Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life And Times of Doc Pomus
Lonely Avenue - The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus
|
For Elvis he is famed for co-writing songs such as Viva Las Vegas and A Mess Of Blues along with countless other songs including Girl Happy, Little Sister and It's a Long Lonely Highway.
Written by Alex Halberstadt, it's the story of Pomus' private life that is getting the critics keen attention with the press release stating: 'Despite his successes, few acquaintances knew that this writer of jukebox hits led one of the most dramatic lives of his time. Spanning extravagant wealth and desperate poverty, suburban family life and the depths of New York's underworld, enduring love and persistent loneliness, Doc's story remains one of the great untold American lives'.
Doc Pomus One of America's most popular songwriters was Jerome Felder, better known as Doc Pomus. For decades he wrote big hits (Save the Last Dance for Me, This Magic Moment, A Teenager in Love) for such artists as Dion, Fabian, the Drifters, Elvis and Dr. John. Pomus (1925-1991) himself was more of a blues story than anything he could have written. Halberstadt, who writes on music and pop culture, can be awkward writing about Pomus's intimate life, although he definitely knows his music history. The son in a New York working-class Jewish family, Pomus contracted polio when he was seven and lost the use of his legs. From then on, his life was all about music; he started bands, wrote music and promoted artists until the day he died. Halberstadt's understanding of how Jewish and African-American 'hipster' subcultures fit together in the music world is particularly sharp. He takes readers to 1940s nightclubs where Pomus was the only white man around; hotel lobbies where Pomus spent afternoons listening for "the random brilliance of overheard speech"; and Pomus's hotel room when Bob Dylan came calling. This strangely affecting biography follows a straight chronology, including wonderful excerpts from Pomus's own diaries and a great selection of rarely seen photos. From Publishers Weekly.
Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life And Times of Doc Pomus by Alex Halberstadt and Peter Guralnick
- Hardcover: 264 pages
- Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1st Da Capo Press Ed edition (February 26, 2007)
- Language: English
This book is now available.
Buy Lonely Avenue - The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus
© Copyright 2024 by www.elvis.com.au & www.elvispresley.com.au
https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/books/book-lonely-avenue-doc-pomus.shtml
No part of any article on this site may be re-printed for public display without permission.
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD
Never before have we seen an Elvis Presley concert from the 1950's with sound. Until Now! The DVD Contains recently discovered unreleased film of Elvis performing 6 songs, including Heartbreak Hotel and Don't Be Cruel, live in Tupelo Mississippi 1956. Included we see a live performance of the elusive Long Tall Sally seen here for the first time ever. + Plus Bonus DVD Audio.
This is an excellent release no fan should be without it.
The 'parade' footage is good to see as it puts you in the right context with color and b&w footage. The interviews of Elvis' Parents are well worth hearing too. The afternoon show footage is wonderful and electrifying : Here is Elvis in his prime rocking and rolling in front of 11.000 people. Highly recommended.
Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley DVD Video with Sound.
