Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Feinstein, Michael

Description

1. xx, 215 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color); 24 cm

Summary

1. In his 1960s-1970s heyday, Rod McKuen was a phenomenally popular singer-songwriter as well as the bestselling poet in publishing history. To his legions of fans around the world, he was a voice of compassion and healing, as much a prophet as an author/entertainer. McKuen songs like "If You Go Away" and "Jean" earned him massive hits, while books like Listen to the Warm sold millions of copies. McKuen's huge sales and devoted following didn't stop the critics from calling his work sentimental kitsch cranked out for the money. Who was this enigmatic artist who aroused so much love and hatred? A Voice of the Warm: The Life of Rod McKuen is the first-ever biography of one of the 20th century's most popular and misunderstood pop-culture icons. Drawing upon extensive research and over 100 interviews, author Barry Alfonso tells how McKuen overcame childhood physical and sexual abuse to become a teenage radio host, film actor, and Beat-style poet before connecting with a vast audience as a writer and recording artist. McKuen's role as a pioneering gay rights activist who bridged the '60s generation gap with a message of love and tolerance help to make his story uniquely relevant today.

Subject

1. Singers
2. Composers
3. Poets, American
4. Biographies
5. 1900-1999
6. United States
7. McKuen, Rod
8. Singers > United States > Biography
9. Composers > United States > Biography
10. Poets, American > 20th century > Biography

Genre/Form

1. Biographies.

Contents

1. Chapter One The Wandering Soul -- Chapter Two The Lonesome Boy -- Chapter Three Happy Is a Boy Named Me -- Chapter Four Mr. Oliver Twist -- Chapter Five Till My Ship Comes In -- Chapter Six Sloopy and the Summer of Love -- Chapter Seven A Man Alone and Others -- Chapter Eight Money, Mush, and Fun with Fondue -- Chapter Nine A Kind of Loving -- Chapter Ten Mac and Anita -- Chapter Eleven How Deep Is Down? -- Chapter Twelve The Last of the Wine -- Coda: I'll Say Goodbye.

Call number

1. JNE 21-146

Bibliography (note)

1. Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-212) and discography (pages 213-215).

Author

1. Alfonso, Barry, author.

Title

1. A voice of the warm : the life of Rod McKuen / Barry Alfonso ; foreword by Michael Feinstein.

Publisher

1. Guilford, Connecticut : Backbeat Books, [2019]

Copyright date

1. ©2019

Type of content

1. text

Type of medium

1. unmediated

Type of carrier

1. volume

Bibliography

1. Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-212) and discography (pages 213-215).

Chronological term

1. 1900-1999

Added author

1. Feinstein, Michael, writer of foreword.

ISBN

1. 9781617137099
2. 161713709X

Research call number

1. JNE 21-146