The inspiring story of an iconic singer from Milwaukee This is the first biography to chronicle the life and career of one of the most distinguished and beloved musical artists to come out of Wisconsin: Al Jarreau. From his earliest days singing in the 1940s until his death in 2017, Jarreau defied categorization. While his biggest hit, “We’re In This Love Together,” is pure pop, he smashed music industry stereotypes as the first artist to win Grammy Awards in three genres: jazz, pop, and R&B. Never Givin’ Up traces Jarreau’s singing career from humble beginnings in his hometown of Milwaukee to international fame. The narrative includes his formative student days at Ripon College and the University of Iowa, as well as the years spent honing his craft at nightspots in Milwaukee, San Francisco, and the Twin Cities. After he was signed by Warner Bros. Records in 1975 at the age of 35, Jarreau achieved stardom with his innovative vocal stylings and electric live performances. This book includes more than 20 sidebars with bonus information about every Jarreau album and behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the records. Author Kurt Dietrich conducted interviews with dozens of Al's friends, fellow musicians, professional associates, and family members—most notably Al’s sister, Rose Marie Freeman, who was a major contributor to the project. Featuring 54 images spanning Jarreau’s life, from never-before-seen family snapshots to stills from his legendary stage performances, Never Givin’ Up celebrates a Milwaukee hometown hero and global sensation.

Now in paperback, Adam Carolla takes us back--before Loveline and The Man Show, before the Guinness World Record-breaking podcast and the New York Times bestseller In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks--to reveal all the stories behind how he came to be the angry middle-aged man he is today. Funnyman Adam Carolla is known for two things: hilarious rants about things that drive him crazy and personal stories about everything from his hardscrabble childhood to his slacker friends to the hypocrisy of Hollywood. He tackled rants in his first book, and now he tells his best stories, debuting some never-before-heard tales as well. Organized by the myriad "dumps" Carolla called home as a child to the flophouse apartments he rented in his twenties, up to the homes he personally renovated after achieving success in Hollywood, the anecdotes here follow Adam's journey and the hilarious pitfalls along the way. Adam Carolla started broke and blue collar and has now been on the Hollywood scene for more than fifteen years. Yet he's still connected to the working-class guy he once was and delivers a raw and edgy, fish-out-of-water take on the world he lives in (but mostly disagrees with), telling all the stories, no matter who he offends--family, friends, or the famous.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were going to be a one-time act for a friend's album release party. Forty years later the funk rock band is one of the best known and the longest running in the United States. Everything that happened in 1983 set the course for the rest of the band's career. The scrappy band quickly rose to scene-wide fame, playing all over Los Angeles and gaining fans and media attention wherever they performed. Before the year was out, they had played approximately thirty shows, put together an early, beloved repertoire, recorded a blistering demo that secured them a recording contract with EMI/Enigma, and lost two of their founding members to a rival band. Out in L.A. is an attempt at finding out exactly what happened during that first year and exploring what it is that makes the Red Hot Chili Peppers so compelling and fresh, even as they continue on their musical journey today.

"For more than forty years...Paul Mooney has been provocative, incisive- and absolutely hilarious. His comedy has always been indisputably real and raw, reflecting race issues in America... As head writer for The Richard Pryor Show, he helped tear down racial barriers and change the course of comedy. He helped Robin Williams and Sarah Bernhard break into show business. He paved the way for superstars like Eddie Murphy. Few have witnessed as much comedy history as Mooney; even fewer could recount it with such riotous honesty and depth of insight"--from back cover.

Keith Morris is a true punk icon. No one else embodies the sound of Southern Californian hardcore the way he does. With his waist-length dreadlocks and snarling vocals, Morris is known the world over for his take-no-prisoners approach on the stage and his integrity off of it. Over the course of his forty-year career with Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, and OFF!, he's battled diabetes, drug and alcohol addiction, and the record industry . . . and he's still going strong. My Damage is more than a book about the highs and lows of a punk rock legend. It's a story from the perspective of someone who has shared the stage with just about every major figure in the music industry and has appeared in cult films like The Decline of Western Civilization and Repo Man. A true Hollywood tale from an L.A. native, My Damage reveals the story of Morris's streets, his scene, and his music-as only he can tell it.

Mark Brainard's A Musician's Son (Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs) is a collection of selected works written over a span of forty years. The memoirs are a long musical journey under the tutelage of his musician father who played in the big band era with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and was a songwriter in his own rite. Influence and inspiration carried on through the rest of his family as well as friends, peers, bandmates, The Beatles, and women in his life. He has written over 200 songs and poems on many subjects including love, spirit, cars, women, heartbreak, places, experiences, and the bizarre. Many are included in this book with the stories behind them. "Even though I have accomplished so much, I feel like my life is still taking off. All my songs are my children and I'll leave them to somebody some day. Even though they never topped the charts, they're the greatest hits in my family anyway." MB