Windy City Blues
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Narrated by:
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Robin Miles
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By:
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Renée Rosen
About this listen
In the middle of the 20th century, the music of the Mississippi Delta arrived in Chicago, drawing the attention of entrepreneurs like the Chess brothers. Their label, Chess Records, helped shape that music into the Chicago Blues, the soundtrack for a transformative era in American history.
But for Leeba Groski, Chess Records was just where she worked. Leeba didn't exactly fit in, but her passion for music and her talented piano playing captured the attention of her neighbor, Leonard Chess, who offered her a job at his new record company. What began as answering phones and filing became much more as Leeba came into her own as a songwriter and befriended performers like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, and Etta James.
But she also found love with a Black blues guitarist named Red Dupree. With their relationship unwelcome in segregated Chicago and shunned by Leeba's Orthodox Jewish family, Leeba and Red soon found themselves in the middle of the civil rights movement, and they discovered that in times of struggle, music can bring people together.
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Critic reviews
"The award-winning voice actor Robin Miles has a wonderful affinity for accents and character voices. This intimate look at the rise of Chicago's electric blues and the Chess Record label in the late 1940s and '50s gives her a perfect stage. Miles produces a myriad of character voices--from legendary bluesman Muddy Waters's Mississippi growl to harmonica player Little Walter's insistent tone to Leonard Chess's Yiddish intonations. Miles also finds the easy warmth and pulsating sense of discovery that sweeps the interracial couple Leeba Groski and Red Dupree from the first chords of a love song to the front lines of the Civil Rights movement. This is a big-hearted story that can only be told with the rhythm of the blues." (AudioFile)
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- By Richard Delman on 12-11-11
By: Timothy Hallinan
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Last Ride to Graceland
- By: Kim Wright
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Blues musician Cory Ainsworth is barely scraping by after her mother's death when she discovers a priceless piece of rock 'n' roll memorabilia hidden away in a shed out back of the family's coastal South Carolina home: Elvis Presley's Stutz Blackhawk, its interior a time capsule of the singer's last day on earth. A backup singer for the King, Cory's mother, Honey, was at Graceland the day Elvis died.
By: Kim Wright
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Finding Amos
- By: J. D. Mason, ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Bernice L. McFadden
- Narrated by: Kevin Free
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Three daughters, connected only through their relationship to Amos, a now elderly ex-musician struggling with Alzheimer's disease, find their lives intertwining as a car accident reunites them at Amos' bedside - bringing some long-buried issues to light.
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Soulful
- By D. Stokes on 11-11-15
By: J. D. Mason, and others
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When You Call My Name
- By: Tucker Shaw
- Narrated by: Max Meyers
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Film fanatic Adam is 17 and being asked out on his first date—and the guy is cute. Heart racing, Adam accepts, quickly falling in love with Callum like the movies always promised. Fashion-obsessed Ben is 18 and has just left his home upstate after his mother discovers his hidden stash of gay magazines. When he comes to New York City, Ben’s sexuality begins to feel less like a secret and more like a badge of honor. Then Callum disappears, leaving Adam heartbroken, and Ben finds out his new world is more closed-minded than he thought.
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Full impact of a heavy topic while keeping it within the genre.
- By GnomePatronus on 07-31-24
By: Tucker Shaw
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Strong Motion
- By: Jonathan Franzen
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 20 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Louis Holland arrives in Boston in a spring of ecological upheaval (a rash of earthquakes on the North Shore) and odd luck: the first one kills his grandmother. Louis tries to maintain his independence, but falls in love with a Harvard seismologist whose discoveries about the earthquakes' cause complicate everything.
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Compelling Story, Ridiculous Narrator
- By DianeReads on 02-28-16
By: Jonathan Franzen
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Diamond Life
- By: Aliya King
- Narrated by: Patricia R. Floyd
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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A New York Times best-selling author and award-winning journalist with publishing credits in Essence and Vibe, Aliya S. King uses her experience covering celebrity culture to create juicy tales of sex, ambition, and betrayal. In Diamond Life, Alex Maxwell’s rapper husband, Birdie, sees his album go multiplatinum - but life in the spotlight might be too much for his marriage to withstand.
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Not impressed
- By Dream on 06-27-12
By: Aliya King
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Nine Lives
- Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans
- By: Dan Baum
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Nines Lives is a multivoiced biography of a dazzling, surreal, and imperiled city, told through the lives of nine unforgettable characters and bracketed by two epic storms: Hurricane Betsy, which transformed New Orleans in the 1960s, and Hurricane Katrina, which nearly destroyed it. Dan Baum brings this kaleidoscopic portrait to life, showing us what was lost in the storm and what remains to be saved.
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Do not miss if you're interested in New Orleans
- By Kelly on 03-22-18
By: Dan Baum
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Angel of Harlem
- By: Kuwanna Haulsey
- Narrated by: Brenda Pressley
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Inspired by the extraordinary events of Dr. May Chinn’s life, Angel of Harlem is a deeply affecting story of love and transcendence. Weaving seamlessly scenes from the battlefields of the Civil War, during which her father escaped from slavery, to the Harlem living rooms and kitchen tables where May is sometimes forced to operate on her patients, this fascinating novel lays bare the heart of a woman who changed the face of medicine.
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Really Enjoyed!
- By Amazon Customer on 08-08-19
By: Kuwanna Haulsey
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Georgia Bottoms
- A Novel
- By: Mark Childress
- Narrated by: Debra Monk
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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A best-selling author of books for adults and children, Mark Childress pens his most outrageous work yet with Georgia Bottoms. The titular heroine is the epitome of the church-going Southern belle, except for one teeny-tiny aspect of her life. Georgia’s family inheritance has long since evaporated, and to maintain her genteel lifestyle, Miss Bottoms has taken six affluent lovers—the fly in the ointment being that one is a married preacher who’s about to reveal their infidelity to the whole congregation.
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Fun Listen
- By Sue on 04-08-11
By: Mark Childress
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Burn Baby Burn
- By: Meg Medina
- Narrated by: Marisol Ramirez
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Nora Lopez is 17 during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora's family life isn't going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn 17 and be on her own.
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Couldn't finish listening to this book.
- By Mathis on 12-03-17
By: Meg Medina
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The Turner House
- By: Angela Flournoy
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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The Turners have lived on Yarrow Street for over 50 years. Their house has seen 13 children grown and gone - and some returned; it has seen the arrival of grandchildren, the fall of Detroit's East Side, and the loss of a father. The house still stands despite abandoned lots, an embattled city, and the inevitable shift outward to the suburbs. But now, as ailing matriarch Viola finds herself forced to leave her home and move in with her eldest son, the family discovers that the house is worth just a 10th of its mortgage.
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The narrator's performance made the difference.
- By KT on 06-11-15
By: Angela Flournoy
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Lots of fun
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Madeleine Talmage Force is just 17 when she attracts the attention of John Jacob "Jack" Astor. Jack's mother was the Mrs. Astor, American royalty and New York's most formidable socialite. Despite their 29-year age difference and the scandal of Jack's recent divorce, Madeleine falls headlong into love. On their honeymoon in Egypt, the newlyweds finally find a measure of peace away from photographers and journalists. Madeleine feels truly alive for the first time - and is happily pregnant. The couple plans to return home in the spring of 1912, aboard an opulent new ocean liner.
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Couldn’t listen for more than 3 chapters.
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What listeners say about Windy City Blues
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- charbridget
- 07-22-24
Historical fiction at it’s finest
Loved the story and learning about the blues era, and how much segregation existed. We need to learn and be aware so this doesn’t happen again.
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- Anne D. Smith
- 11-04-21
The Blues and More
Great blend of fact and fiction. The story of often forgotten people who helped to change the world through music.
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- LettyB.
- 07-06-17
Excellent!
Excellent book!! I'm a music lover, book lover, and historical fiction lover so how excited was I to read this book? Very. And I was not disappointed. I listened to the audio version of this book and the narration by Robin Miles was outstanding! This is the story of brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, Polish born immigrants, who founded Chess Records in 1950 Chicago, Illinois during the birth of the blues scene. I was familiar with many record labels but not familiar with Chess Records so I was surprised to learn that they were the first to sign such amazing talents as Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Etta James, just to name a few. This is such a riveting read about the struggles of not only starting a record label, finding artists to sign, and getting that music played on the radio, it also dealt with the struggles of being black, Jewish and an immigrant. It was heartbreaking listening to some of the events that took place in the book knowing that they actually happened and, unfortunately, continue to happen now. Renee Rosen did a fantastic job researching and writing Windy City Blues. I think there should be a blues soundtrack to go along with this book. I highly recommend it!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Meredith
- 09-27-24
The history of the music
Liked it all. It’s a good story with an excellent portrayal of how sad the life of a person of colors life could be. Discrimination is such a negative and hurtful way to approach one another.
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- Syd
- 03-16-17
Timely and Timeless
What the world needs now is a little more Leeba and Red. I love that Rosen can still tell a simple, relatable story of self-discovery and love and layer it within the deep richness of the Blues tradition and civil equality. A fantastic story and a great narration!!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Nita
- 06-04-17
An amazing voice!
Robin Miles has done an outstanding job with narration! That voice! Excellent performance! Highly recommend!
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- Blue
- 07-20-22
Not True Blue
The writer frequently uses "Mother F'ing" this & that by characters such as Leonard Chess & musicians that is unrealistic for the era & gives the reader an inaccurate impression. Actual recordings of Chess conversations & personal experience with old time Chicago Blues musicians show otherwise. Also the reader's attempt at accents & voices is distracting.
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- Dennis Simpson
- 12-29-19
Interesting History, but Poorly Written
My Book Club selected this book to read. Personally, I loved the historical compilation, but the writing was somewhat pedestrian....more of yeoman's effort, but glad I read it. I think my Book Club rated it about 2.8 out of 5.
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