Great review for The Next Elvis from AudioFile Magazine!

I received a really nice review for my recording of The Next Elvis: Searching for Stardom at Sun Records by Barbara Barnes Sims from AudioFile Magazine.  This magazine is highly respected in the audiobook industry so it's an honor to have a book reviewed by them.

Here's the review which can also be found here:  

"Narrator Lee Ann Howlett personifies Southern charm and grit as she tells the story of Memphis' Sun Records, the label that produced Elvis, Johnny Cash, and many other notables. The author was a rarity during the 1950s and '60s--a woman working in the business world. Howlett exuberantly presents owner Sam Phillips, with his Billy Graham smile and enthusiasm; Sun Records' employees, and diverse musicians. Her conversational style enhances this insider look at "non-mainstream" American music, which includes accounts of scandals surrounding Jerry Lee Lewis's marriage to a minor and the attempt to engineer the popularity of records through "payola." Detailed descriptions of Phillips's white-finned Caddy and employees' daily lunches at Mrs. Taylor's restaurant take listeners to a fascinating time and place. The epilogue movingly provides updates on most of the musicians in a fitting conclusion to this musical gem."  S.G.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2015]

You can listen to a sample and/or purchase The Next Elvis from Audible here.

The Next Elvis is now for sale on Audible!

My latest recording, The Next Elvis: Searching for Stardom at Sun Records by Barbara Barnes Sims, went on sale today on Audible.

This is a fun and informative nonfiction book about a young woman, Barbara Barnes, and her experiences working at Sun Records in Memphis in the 1950's.  From Audible:


"An American institution, Sun Records has a history with many chapters: its Memphis origins with visionary Sam Phillips, the breakthrough recordings of Elvis Presley, and the studio's immense influence on the sound of popular music. But behind the company's chart toppers and legendary musicians there exists another story, told by Barbara Barnes Sims. In the male-dominated workforce of the 1950s, 24-year-old Sims found herself thriving in the demanding roles of publicist and sales promotion coordinator at Sun Records. Sims's job placed her in the studio with Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Carl Perkins, and other Sun entertainers, as well as the unforgettable Phillips, whose work made the music that defined an era. Her disarming narrative ranges from descriptions of a disgraced Jerry Lee Lewis to the remarkable impact and tragic fall of DJ Daddy-O Dewey to the frenzied Memphis homecoming of Elvis after his military service. Collectively, these vignettes offer a rare and intimate look at the people, the city, and the studio that permanently shifted the trajectory of rock 'n' roll."

I had a chance to speak with Ms. Sims a couple of times while recording this book (checking on name pronunciations) and she was a delight.  Head over to Audible to listen to the sample/purchase here. 

Catching up!

Whoa.  Long time -- no post.  Things have been busy, busy, busy and I haven't had a chance to string some sentences together to get a decent post on here.  We have hit estate sales the last few Fridays but ended up buying nothing or just a few unexciting items.  Last Friday we did get a little luckier, though.  All three of us found something.  Linda bought a series of Hogan's Heroes on DVD, Duane bought two tiles made in Holland (not Delft but I can't recall the name of the maker) and I found an oil painting that I plan to re-frame.  It's signed and dated (1967) and was purchased in the Phillipines.

Our latest purchases.

On the recording front, I've been really busy.  I'm in the middle of recording a nonfiction book published by University Press called The Next Elvis by Barbara Barnes Sims.  Barbara worked at Sun Records in Memphis in the late 1950s just after Elvis Presley had been discovered.  Sam Phillips, himself, hired Barbara and she has wonderful stories that she shares in this book.  Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and, yes, Elvis Presley, all make appearances.  I should be finished within the next few weeks.  In the mean time, if you're interested in the print version, you can find it here. 

Next up is a short book called Observations of a Transplanted Southern Belle by Laurie Byrne Smith.  After that I have another University Press book called Spectacular Wickedness: Sex, Race, and Memory in Storyville, New Orleans by Emily Epstein Landau.  Both of these are nonfiction, too, so I won't be back into fiction until after these are 'in the can.'