Free Shop Around: Growing Up With Motown In A Sinatra Household (Music That Changed My Life) Ebooks To Download
Bruce Jenkins was twelve years old, living in Malibu with his parents, when he heard the original “Shop Around” single, by “The Miracles featuring Bill ‘Smokey’ Robinson,” the first Billboard No. 1 R&B single for Motown’s Tamla label. Released nationally in October 1960, the single would ultimately make it into the Grammy Hall of Fame, but for young Bruce, the first times he heard the song were a revelation. Jenkins grew up surrounded by music. His father, Gordon Jenkins, was a composer and arranger who worked with artists from Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday to Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash, but was best known for his close collaboration with Frank Sinatra. His mother, Beverly, was a singer.For Bruce, “Shop Around” ushered him into a new world of loving Motown. In Shop Around, he brings to life the first thrill of having the music claim him, provides the back story of the recording (and rerecording) of the hit single, shares sketches from his life with his father and mother, and traces how his love of music has grown and evolved over the years and how he still loves driving around San Francisco with Motown cranked up on his car stereo.
Series: Music That Changed My Life (Book 2)
Paperback: 168 pages
Publisher: Wellstone Books (June 28, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0986189812
ISBN-13: 978-0986189814
Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.3 x 6.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #238,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #57 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Soul #640 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Popular #1312 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Pop Culture > General
Read it cover to cover without putting it down!! I really love Bruce's take on things since I grew up with parents worshipping O'l Blue eyes as well.I too was born in Santa Monica so many similar feeling about the past! I too was in love with Motown while growing up through High School!
@Brice Jenkins I just read "Shop Around" and am in awe of you for both your knowledge of sports and music. Great read. Friend of Steve Evans and happy to see him mentioned. Hope to get the chance to meet you again and chat about it. This is a perfect book for fans of Motown, Stax, R&B and Soul. Tower of Power, Steve Cropper and Booker T are favorites of mine as are Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Smokey Robinson.
Loved it. I'm, a former Motown Records distributor and promoter. This book is the goods. It's a quick and very entertaining read. I liked it so much I bought copies for two of my music biz buddies. Check out the lists in the back for some real R&B nuggets.
As a musician, music educator and songwriter, I was amazing how this sports writer wrote such a compelling book about popular music! But, of course being the son of Gordon Jenkins and growing up totally surrounded by such great musical talents, it's no wonder he developed such a liking for real music and tasty musicians. It's hard to beat Smokey Robinson as a songwriter and performer but I found myself stopping to do further research on many of his musical friends and people he admired. Mr. Jenkins knows what makes songs great, musically and lyrically. He explains himself in this small book in a very personal and big way without all the musical jargon music critics might use. Having worked in the music business in Nashville, he reminded me of how personal the "biz" of songwriting used to be. I will be passing this book on to many of my musician friends, family members, as well as sports fans who already know Bruce Jenkins writings! A great, light read that I found totally enjoyable!
Shop Around is simply a gem of book. As he proven again and again throughout his sports writing career, Bruce Jenkins is a superb writer. He has that down-to-earth, no b.s, wonderfully descriptive yet supremely dry, funny and self-effacing style that leaves you turning pages and wanting more. Full of sentiment without being sentimental, the book is a deeply personal memoir, and deeply felt, yet offers us a record of a seminal time in American cultural history that is as entertaining as it is insightful. What powers it most of all is the writer’s sheer love of the music, and his undying respect for the phenomenal musicianship of the men and women who made it. Whether you’re a long-time devotee of Motown & R&B, or only have a passing acquaintance, this book is a delightful exploration of one boy’s journey into the heart (and soul) of American popular music.Lon Porter
Any fan of Motown, Stax, James Brown, Tower of Power and especially The Miracles will enjoy this. If you appreciate music in its historic context you'll like it even better. If you read Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins you will love it. It's a hoot reading how this son of a world famous composer, producer and conductor went after school to obscure shops that sold R&B 45s then surreptitiously played them in his room, turning it into his private nirvana of sweet soul music. At the end he has these lists of songs to look for. It is almost impossible to imagine that you would have heard everything on those lists, at least enough to remember how the song goes. He sure got me reaching for my old Miracles and Otis Redding records, and planning a few trips to Ameba or Rasputin's.
When you read about music from the man whose Dad was one of Frank Sinatra's most trusted allies, you better sit up and pay attention.Bruce Jenkins has been the San Francisco Chronicle's most poetic voice in the Sporting Green for decades, so it's probably little surprise that his music writing is sharp, poignant, on-point and funny, too. When a book compellingly compares Harry Nilsson to Barry Bonds, you know you've entered creative territory.My Mama told me ... you better read 'Shop Around'!
From his love of Motown, Stax, horn bands and girl groups to his eclectic glossary "Gathering of (song) Lists," music and sports scribe extraordinaire Bruce Jenkins indeed "touches them all!" I was so jacked up after reading this I immediately started writing down my own favorites to compare with his--a true memorable, musical experience!
Shop Around: Growing Up With Motown in a Sinatra Household (Music That Changed My Life) Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra and the Art of Recording Growing Marijuana: Box Set: Growing Marijuana for Beginners & Advanced Marijuana Growing Techniques Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson Shop Drawings for Craftsman Interiors: Cabinets, Moldings and Built-Ins for Every Room in the Home (Shop Drawings series) The Coffee Shop Business Plan: How to Open a Coffee Shop and Ensure it's Successful, Popular, and Profitable The Sinatra Club: My Life Inside the New York Mafia Motown: Music, Money, Sex, and Power To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown : An Autobiography Motown : The Golden Years: The Stars and Music That Shaped a Generation Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art Never Say No To A Rock Star: In the Studio with Dylan, Sinatra, Jagger and More... Sinatra: The Photographs Sinatra 100 Frank Sinatra - Centennial Songbook (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook) Chocolate For A Teen's Soul: Life-changing Stories For Young Women About Growing Wise And Growing Strong MUSIC CITY NEWS magazine March 1980 George Jones on cover (The Sound of a City Heard Around The World, Volume XVII No. 9, Country Music, Bluegrass Music,) Stars of Soul and Rhythm & Blues: Top Recording Artists and Showstopping Performers, from Memphis and Motown to Now (Billboard Hitmakers) Dancing in the Street: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit Motown Anthology: Piano, Vocal, Guitar
