Rhapsody in Black
The Life and Music of Roy Orbison
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Rhapsody in Black
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Narrated by:
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Tom Perkins
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By:
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John Kruth
About this listen
Roy Orbison emerged as an artist alongside his Sun Records contemporaries in the early days of rock 'n' roll. He did not possess the good looks of Elvis Presley or the everyman toughness of Johnny Cash, nor did he conduct wild-child stage antics like Jerry Lee Lewis. But he did possess a magnetic mystique that would captivate fans around the world and inspire countless musicians.
A quiet man, who k. d. lang would refer to as "Buddha", Orbison was more interested in building model airplanes, watching films, and reading books in his den than talking about himself or partying hard. Yet he was nothing shy of a superstar - determined to succeed, driven by a relentless love for music that started in childhood, and blessed with some of the best pipes in the business. Standing still onstage, hidden behind his perpetual Ray-Bans, Orbison delivered his melodious songs with haunting emotional depth. His artful recordings, mysterious image, and angelic voice have left an indelible mark on popular music.
In Rhapsody in Black, John Kruth tells the story of Roy Orbison in prose as musical as the artist's melodies and does not shy away from or trivialize the personal pain, alienation, and tragic events that shaped Orbison's singular personality and music.
©2013 John Kruth (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Randy Poe, Billy F. Gibbons - foreword
- Narrated by: Arthur Flavell
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story5 out of 5 stars 24
Revised and expanded, with a new afterword by the author, this is the definitive biography of Duane Allman, one of the most revered guitarists of his generation. Skydog reveals the complete story of the legendary guitarist: his childhood and musical awakening; his struggling first bands; his hard-won mastery of the slide guitar; his emergence as a successful session musician; his creation of the Allman Brothers Band; his tragic death at age 24; and his thriving musical legacy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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duane was the best great story
- By OBIE on 08-08-23
By: Randy Poe, and others
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The History of Rock & Roll
- Volume 1: 1920-1963
- By: Ed Ward
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
Ed Ward covers the first half of the history of rock & roll in this sweeping and definitive narrative - from the 1920s, when the music of rambling medicine shows mingled with the songs of vaudeville and minstrel acts to create the very early sounds of country and rhythm and blues, to the rise of the first independent record labels post-World War II, and concluding in December 1963, just as an immense change in the airwaves took hold and the Beatles prepared for their first American tour.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Author's blindspots mar this book
- By Mark Clark on 03-28-17
By: Ed Ward
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Rainbow in the Dark
- The Autobiography
- By: Ronnie James Dio, Mick Wall - contributor, Wendy Dio - contributor
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 461
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 412
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 410
Prior to his tragic death in 2010, Ronnie James Dio had been writing his autobiography, looking back on the remarkable life that led him from his hometown in upstate New York to the biggest stages in the world, including the arena that represented the pinnacle of success to him - Madison Square Garden, where this book begins and ends.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Horns up!
- By Big Daddy on 02-10-22
By: Ronnie James Dio, and others
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Everybody Wants Some
- The Van Halen Saga
- By: Ian Christe
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 184
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 160
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 163
How did a pair of little Dutch boys trained in classical music grow up to become the nucleus of the most popular heavy metal band of all time? What's the secret behind Eddie Van Halen's incredible fast and furious guitar solos? What makes David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar so wacky? And, are all those stories about groupies, booze bashes, and contract riders true? The naked truth is laid bare in Everybody Wants Some - the real-life story of a rock 'n' roll fantasy come true.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good details of albums and post-1984 career
- By IndyMATT on 12-30-18
By: Ian Christe
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The Ballad of Bob Dylan
- A Portrait
- By: Daniel Mark Epstein
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a vivid, full-bodied portrait of one of the most influential artists of the 20th-century - a man widely regarded as the most important lyricist America has ever produced. Acclaimed poet and biographer Daniel Mark Epstein frames Dylan against the backdrop of four seminal concerts - all of which he attended. Beautifully written, The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a unique, eye-opening portrait of an artist who has transformed generations and continues to inspire and surprise today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent book, excellent narration
- By L chandler on 12-22-11
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Shining Star
- Braving the Elements of Earth, Wind & Fire
- By: Philip Bailey, Keith Zimmerman, Kent Zimmerman
- Narrated by: Philip Bailey
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 131
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 117
With more than 90 million records sold and eight Grammy Awards throughout its 40-year history, Earth, Wind & Fire has staked its claim as one of the most successful, influential, and beloved acts in music history. Now, for the first time, its dynamic lead singer, Philip Bailey, chronicles the group's meteoric rise to stardom and his own professional and spiritual journey. Never before had a musical act crossed multiple styles and genres with a quixotic blend of astrology, universalism, and Egyptology as Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) did when it exploded into the public's conscience during the 1970s.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great book, but needed pro narrator
- By Wayne on 03-23-16
By: Philip Bailey, and others
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Outlaw
- Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville
- By: Michael Streissguth
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 70
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Story4 out of 5 stars 70
Waylon Jennings. Willie Nelson. Kris Kristofferson. Three renegade musicians. Three unexpected stars. Three men who changed Nashville and country music forever. Streissguth's new book brings to life an incredible chapter in musical history and reveals for the first time a surprising outlaw zeitgeist in Nashville. Based on extensive research and probing interviews with key players, what emerges is a fascinating glimpse into three of the most legendary artists of our times and the definitive story of how they changed music in Nashville and everywhere.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Revealing little-known Details does Captivate!
- By Cody Meyer on 11-20-17
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Catch a Wave
- The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson
- By: Peter Ames Carlin
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 210
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 190
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 188
In Catch a Wave, Peter Ames Carlin pulls back the curtain on Brian Wilson, one of popular music's most revered luminaries, as well as its biggest mystery. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and never-before heard studio recordings, Carlin follows the Beach Boys from their earliest days through Brian's deepening emotional problems to his triumphant re-emergence with the release of Smile, the legendarily unreleased album he had originally shelved.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not great
- By J. Barker on 08-08-16
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The Wrecking Crew
- The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret
- By: Kent Hartman
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 897
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 820
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 822
If you were a fan of popular music in the 1960s and early '70s, you were a fan of the Wrecking Crew - whether you knew it or not. On hit record after hit record by everyone from the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and the Monkees to the Grass Roots, the 5th Dimension, Sonny & Cher, and Simon & Garfunkel, this collection of West Coast studio musicians from diverse backgrounds established themselves as the driving sound of pop music - sometimes over the objection of actual band members....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Left Guessing
- By Patrick King on 04-29-14
By: Kent Hartman
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Chairman at the Board
- Recording the Soundtrack of a Generation
- By: Bill Schnee
- Narrated by: Bill Schnee
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story5 out of 5 stars 36
With over 125 gold and platinum records, and two Grammys for Steely Dan's Aja and Gaucho, Schnee has been called a living legend - recognized and respected in the industry as the consummate music man with an incomparable career that he lovingly shares with listeners in humorous detail.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Worst narration ever!
- By Anonymous User on 01-26-23
By: Bill Schnee
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Unchained
- The Eddie Van Halen Story
- By: Paul Brannigan
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
From the moment their hugely influential 1978 debut landed, Van Halen set a high bar for the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, creating an entirely new style of post-'60s hard rock and becoming the quintessential rock band of the 1980s. But the high-flying success was fraught with difficulty, as Eddie struggled with alcohol and drug addiction while simultaneously battling David Lee Roth over the musical direction of the band, eventually taking the band in an entirely new direction with Sammy Hagar and scaling new heights, before that iteration of Van Halen disintegrated.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Please don't read other audible books
- By Mike on 02-01-22
By: Paul Brannigan
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Goodnight, L.A.
- Untold Tales from Inside Classic Rock’s Legendary Recording Studios
- By: Kent Hartman
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
From behind the walls of a handful of well-hidden, unlikely recording studios in the Los Angeles area, legends-in-waiting created masterpiece albums. It was a time of astonishing creativity and unprecedented fame and fortune. It was also a time of unfettered excess that threatened to unravel everything along the way. With access that only a longtime music business insider can provide, Kent Hartman packs Goodnight, L.A. with never-before-told stories about the most prolific time and iconic place in rock 'n' roll history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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great stories and insight into a miraculous time
- By RWM on 05-27-22
By: Kent Hartman
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The Never-Ending Present
- The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip
- By: Michael Barclay
- Narrated by: George Stroumboulopoulos
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story5 out of 5 stars 44
From our talent-rich neighbor to the north comes this biography of one of the most successful Canadian rock bands, The Tragically Hip, which announced a year-long tour after sharing the news of lead singer Gord Downie’s inoperable cancer. Now available to US listeners, The Never-Ending Present details what led up to the memorable night when music fans all over the world watched Downie’s heroic final performance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hometown Heroes
- By Tommy Garou on 12-13-18
By: Michael Barclay
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Johnny Cash
- The Redemption of an American Icon
- By: Greg Laurie, Marshall Terrill
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 260
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 239
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Story5 out of 5 stars 239
Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon dives deep into the singer’s inner demons, triumphs, and gradual return to faith. Laurie interviews Cash’s family, friends, and business associates to reveal how the singer’s true success came through finding the only Person whose star was bigger than his own.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best Cash biography by far
- By C. W. Walker on 08-27-19
By: Greg Laurie, and others
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Paul McCartney
- A Life
- By: Peter Ames Carlin
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 205
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 138
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Story4 out of 5 stars 140
The best-selling author of the definitive biography of former Beach Boy Brian Wilson offers new insight into the life and music of Paul McCartney, one of the world's most popular and influential musicians. Informed by new, exclusive interviews with friends, bandmates, and collaborators, the book describes McCartney's many triumphs as well as his failures, from the Beatles era through his decade with Wings and his subsequent solo career.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great...But
- By Diego on 05-02-10
What listeners say about Rhapsody in Black
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Rick Harrison Allen
- 03-16-22
call it "ooby Dooby.."
They used the title of a song "ooby Dooby" by Roy Orbison so many times, I told myself if they use it one more time that would be it..! And, of course they did and I stopped the book...!!! Maybe you'll have more patience than I did with that stupid song name..!!!
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