Shout, Sister, Shout! Ten Girl Singers Who Shaped a Century FROM THE PUBLISHER
Dip into this collective biography of ten outstanding female singers of popular music in the twentieth century and meet some of the most remarkable women who've ever lived!
Through intimate personal details and numerous photographs, interviews, and tidbits of little-known information, music critic Roxane Orgill brings to life ten "girl singers" and the decades in which they did their best work. Readers of Shout, Sister, Shout! will learn about the lives, the loves, and the music of
SOPHIE TUCKER (1900s) MA RAINEY (1910s) BESSIE SMITH (1920s) ETHEL MERMAN (1930s) JUDY GARLAND (1940s) ANITA O'DAY (1950s) JOAN BAEZ (1960s) BETTE MIDLER (1970s) MADONNA (1980s) LUCINDA WILLIAMS (1990s)
Writing in a friendly, readable style, Roxane Orgill has created a book of great distinction that will fascinate and inspire readers of all ages.
FROM THE CRITICS
Carolyn Phelan - Booklist
This lively collective biography presents one female singer from every decade of the twentieth century, each chosen for her music, her story, and her claim to represent the times in some sense. This selection also allows Orgill to present a variety of American musical genres (blues, jazz, folk, rock, country) and formats (minstrel show, cabaret, Broadway musical, festival, music video). A typical entry tells of Bessie Smith, who was born into poverty in Tennessee, joined a minstrel troupe in her teens, and found fame and fortune with the release of her first record,
"'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do," in 1923. Her vibrant personality comes through in the writing, and so do the problems of performing as a black artist in a racist society. Quotes from reviewers, people who knew her, and "Miss Bessie" herself help bring this portrait to life. Three photos of Smith illustrate her story. Period photos also illustrate some of the sidebars, which include features on the blues, Smith's style of clothing, and music-related technological innovations of the decade: the phonograph, the radio, the jukebox, and the "talkies."
Those who enjoy good music and a good debate will happily argue about Orgill's choice of singers: Sophie Tucker, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ethel Merman, Judy Garland, Anita O'Day, Joan Baez, Bette Midler, Madonna, and Lucinda Williams. In her excellent introduction she confesses that she has left out some of her favorites. But many young people will find this both entertaining and enlightening.
Publishers Weekly
Ten Girl Singers Who Shaped a Century by Roxane Orgill selects one female singer per decade to characterize a musical era, beginning in vaudeville in the 1900s with Sophie Tucker and closing in the 1990s with Lucinda Williams. The volume includes such luminaries as Ma Rainey, Judy Garland, Joan Baez, Bette Midler and Madonna. Some of the author's choices may encourage lively debate among musicians ("What Anita did with her little voice was more interesting to me than what Sarah did with her magnificent one," writes Orgill of Anita O'Day and her peer, Sarah Vaughan), as she handily describes the progression of music and its different faces. "What's N ew?" and "What [she] wore" boxes put each singer's music and fashion in context. ( Feb.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature
Biographies are one of the best ways for children to learn about the past. Seeing other eras through individual lives brings a depth of knowledge that learning facts can't approximate. In these days where seeking information is stressed, it is easy to lose meaning. Personalizing history through knowing its people is the best way to make history live. People from the past have much to teach our children about succeeding in the present. Orgill's passion for music and dedication to research comes through in her lively celebrations of the lives of ten women she chose to represent each decade of the twentieth century. She doesn't hold back, discussing Ma Rainey's bisexuality, Judy Garland's drug addiction and Madonna's provocative image. With ten pages per artist, Orgill puts together stories of women who have struggled against poverty, prejudice, politics and appearance to assert their unique voices and contributions. 2001, McElderry Books, . Ages 11 up. Reviewer: Susie Wilde
VOYA
This collective biography offers a fascinating peek into the music, entertainment technology, and rhythm of the twentieth century. The lives of ten "girl singers," representing different genres of popular music, from vaudeville to blues to jazz to country, are arranged by decade. Profiles of Sophie Tucker, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ethel Merman, Judy Garland, Anita O'Day, Joan Baez, Bette Midler, Madonna, and Lucinda Williams are included. One singer highlights each decade, thus omitting many terrific vocalists. The criteria for inclusion, however, were somewhat arbitrary. Each woman needed to have "an interesting story" and a voice the author wanted to hear repeatedly. Aretha Franklin was not included because "her story was too thin." Also left out were Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, Mahalia Jackson, Janis Joplin, and others with great voices but who the author felt did not represent the "events and national mood of those decades." Although some readers might take exception to the notion that Garland "triumphed in the end," these strong women tried to take charge of their lives. For example, although Sophie Tucker lived in a time during which a woman simply did not walk down the street alone, she was able to achieve a remarkable level of independence in a male-dominated industry. Chapters are filled with interesting yet grainy photos. Informational boxes describe the clothes and jewelry worn both on- and off-stage, and a fascinating page discusses innovations and technologies of each decade. This interesting book about women, music, social history, and the twentieth century has an easy-reading style filled with intriguing tidbits and anecdotes of these fascinating women and their times.Unfortunately, "What Ma Wore" appears in two different chapters, and "What Joan Wore" contains details about both Baez and Midler. Better editing might have caught these two obvious errors, making this book more useful for the collective biography section. Index. Illus. Photos. Biblio. VOYA CODES: 2Q 3P J S (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, Simon & Schuster, 168p, Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Marian Rafal SOURCE: VOYA, April 2001 (Vol. 24, No.1)
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-The author admits in her introduction that choosing just one singer from each decade was difficult, but she has made choices of women who are not often included in children's literature and who are indeed representative of their times. Performers featured are Sophie Tucker, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ethel Merman, Judy Garland, Anita O'Day, Joan Baez, Bette Midler, Madonna, and Lucinda Williams. The biographical sketches have interesting anecdotes, lively writing, and informative sidebars that offer a wealth of information concerning the social milieu of the era. Black-and-white photos include publicity shots, movie stills, and snapshots. End matter is uneven. There is a very sketchy discography for each singer. The bibliography lists a few books and articles about each performer. The index is extensive. This title is useful not only for report writers looking for out-of-the-ordinary women but also as a history of the 20th century from an entertainment point of view.-Carol Durusau, Newton County Public Library, Covington, GA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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