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WHERE HAVE ALL
THE POP STARS GONE? -- VOLUME 3
by Marti Smiley Childs
and Jeff March
New book contains authorized
firsthand accounts of the adult lives of 16 singers and musicians who recorded top hit songs between the 1960s and the ’90s
♫♪♫♪
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DAVIS, CALIF., U.S.A.
-- A newly published book tells the true life stories of 16 singers and musicians who achieved fame as soloists or members
of hit-making bands in the 1960s. The authenticated biographical book, titled Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 3, 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.
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Grammy award-winning
Canadian singer Anne Murray, for example, had embarked on a career as a physical education teacher before entering the entertainment
field. As a young man, singer Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night was chasing dreams of a career in pro basketball. Before seriously
considering a career in music, Atlanta Rhythm Section guitarist J.R. Cobb was well on his way to becoming a journeyman steelworker.
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Singer B.J. Thomas,
ranked by Billboard magazine among the 50 most-played recording artists of the past 50 years, had been on course to follow
his father into the air conditioning installation business -- until his older brother coerced the introverted Texas teenager
into trying his hand at singing in a band. When workers wearing hazmat suits transported the alien creature through an isolation
tube in the motion picture ET the Extra-Terrestrial, the cinematographer who captured that scene on film was John Fleckenstein,
who previously had been bass player for the bands Love and the Standells.
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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. Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 3 describes the ways in which many of them confronted and resolved troubling obstacles in their personal lives. The book preserves
conversations with three performers who have died since Childs and March spoke with them.
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Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 3 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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• Anne Murray, who after soaring to popularity with “Snowbird” in 1970, topped the pop, country, and adult contemporary charts
with many of her 80 singles, including “You Needed Me,” and earned John Lennon’s admiration for her rendition
of the Beatles’ “You Won’t See Me”
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• Billy Joe Royal, the versatile singer who recorded 1960s pop favorites “Down in the Boondocks” and “Cherry Hill Park,”
then experienced a resurgence in the ’80s with a string of country music hits, including “Burned Like A Rocket”
and “Out Of Sight And On My Mind”
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• B.J. Thomas, the bluesy pop and country crossover singer whose chart-topping hits included “Hooked On A Feeling,” “(Hey
Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song” and the beloved Oscar-winning movie theme “Raindrops
Keep Fallin’ On My Head”
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And members of four brilliant
bands:
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• Atlanta Rhythm Section: Buddy Buie, Barry Bailey, Dean Daughtry, J.R. Cobb, Paul Goddard, and Rodney Justo of the ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION, the top-notch
session musicians too good to remain just a backing band, whose hits included “So In To You,” “Imaginary
Lover,” and “Do It Or Die”
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• Love:
Arthur Lee, Johnny Echols, and Michael Stuart-Ware of the band LOVE, who recorded fan favorites “My Little Red Book,”
“7 And 7 Is,” and “Alone Again Or,” and whose masterpiece Forever Changes is widely regarded
among the best rock albums ever recorded
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• The Standells: Larry Tamblyn and John "Fleck" Fleckenstein of the STANDELLS, known equally for “Dirty Water,” the anthemic
rallying cry for Boston pride, and “Try It,” the mildly titillating song that unintentionally provoked a nationwide
controversy about lewd lyrics
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• Three Dog Night: Chuck Negron and Floyd Sneed of THREE DOG NIGHT, which during a nine-year span attained a seemingly unstoppable run of success,
with 21 consecutive top 40 hits, including the No. 1 smash hits “Mama Told Me (Not To Come),” “Joy To The
World,” and “Black And White.”
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These musical performers
collectively amassed a total of 104 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including 38 that reached the top 20 and six that hit
No. 1. Their recordings also encompassed 84 singles on the country music chart, including 44 that peaked in the top 20, and
12 that hit No. 1.
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Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? -- Volume 3 contains 98 photos, 33 of which are rare or never previously published. It is available in the United States, Canada,
the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Brazil through bookstores and online sellers.
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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 www.editpros.com/bookshelf/WHATPSG_Vol_3.html or to join the conversation about the book on Facebook.
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Davis, Calif., USA
Trade paperback, 6x9 in., 364 pages; ISBN-13: 978-1-937317-25-6
United
States, $22.95 USD; also available in Canada, U.K., Australia and other nations.
Wholesale distributors: Ingram Book Group;
Baker & Taylor (U.S.A, U.K.); NACSCORP; Bertrams (U.K.).ublisher
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E-book: ISBN-13: 978-1-937317-26-3
United
States, $6.99 USD; also available in Canada, U.K., Australia and other nations.
Formats available: mobi (Amazon
Kindle); epub (Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple iPad, Kobo Reader); pdf
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About the
authors:
This is the fourth 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 2 (2012, EditPros LLC) and 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.
Since beginning work
19 years ago on their series of four books, Childs and March have profiled the lives of 105 hit-making singers and musicians,
encompassing nine soloists and members of 23 bands and vocal groups. They gathered information through extensive conversations
with performers and 25 of their family members, and were in contact with more than 100 other people involved in the music
industry, including talent agents, personal managers, record producers, label owners, concert promoters, nightclub personnel,
music historians and curators, and songwriters.
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