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Read the authorized
true life memoirs of 20 singers and musicians who achieved fame as soloists or members of hit-making bands in the 1960s. The
authenticated biographical book Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? – Volume 2 describes the childhood experiences and adult lives of these performers, many of whom stepped away from the stage and
recording in order to raise their families and pursue other careers and interests. It describes the ways in which many of
them confronted and resolved troubling obstacles in their personal lives.
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Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 2 contains chapters about seven musical groups or soloists. Each chapter begins with an introductory essay recounting
the hit-making achievements of each soloist or band with an accompanying discography, then is subdivided into "epilogues"
about the lives of each of the performers. The featured performers are:
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• The Buckinghams, a Chicago-bred quintet whose songs include the chart-topping hit "Kind of a Drag" and the top-10 songs "Don't You Care"
and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." The hybrid "pop-rock horn sound" that the band innovated would later be embraced by other bands,
including Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chase, and Chicago. The chapter profiles the lives of lead singer Dennis Tufano, singer
and guitarist Carl Giammarese, saxophonist and piano player Marty Grebb, bass guitarist Nick Fortuna, and drummer and band
leader John Poulos.
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• Bobby Goldsboro, a country-pop singer-composer who is best known for his gold record "Honey," and whose hits also included "Little Things,"
"It's Too Late," and "Summer (the First Time)." After launching his career as a member of Roy Orbison's band, Goldsboro became
not only a successful solo recording artist but also host of the highest-rated TV variety show in syndication in the 1970s,
creator of children's TV programs, and owner of a successful music publishing house.
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• The Moody Blues, the phenomenal band that brought rock music to an unprecedented level of sophistication with the groundbreaking concept
album Days of Future Passed, and whose 20 chart hits included the top-10 singles "Go Now," "Your Wildest Dreams," and the
gold record "Nights in White Satin." The chapter focuses on the lives of the co-founders of the Moody Blues -- Mellotron player
Mike Pinder and flute player Ray Thomas -- and about why they chose to leave the band as it continued touring and performing
in sold-out concerts decades after its formation.
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• Donnie Brooks, whose three chart singles included the top-10 hit "Mission Bell," and whose later work as a promoter into the early 2000s
kept an innumerable number of '60s performers working on stage. Brooks, who endured a bleak childhood, carved out a varied
career that encompassed screen acting, musical theater and nightclub entertaining. He became co-creator of the "30th Anniversary
of Rock 'n' Roll" tour that staged performances nationwide.
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• Sam and Dave, whose frenzied live performances established them as the most electrifying duo in the history of rhythm and blues music
and earned them the appreciative nickname "the Sultans of Sweat." Their top-selling hits included "I Thank You" and gold records
"Hold On, I'm Comin'" and "Soul Man." Their string of hits during the 1960s celebrated the gospel roots of Southern soul music.
The chapter profiles the lives of Sam Moore and the late Dave Prater Jr., both of whom were inducted into the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame in 1992.
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• Ray Stevens, a prolific composer as well as singer and producer whose repertoire encompasses comedic novelty tunes, ballads, and "message"
songs, including the top-10 hit "Ahab the Arab" and gold-certified "Gitarzan," "Everything Is Beautiful," and "The Streak."
He’s been a recording session producer, a music publisher, a session musician, a disc jockey, a musical theater owner,
and a television program host as well as a recording artist whose songs have topped both the pop and country music charts.
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• The Grass Roots, who emerged as progenitors of folk-rock before evolving into blues-influenced pop, and whose 21 chart singles included the
top-10 hits "Let's Live For Today," "Sooner or Later," and the gold record "Midnight Confessions." The band that began in
1965 as an outlet for the Dylanesque compositions of co-producers Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan continued recording hits well
into the '70s. The chapter profiles the lives of first-generation Grass Roots lead singer and guitarist Bill Fulton, rhythm
guitarist Denny Ellis, bass player Dave Stensen and drummer Joel Larson; and second-generation Grass Roots lead singer and
bassist Rob Grill, lead guitarist Creed Bratton, rhythm guitarist-keyboard player Warren Entner, drummer Rick Coonce, and
keyboard player Dennis Provisor.
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Authors Marti Smiley
Childs and Jeff March obtained information about all artists from conversations with the performers themselves, and with family
members and close friends of the deceased performers. The musical artists and others took part in refining the content of
the book to ensure accuracy. The book preserves conversations with three performers who have died since Childs and March spoke
with them.
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Compiled through
conversations spanning more than a decade, Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 2 contains penetrating personal recollections, including some that had not been revealed publicly before. The performers entrusted
Childs and March to describe poignant, sometimes painful aspects of their lives. Their accounts also are laced with wit and
laugh-provoking humor. All of the chapters offer insight into the minds and lives of creative people who attained and coped
with fame in their own ways.
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PROLIFIC HIT-MAKERS
These musical performers
collectively recorded amassed a total of 118 singles that reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including 19 that made the
top 10, four that hit No. 1, and eight that earned gold-record certification from the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA). Their recordings encompassed 17 singles on the R&B chart, including eight that reached the top 10 and two that
hit No. 1; and 58 singles on the country chart, including five that peaked in the top 10, and one that hit No. 1.
The authors intentionally
selected artists who are representative of the widely divergent musical styles that distinguished the 1960s from all the other
decades of the 20th century -- musical diversity encompassing and influenced by rockabilly, rhythm and blues, surf music,
jazz, folk standards, calypso, pop ballads, the British invasion, novelty tunes, folk-rock, art rock, psychedelia and country
music.
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The book, crafted
as a caring tribute, offers fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses into the lives of these talented people who attained great
popularity. Readers are invited to obtain more information at EditPros.com or to join the conversation about the book on Facebook.
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Trade paperback, 6x9 in., 280
pages; ISBN-13: 978-1-937317-05-8
United States, $19.95 USD; Canada, $19.95 CAD; U.K., £12.99 GBP; Australia $23.95 AUD;
also available in Germany and Brazil at current exchange rates.
Distributors in North America: Ingram Book Co.; Baker &
Taylor; and NACSCORP.
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E-book: ISBN-13: 978-1-937317-06-5
United
States, $6.99 USD; Canada, $6.65 CAD; U.K., £4.30 GBP; Australia $6.35 AUD
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About the
authors:
This is the third biographical book that Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March have written about the
lives of musical artists who first rose to fame with recordings that became hits during the mid-20th century golden age of
“top 40” radio. Their previously published books are Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 1 (2011, EditPros LLC) and "Echoes of the Sixties" (1999 print edition, Billboard Books; 2012 e-book edition, EditPros
LLC). They own and operate EditPros LLC, a company they established in 1993 to perform writing, editing and publication services.
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