On Nov. 2, I was on NBC's Today show with Hoda Kotbe and Kathie Lee Gifford to talk about Anatomy of a Song. I created a quiz for the show's "Who Knew?" segment, and they took it into the streets to test the music smarts of average visitors to New York. Here's the segment...
Then on Nov. 9, I was a guest on Hoda's radio show, The Hoda Show!, on Sirius XM. Hoda loves the book. I must tell you, Hoda is a peach. She was so sweet to me and so generous with her praise, she nearly brought me to tears. She is who she is on TV. I'm eternally grateful. You can hear the interview here...
On Wednesday, Nov. 16, I will be at New York's Barnes & Noble on 82nd St. and Broadway at 7 p.m. Rob Hyman, co-founder of the Hooters band and co-writer with Cyndi Lauper of Time After Time, is coming up from Philadelphia to interview me. Then I'll interview Rob on what it was like to write Time After Time with Cyndi. There will be a Q&A session and then I'll be signing books. It's going to be a blast, and a lot of great people are coming. For more information, go here. Come on up and say hi. [Photo above of banner at Upper West Side Barnes & Noble]
Next Friday, Nov. 18, I will be in Toronto at the studios of JAZZ.FM91 giving a talk on my book and sharing inside stories about interviewing Mick Jagger, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Keith Richards, Grace Slick, Roger Waters, Linda Ronstadt and so many others. If you live in Toronto or the region, you won't want to miss this. And please buy those tickets soon for the fund-raising event, which includes a free copy of my book signed. They're going fast. For more information, go here.
Media-coverage roundup. Here are this week's reviews and articles on Anatomy of a Song:
Gary Trust, my main man and Billboard's king of charts, interviewed me for his popular Chart Beat podcast. Listen here.
Hardeep Phull, a superb, fast music writer for The New York Post, wrote a piece for the Sunday edition last week that gave the book a wonderful tabloid spin. "Fascinating song histories are revealed in Marc Myers's new book," Hardeep wrote. Go here.
Julie Hinds of the Detroit Free Press gave Anatomy of a Song a rave review. Writes Julie, "Marc Myers is noticeably free of the pretentious attitude that popular music belongs at the kids' table." Go here.
Bill Bentley, in The Market Report, had huge praise for the book, calling it "one of the most informative music books in a long time." Go here (scroll down a little).
Michael Heaton of the Cleveland Plain Dealer called the book "a music lover's dream." Go here.
Heather Scott Partington of Las Vegas Weekly writes, "Perhaps the greatest gift of Anatomy of a Song is its range. This is a book that encourages you to go back into your record collection, to the hits you think you remember well."
If you love JazzWax, please buy Anatomy of a Song. To purchase, go here in the U.S., here in the U.K. or here in Canada. And thank you for your kindness and support.
This week in The Wall Street Journal, for my "House Call" column, I interviewed Neil deGrasse Tyson, a celebrity astrophysicist, head of New York's Hayden Planetarium and host of StarTalk on the National Geographic Channel. Though he grew up in the 1960s, he had no interest in becoming an astronaut. Find out why here.
Sticking with the science theme in the WSJ, I interviewed physicist Carlo Rovelli for my "Playlist" column on his favorite song—Für Alina, a short piano piece by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. He discovered it during a tough divorce. Go here to read and listen. Carlo is the author of Seven Brief Lessons in Physics (go here).
Walter Wanderley tribute. Fans of the Brazilian pop-jazz organist will dig Mike Reed's tribute on the Hammond...
GRP All-Star Band. Reader Les Johnston in Australia sent along this clip of the GRP Big Band playing Cherokee, with the trumpet section functioning akin to Supersax...
Charlie Barnet, 1948. Here's the Charlie Barnet band in a short during the second American Federation of Musicians' recording ban playing East Side, West Side, with a solo by a young Doc Severinsen, and singing and dancing by Bunny Briggs...
Georgy Girl was a 1966 film starring Lynn Redgrave as Georgy and Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates and James Mason. It was perhaps the best of the Swinging London dramatic-comedies depicting the growing gap between young and old London. The movie's theme, Georgy Girl, was a #1 hit in the States in 1967 for the Australian folk group The Seekers. The song was nominated for an Oscar but lost out to John Barry's theme to Born Free. [Photo above from YouTube]
Here's the movie opener...
Here are The Seekers in Melbourne...
Here are The Seekers in 1965, singing A World of Our Own. What a crush I had on Judith Durham's voice when I was little. To this day, it still strikes me as sensationally beautiful...
Kay Starr, the early years. Here's the late Kay Starr in 1944 with Jimmy Dodds singing Stop That Dancing Up There, with the Joe Reichman Orchestra...
What the heck. Reader Margy Bloom sent along this clip of Los Angeles shot in 12K resolution entirely on the Phase One XF IQ3 100 megapixel camera. In other words, your eyes will pop out of your head (expand to full screen)...
Oddball album covers of the week.
Here are two album covers with palm-sized women planting themselves on musical instruments. I'm not sure why this was appealing, other than women could be cast as more subservient if they were petite perky pets. Note on the first cover: A pinky ring? Note on the second: Given the conga's angle, it's a miracle she's still up there. Watch those feet!
