The legendary writer would check off most items during his lifetime, some many times over. But Number Ten remained elusive, a quest unfulfilled:
Make a record album.
Gerard had been learning to play his first instrument, the guitar, when he made the list. Song-writing was well in his future. Yet he knew why this quest called him. "I couldn't imagine a fuller expression of my own identity than putting words with music, of making a record, in every sense of the word, of the songs in my head. Even before I had ever written any songs, this seemed true."
Years passed and his experiences added up. Country-wide travels. Books and more books. Literary honors piled on top of one another. Teaching and mentorships. Songs and more songs. Gigs and more gigs.
Half a century after jotting down his list, he would begin the album of a lifetime. He and a cadre of top musicians headed into the studio and on tour with fifteen of his songs. The acclaimed American Anthem emerged.
So, too, would this memoir of how it all happened. How life happened.
Written shortly before his passing, it is, in a sense, not one book but three. Gerard has left us the story of an album, the story of a literary life, and the inspiring story of a dream finally made real.
The legendary writer would check off most items during his lifetime, some many times over. But Number Ten remained elusive, a quest unfulfilled:
Make a record album.
Gerard had been learning to play his first instrument, the guitar, when he made the list. Song-writing was well in his future. Yet he knew why this quest called him. "I couldn't imagine a fuller expression of my own identity than putting words with music, of making a record, in every sense of the word, of the songs in my head. Even before I had ever written any songs, this seemed true."
Years passed and his experiences added up. Country-wide travels. Books and more books. Literary honors piled on top of one another. Teaching and mentorships. Songs and more songs. Gigs and more gigs.
Half a century after jotting down his list, he would begin the album of a lifetime. He and a cadre of top musicians headed into the studio and on tour with fifteen of his songs. The acclaimed American Anthem emerged.
So, too, would this memoir of how it all happened. How life happened.
Written shortly before his passing, it is, in a sense, not one book but three. Gerard has left us the story of an album, the story of a literary life, and the inspiring story of a dream finally made real.
WORDS AND MUSIC: An Album of a Life in Story and Song
WORDS AND MUSIC: An Album of a Life in Story and Song
eBook
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940186007111 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Ray McAllister Books LLC, dba Beach Glass Books |
| Publication date: | 09/26/2023 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 5 MB |