant Sorrow, Grammy® Award winner Ralph Stanley opens up about his expansive career as an old-time musician. Stanley grew up in the Virginia mountains and first learned music from his banjo-playing mother. He interrupted his musical career to farm for a short time, but soon returned to music with his brother Carter. Later in his career, Stanley gained popularity after being featured in the hit motion picture soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?
-
-
Bluegrass!
- By Buford T America on 02-24-20
By: Ralph Stanley, and others
-
The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones
- By: Stanley Booth
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 17 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stanley Booth, a member of the Rolling Stones’ inner circle, met the band just a few months before Brian Jones drowned in a swimming pool, in 1969. He lived with them throughout their 1969 American tour, staying up all night together listening to blues, talking about music, ingesting drugs, and consorting with groupies. His thrilling account culminates with their final concert at Altamont Speedway - a nightmare of beating, stabbing, and killing that would signal the end of a generation’s dreams of peace and freedom.
-
-
Superlative rendering of a singular story.
- By Laura Davis on 11-28-15
By: Stanley Booth
-
Born to Run
- By: Bruce Springsteen
- Narrated by: Bruce Springsteen
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl's halftime show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That's how this extraordinary autobiography began. Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life, bringing to this audio the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his songs.
-
-
Me Springsteen's book moved me beyond words...
- By Ellen O'Brien on 12-12-16
-
The One
- The Life and Music of James Brown
- By: R. J. Smith
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Senior editor at L.A. Magazine RJ Smith saw his first book, The Great Black Way, win the coveted California Book Award. With The One, Smith profiles one of the 20th century’s most innovative musical icons, the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown. Drawing on extensive research and captivating interviews, Smith chronicles Brown’s rise from abject poverty to the pinnacle of fame, while also detailing Brown’s work as a civil rights activist and entrepreneur.
-
-
pitiable, lovable, despicable,understandable
- By Anonymous User on 01-06-13
By: R. J. Smith
-
The Ballad of Bob Dylan
- A Portrait
- By: Daniel Mark Epstein
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a vivid, full-bodied portrait of one of the most influential artists of the 20th-century - a man widely regarded as the most important lyricist America has ever produced. Acclaimed poet and biographer Daniel Mark Epstein frames Dylan against the backdrop of four seminal concerts - all of which he attended. Beautifully written, The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a unique, eye-opening portrait of an artist who has transformed generations and continues to inspire and surprise today.
-
-
Excellent book, excellent narration
- By L chandler on 12-22-11
-
Tammy Wynette
- Tragic Country Queen
- By: Jimmy McDonough
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling biographer Jimmy McDonough tells the story of the small-town girl who grew up to be the woman behind the microphone, whose meteoric rise led to a decades-long career full of tragedy and triumph. Through a high-profile marriage and divorce, her dreadful battle with addiction and illness, and the struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving Nashville, Tammy Wynette turned a brave smile toward the world and churned out masterful hit songs though her life resembled the most heartbreaking among them.
-
-
Loved It!
- By Eileen on 03-19-10
By: Jimmy McDonough
-
Man of Constant Sorrow
- My Life and Times
- By: Ralph Stanley, Eddie Dean
- Narrated by: Ed Sala
- Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Man of Constant Sorrow, Grammy® Award winner Ralph Stanley opens up about his expansive career as an old-time musician. Stanley grew up in the Virginia mountains and first learned music from his banjo-playing mother. He interrupted his musical career to farm for a short time, but soon returned to music with his brother Carter. Later in his career, Stanley gained popularity after being featured in the hit motion picture soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?
-
-
Bluegrass!
- By Buford T America on 02-24-20
By: Ralph Stanley, and others
-
The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones
- By: Stanley Booth
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 17 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stanley Booth, a member of the Rolling Stones’ inner circle, met the band just a few months before Brian Jones drowned in a swimming pool, in 1969. He lived with them throughout their 1969 American tour, staying up all night together listening to blues, talking about music, ingesting drugs, and consorting with groupies. His thrilling account culminates with their final concert at Altamont Speedway - a nightmare of beating, stabbing, and killing that would signal the end of a generation’s dreams of peace and freedom.
-
-
Superlative rendering of a singular story.
- By Laura Davis on 11-28-15
By: Stanley Booth
-
Born to Run
- By: Bruce Springsteen
- Narrated by: Bruce Springsteen
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl's halftime show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That's how this extraordinary autobiography began. Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life, bringing to this audio the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his songs.
-
-
Me Springsteen's book moved me beyond words...
- By Ellen O'Brien on 12-12-16
-
The One
- The Life and Music of James Brown
- By: R. J. Smith
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Senior editor at L.A. Magazine RJ Smith saw his first book, The Great Black Way, win the coveted California Book Award. With The One, Smith profiles one of the 20th century’s most innovative musical icons, the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown. Drawing on extensive research and captivating interviews, Smith chronicles Brown’s rise from abject poverty to the pinnacle of fame, while also detailing Brown’s work as a civil rights activist and entrepreneur.
-
-
pitiable, lovable, despicable,understandable
- By Anonymous User on 01-06-13
By: R. J. Smith
-
The Ballad of Bob Dylan
- A Portrait
- By: Daniel Mark Epstein
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a vivid, full-bodied portrait of one of the most influential artists of the 20th-century - a man widely regarded as the most important lyricist America has ever produced. Acclaimed poet and biographer Daniel Mark Epstein frames Dylan against the backdrop of four seminal concerts - all of which he attended. Beautifully written, The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a unique, eye-opening portrait of an artist who has transformed generations and continues to inspire and surprise today.
-
-
Excellent book, excellent narration
- By L chandler on 12-22-11
-
Outlaw
- Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville
- By: Michael Streissguth
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Waylon Jennings. Willie Nelson. Kris Kristofferson. Three renegade musicians. Three unexpected stars. Three men who changed Nashville and country music forever. Streissguth's new book brings to life an incredible chapter in musical history and reveals for the first time a surprising outlaw zeitgeist in Nashville. Based on extensive research and probing interviews with key players, what emerges is a fascinating glimpse into three of the most legendary artists of our times and the definitive story of how they changed music in Nashville and everywhere.
-
-
Revealing little-known Details does Captivate!
- By Cody Meyer on 11-20-17
-
The Cake and the Rain
- A Memoir
- By: Jimmy Webb
- Narrated by: Jimmy Webb
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jimmy Webb's words have been sung to his music by a rich and deep roster of pop artists, including Glen Campbell, Art Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, Donna Summer, and Linda Ronstadt. He's the only artist ever to win Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration, and his chart-topping career has, so far, lasted 50 years, most recently with a Kanye West rap hit and a new classical nocturne. Now Webb delivers a snapshot of his life from 1955 to 1970, from the proverbial humble beginnings into a moneyed and manic international world of beautiful women, drugs, cars, and planes.
-
-
This Book is Hard to Listen to
- By Robert Alexander on 01-14-21
By: Jimmy Webb
-
Wild Tales
- A Rock & Roll Life
- By: Graham Nash
- Narrated by: Graham Nash
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Graham Nash - the legendary musician and founding member of the iconic bands Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Hollies - comes a candid and riveting autobiography that belongs on the reading list of every classic rock fan.
-
-
The Best of the Recent Rock Biographies
- By Steven Schuster on 10-28-13
By: Graham Nash
-
In Black and White
- The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
- By: Wil Haygood
- Narrated by: Kevin Free
- Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This biography of entertainment legend Sammy Davis, Jr. is an enthralling portrait of one of the most recognizable figures from the golden age of American show business. Davis, a guarded man who protected his private life with great vigor, lived an extraordinary life in the limelight, while also forging new uncharted paths across racial lines.
-
-
Sammy Plus
- By James Gordon on 07-02-06
By: Wil Haygood
-
The Emperor of Sound
- A Memoir
- By: Timbaland, Veronica Chambers
- Narrated by: William Harper
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Timbaland is indisputably one of the most innovative music producers working today. The Grammy Award–wining producer, rapper, songwriter, and composer has collaborated with the mega-superstars of pop, rap, hip-hop, and R&B, from Jay Z to 50, Madonna to Justin, Nelly to Björk. His solo album Shock Value has sales tipped in the millions, and the video for his international chart-topping single "Apologize" has been viewed more than 100 million times on YouTube.
-
-
It's called a De-esser
- By Ethan on 05-02-16
By: Timbaland, and others
-
1965
- The Most Revolutionary Year in Music
- By: Andrew Grant Jackson
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During 12 unforgettable months in the middle of the turbulent '60s, America saw the rise of innovative new sounds that would change popular music as we knew it. In 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music, music historian Andrew Grant Jackson (Still the Greatest: The Essential Songs of The Beatles' Solo Careers) chronicles a groundbreaking year of creativity fueled by rivalries between musicians and continents, sweeping social changes, and technological breakthroughs.
-
-
Seems like a good overview
- By wylie smith on 01-12-23
-
Liner Notes
- On Parents & Children, Exes & Excess, Death & Decay, & a Few of My Other Favorite Things
- By: Loudon Wainwright III
- Narrated by: Loudon Wainwright III
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A memoir by the influential Grammy Award-winning singer and actor - son of journalist Loudon Wainwright, former husband of Kate McGarrigle and Suzzy Roche, and father of Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, and Lexie Kelly Wainwright - a captivating meditation on relationships and creativity from the patriarch of one of America's great musical families. With a career spanning more than four decades, Loudon Wainwright III has established himself as one of the most enduring singer-songwriters who emerged from the late '60s.
-
-
Best ever book for listening
- By Jeff Bernhardt on 10-29-17
-
Turn Around Bright Eyes
- A Karaoke Love Story
- By: Rob Sheffield
- Narrated by: Rob Sheffield
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Turn Around Bright Eyes picks up Sheffield’s story right after Love Is a Mix Tape. He is a young widower devastated by grief, trying to build a new life in a new town after his wife’s death. As a writer for Rolling Stone, he naturally takes solace in music. But that’s when he discovers the sublime ridiculousness of karaoke, and despite the fact that he can’t carry a tune, he begins to find his voice.
-
-
Witty (sometimes sad) love story/Soundtrack
- By Wally Tonra on 05-07-15
By: Rob Sheffield
-
Keith Richards
- The Unauthorised Biography
- By: Victor Bockris
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1992, Victor Bockris' celebrated biography was the first to recognize Richards' pivotal role in the legend of the Rolling Stones. Now that book on rock's most incredible survivor has been expanded. Here are the true facts behind Richards' battles with his demons: the women, the drugs and the love-hate relationship with Jagger. His struggle with heroin and his status as the rock star most likely to die in the 1970s. His scarcely believable rebirth as a family man in the 1980s. Illuminated with revealing quotes and thoughtful insights into the man behind the band that goes on forever.
-
-
doesn't comapre to LIFE
- By A. Garofalo on 02-20-14
By: Victor Bockris
-
King of the Blues
- The Rise and Reign of B.B. King
- By: Daniel De Visé
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 17 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Riley “Blues Boy” King (1925-2015) was born into deep poverty in Jim Crow Mississippi. Wrenched away from his sharecropper father, B.B. lost his mother at age 10, leaving him more or less alone. Music became his emancipation from exhausting toil in the fields. Inspired by a local minister’s guitar and by the records of Blind Lemon Jefferson and T-Bone Walker and encouraged by his cousin, the established blues man Bukka White, B.B. taught his guitar to sing in the unique solo style that, along with his relentless work ethic and humanity, became his trademark.
-
-
Excellent
- By Sonny Garcia on 01-02-24
By: Daniel De Visé
-
Purpose
- An Immigrant's Story
- By: Wyclef Jean, Anthony Bozza
- Narrated by: Sam Jean
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wyclef Jean is one of the most influential voices in hip-hop. He rocketed to fame in the 1990s with the Fugees, whose multiplatinum album, The Score, would prove a landmark in music history, winning two Grammys and going on to become one of the best-selling hip-hop albums of all time. In Purpose, Wyclef recounts his path to fame from his impoverished childhood in "Baby Doc" Duvalier's Haiti and the mean streets of Brooklyn and Newark to the bright lights of the world stage.
-
-
Great, great, great read!
- By Gbenga Ogunjimi on 04-10-24
By: Wyclef Jean, and others
-
Me, the Mob, and the Music
- One Helluva Ride with Tommy James and the Shondells
- By: Tommy James, Martin Fitzpatrick
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone knows the hits: "Mony Mony," "I Think We're Alone Now," "Crimson and Clover," "Crystal Blue Persuasion." They are nuggets of rock and pop history. However, few know the unlikely story of how these hits came to be. Tommy James had been performing in rock bands in the Michigan area since the age of 12. Prompted to record a few songs by a local disc jockey in 1964, Tommy chose an obscurity titled "Hanky Panky," which became a minor local hit that came and went.
-
-
What a ride - excellent story, well told
- By Dave on 03-25-10
By: Tommy James, and others
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
All Over But the Shoutin'
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This haunting, harrowing, gloriously moving recollection of a life on the American margin is the story of Rick Bragg, who grew up dirt-poor in northeastern Alabama, seemingly destined for either the cotton mills or the penitentiary, and instead became a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. It is the story of Bragg's father, a hard-drinking man with a murderous temper and the habit of running out on the people who needed him most.
-
-
ABRIDGED
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-16
By: Rick Bragg
-
Where I Come From
- Stories from the Deep South
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrated author and newspaper columnist Rick Bragg brings us an ode to the stories and history of the Deep South, filled with “eclectic nuggets about places and people he knows well” (USA Today) and written with honesty, wit, and deep affection. A collection of wide-ranging and endearingly personal columns — from Bragg’s love of Tupperware (his mother preferred margarine tubs and thought Tupperware was “just showing off”) to the decline of country music, from the legacy of Harper Lee to the metamorphosis of the pickup truck.
-
-
Great writing as usual
- By Tina on 10-30-20
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Most They Ever Had
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2001, a community of people in the Appalachian foothills had come to the edge of all they had ever been. Across the South, padlocks and chains bound the doors of silent mills, and it seemed a miracle to blue-collar people in Jacksonville, Alabama, that their mill still bit, shook, and roared. The mill had become almost a living thing, and they served it even as it filled their lungs with lint and shortened their lives. In return, it let them live in stiff-necked dignity in the hills of their fathers.
-
-
Great story.
- By Barbara A. Witte on 05-28-15
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Prince of Frogtown
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rick Bragg closes his circle of family stories with an unforgettable tale about fathers and sons inspired by his own relationship with his 10-year-old stepson.
-
-
This guy can write.
- By colleen on 03-08-14
By: Rick Bragg
-
Ava's Man
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutin’ a beloved bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South. This time he’s writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his family’s table through the worst of the Great Depression
-
-
Deeply moving
- By Kate on 08-12-03
By: Rick Bragg
-
My Southern Journey
- True Stories from the Heart of the South
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From celebrated New York Times best-selling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize Rick Bragg comes a poignant and wryly funny collection of essays on life in the South. Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, Bragg explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the regions' varied geographies, including his native Alabama, Cajun country, and the Gulf Coast.
-
-
Brushed Words
- By Tina M. on 10-16-15
By: Rick Bragg
-
All Over But the Shoutin'
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This haunting, harrowing, gloriously moving recollection of a life on the American margin is the story of Rick Bragg, who grew up dirt-poor in northeastern Alabama, seemingly destined for either the cotton mills or the penitentiary, and instead became a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. It is the story of Bragg's father, a hard-drinking man with a murderous temper and the habit of running out on the people who needed him most.
-
-
ABRIDGED
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-16
By: Rick Bragg
-
Where I Come From
- Stories from the Deep South
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrated author and newspaper columnist Rick Bragg brings us an ode to the stories and history of the Deep South, filled with “eclectic nuggets about places and people he knows well” (USA Today) and written with honesty, wit, and deep affection. A collection of wide-ranging and endearingly personal columns — from Bragg’s love of Tupperware (his mother preferred margarine tubs and thought Tupperware was “just showing off”) to the decline of country music, from the legacy of Harper Lee to the metamorphosis of the pickup truck.
-
-
Great writing as usual
- By Tina on 10-30-20
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Most They Ever Had
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2001, a community of people in the Appalachian foothills had come to the edge of all they had ever been. Across the South, padlocks and chains bound the doors of silent mills, and it seemed a miracle to blue-collar people in Jacksonville, Alabama, that their mill still bit, shook, and roared. The mill had become almost a living thing, and they served it even as it filled their lungs with lint and shortened their lives. In return, it let them live in stiff-necked dignity in the hills of their fathers.
-
-
Great story.
- By Barbara A. Witte on 05-28-15
By: Rick Bragg
-
The Prince of Frogtown
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rick Bragg closes his circle of family stories with an unforgettable tale about fathers and sons inspired by his own relationship with his 10-year-old stepson.
-
-
This guy can write.
- By colleen on 03-08-14
By: Rick Bragg
-
Ava's Man
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutin’ a beloved bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South. This time he’s writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his family’s table through the worst of the Great Depression
-
-
Deeply moving
- By Kate on 08-12-03
By: Rick Bragg
-
My Southern Journey
- True Stories from the Heart of the South
- By: Rick Bragg
- Narrated by: Rick Bragg
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From celebrated New York Times best-selling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize Rick Bragg comes a poignant and wryly funny collection of essays on life in the South. Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, Bragg explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the regions' varied geographies, including his native Alabama, Cajun country, and the Gulf Coast.
-
-
Brushed Words
- By Tina M. on 10-16-15
By: Rick Bragg
What listeners say about Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 09-27-18
my favorite singer of all time!
this story was everything I thought it would be plus a whole lot more! really well done, great research too!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tommy Russell
- 07-27-19
the absolute best biography I've ever read
story is incredible. written with sheer genius. I'll probably find another book by this author it's that well written. anyone from Memphis should have this book. anyone who loves music should have this book, anyone who has even heard the name of Jerry Lee should have this. I was a fan before but now a mega fan. worth every second and worth twice the $$$$$.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patrick
- 11-01-14
An Unsparing Portrait of a Southern Kinsman
When I was a child, I used to pretend I was Jerry Lee Lewis and would blast his music next to the piano. I couldn't play like him but it was fun to imagine. That's what comes to mind when I think of the great Jerry Lee. Just looking at the cover of this book gives an impression of a rebel who couldn't care less of what you or I thought of him.
The fiery pianist is known for his hard living and tumultuous personal life. With his fans rolling down the highway with their windows down and their elbows sticking out listening to the euphoric beats of a new age.
This book reflects on the life that he lived, and that his mama and daddy lived - clawing their way to some existence and hoping that Jerry Lee's talent would carry them. Bragg gets Lewis to relive some really awful things, hilarious things, and other things I thought were awful that turned out to be hilarious.It's a little bit what I imagined riding one of those mechanical bucking bulls would be like drunk, with one arm tied behind your back. It was interesting. Jerry Lee Lewis feeling his way back down through the past is like blindly going through a hallway lined with razor blades.
His whole a torture chamber of his own making. If Jerry Lee Lewis lived in hell, he will look you right in the eye and tell you he lived in a worldly hell of his own making.The most difficult thing was that often a story would end in a very Southern Gothic way. He buried a lot of people that he cared about, that he loved. If you live to be 80 years old, then you're going to bury a lot of people. But he buried people that went far too soon. Two sons just to begin with. That was the first thing. There is tragedy and there is tragedy as Jerry Lee Lewis. But not one time did he lie there and really feel sorry for himself that I can recall.
Lewis recalls the cruelty of the Great Depression, his daddy climbing into the rafters to beat to death a writhing knot of rattlesnakes that had been lifted there by the flood waters.He talks about playing the piano and wearing the ivory off the keys, literally, in the Pentecostal church. One of the most interesting topics was about Sun Records and making Elvis cry.
Jerry Lee's adventure was so real, it was something that lived with him and never left. There are very few dull moments in this book, very few where I think I looked at my watch.
Overall: The writing is excellent. I'm now a Rick Bragg fan. Narration was pretty good, lots of different character voices to go with the moments. I highly recommend for any music fan who want's to see the rocky road to stardom...and tragedy too.
If this review helped you please click the button below...thanks.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Pamela Plimpton
- 01-28-22
FUN book with so much history
I expected to hear a lot about Jerry Lee's "fun" in his younger days & I was not disappointed. I knew this book would be entertaining & it was. Great history & stories involved with his family & music & life in general. I love hearing these stories directly from the horse's mouth so they are honest.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kandice
- 06-09-16
Great Book!
I hope they make a mini series movie on this book:). I also hope Jerry Lee gets healthy enough to one more tour so I can go see his show. I would love it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patrick Anderson
- 11-05-22
Great Fun!
I have read/listened to a large number of biographies- this might have been the most fun of all of them.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- AGUSTIN PUENTES JR.
- 08-03-15
What a Killer!
I have always heard about his outlandish behavior and his wild music but now I get why he was like that. He was a showmanship way before pyro, lasers, and other gimmicks where invented. He was a Killer on the stage. His life is sad but he always kept a positive look in life. I truly recommend this book whether you are a fan or not. You will fall in love with him.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tracy A. Druschky
- 02-11-24
Whole Lot of Crazy Going On.
Let me tell you first, that I have never cared much for Jerry Lee or his music, therefore I never knew much about him. So, I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed listening to this book. This is among one of the best ‘rock bios’ I have ever come across. I have recommended it to several people. A deep dive into a complex and at times troubled founder of American Rock & Roll. Congratulations to Rick Bragg on a unique approach to this music legend. A great read!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Shannon B.
- 07-22-24
Love Bragg!
This reminds me of home! I am from Memphis and was the PR director of Beale Street in the early 1990’s. Brought back so many lovely memories! Thank you!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- john coffman
- 08-14-17
outstandingly real
it is a truth based story of Jerry. It was good to relive the memories of my favorite entertainer. The package
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful