Toni Tennille's life story... (reposted book review)

I am reposting this review from my main blog because it involves a music act from the 70s and 80s.

Captain and Tennille perform during their heyday with two of Toni's three sisters singing backup. Toni's sisters were also musically talented. I'm pretty sure they're all lip syncing here, though. 

I just finished reading Toni Tennille: A Memoir, the life story of singer, songwriter, and actress Toni Tennille, who is best known as half of the 70s pop duo, Captain and Tennille. As a bonafide child of the 70s, music by Captain and Tennille was part of my early soundtrack. Their cover version of Neil Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together" was a huge hit in 1975. I grew up hearing it on the radio and at my Aunt Gayle and Uncle Brownlee's house. Brownlee is my dad's younger brother and a musician; he always had hipper musical tastes than my dad did.

Captain and Tennille also had a popular variety show on ABC that aired for one season. I never saw their show because besides being very young in 1976, I was also living in England. As Toni Tennille explains it, in those days TV wasn't as global as it is now. She and her famous ex husband, Daryl Dragon (aka the Captain), were able to travel to Scotland on vacation and not be recognized by leagues of adoring fans.

Anyway, I decided to read Toni Tennille's story when I read an article about her online. She and Daryl Dragon got divorced not long ago. They had been married for 39 years and both are in their golden years. I was curious about that, but I also admire Toni Tennille's talents as a musician. So I downloaded the book, which Tennille wrote with help from her niece, Caroline Tennille St. Clair. I just got around to reading it and, I must say, I found it a fascinating and enjoyable book. Caroline did a great job in making the book seem as if it came straight from her Aunt Toni.

At the very beginning of her story, Tennille writes about being a small child in Montgomery, Alabama, playing outside. Suddenly, there was an accident that could have altered her destiny. A heavy wheelbarrow fell on Toni's finger, nearly severing it. Her parents rushed her to the hospital, where she underwent surgery. Young Toni had shown musical talent and had an interest in playing the piano. She lost part of her finger, but then went through many surgeries to reconstruct the digit so she'd eventually be able to play her instrument. Bear in mind, this was going on in the 1940s, when surgeries were much more primitive than they are now and anesthesia consisted of ether.

She continues her story with tales about growing up in an era when blacks and whites were segregated. Her parents were fairly well off; her dad owned a furniture store and her mother was on a television show. They had hired help. The help consisted of several black women who looked after Toni and her three sisters. Toni explains that her family treated the help with dignity and respect. Racism always made the Tennille family uncomfortable. Still, if I had to mention a part of the book that made me a little uneasy, it was that part.

Fate led the Tennilles out of Alabama when Toni was a student at Auburn University. Her father's business failed and Toni had to drop out of school. But it turned out there was a bigger life waiting for the family in California. It was there that Toni met Daryl Dragon, who would eventually become her second husband. Daryl Dragon came from a wealthy California family. His mother had been a singer and his father was Carmen Dragon, a famed conductor. All of the Dragon siblings had musical talent, but Daryl was said to be the most talented. He was working with The Beach Boys when he and Toni met. Thanks to Daryl, Toni landed herself a gig playing with the big time as a member of The Beach Boys' band.

As time passed, Toni and Daryl started working together. They became an act. People thought they were married, so they eventually decided to make it official at a wedding chapel in Nevada. Sadly, although Toni claims to have been in love with her husband and wrote many songs for and about him, he never seemed to return her affections. They slept in separate bedrooms. Daryl respected his wife for her musical abilities, but didn't seem into her as a woman. And that was the state of their marriage for a very long time.

Based on Toni's many observations about her ex husband, my guess is that he's more than a bit narcissistic and/or perhaps suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. She claims that he saw her as a possession. He would get very jealous when she was involved in any acting job that required her to kiss another man. And yet, when she was at home, he never kissed her very often. He spent a lot of time alone and adhered to weird, strict diets, which he expected his wife to follow. In one story, Tennille writes about eating nothing but yellow grapefruit for weeks. She writes of visiting beautiful cities world renowned for food and ending up eating tasteless crap her husband favored.

The "Captain", so nicknamed by one of the Beach Boys, was rarely without his hat. Tennille explains that he started balding in his 30s and was very self-conscious about his thinning hair. So he would never be hatless, even in places where it was customary or compulsory to remove one's hat. Toni Tennille missed out on seeing the Sistine Chapel because her husband refused to remove his hat. He also has a condition that affects his eyes, making them look strange. Dragon was self-conscious about the problem, which prompted a lot of fans to write in and ask what was wrong with him. That was also a source of much shame and embarrassment for him and he took it out on his wife.

While Toni Tennille writes a lot about her career and some of the great things she was able to do, a lot of this book is about her marriage to Daryl Dragon. And folks, I'll be honest. As interesting as it was to read about her marriage, it was also more than a bit depressing. Here she was, this beautiful, talented, vivacious woman and she spent her best years married to a man who didn't really love her. She allowed him to dictate so many things about her life. It wasn't until she was in her 70s that she finally had enough and got a divorce. However, despite the divorce, it seems the Captain and Tennille still talk. Toni writes that they speak on the phone every couple of weeks or so. I guess old habits really do die hard.

Despite the fact that I think Toni Tennille should have divorced many years ago, I did like her book. She comes across as very likable and friendly. Ultimately, she keeps this book pretty positive, yet I never got the sense she was embellishing about the ordeals she went through in her personal life. If you're curious, I recommend reading Toni Tennille's Memoir.

Belinda Carlisle's life story...

I don't often post book reviews on this blog, but since this one is about 80s star Belinda Carlisle, formerly of The Go Go's, I think it's fitting that it's here...

• Belinda Carlisle unzips her lips...

  Review by knotheadusc
   in Books, Music, Hotels & Travel 
    July, 20 2010
• Pros: Well-written, interesting, reveals perhaps more than Carlisle bargained for.
  Cons: Carlisle is self-absorbed and lacks perspective.
  Summer seems to be the time for celebrity memoirs. I happen to love a good celebrity tell all, so I'm always game for reading and reviewing them. I've just finished reading Belinda Carlisle's Lips Unsealed: A Memoir (2010), having picked it up a couple of days ago, thinking I needed something more lightweight to read after the somber subject of my last book review. *Sigh* As it turned out, Ms. Carlisle's memoir didn't quite fit the bill for easy, breezy reading material.
  
  Who is Belinda Carlisle?
  
  Here's an explantation for those of you who did not grow up in the 70s and 80s or did not listen to pop music back in that era. Belinda Carlisle is the lead singer of the 80s era punk/pop girl band The Go Go's. She's also done quite a few solo albums over the years, though her hey day as a solo artist was in the late 1980s. Since that happened to be the time I was in high school, it made me part of Belinda Carlisle's targeted group of fans. However, while I did like Belinda Carlisle when she was a Go Go, I never liked her as much as a solo artist.
  
  So why did I read her book?
  
  I read Belinda Carlisle's book for several reasons. First off, while I wasn't a big fan of Belinda's music, I did always think she was kind of cute, likeable, and perky. I liked the Go Go's; when they were popular, they were among very few all girl bands.  Reading Carlisle's memoir opened my eyes to the host of personal problems she's struggled with, apparently throughout her life.
  
  Blame it on dad...
  
  Belinda Carlisle grew up in southern California. She was her mother Joanne's firstborn child out of a total of seven kids by two different men. Belinda was born when her mother was 18 years old. Her father, Harold Carlisle, who was Joanne's first husband, was about twice his wife's age.  He was out of the house a lot when Belinda was growing up, due to his work.  Harold and Joanne were terribly incompatible, yet they still managed to have two more kids before Harold Carlisle permanently left the home. Belinda was seven years old and very upset about the split. However, Joanne had been keeping company with a neighbor named Walt. He eventually moved in, married Belinda's mom, and took over daddy duties, fathering four more kids.
  
  As Belinda tells it, they were always very poor and her bio-dad wasn't around at all. Apparently, he never paid child support or visited. And Belinda's mother had encouraged her kids with Harold Carlisle to call Walt "Dad". Belinda writes that she still calls him that and thinks of him in that way, even though Walt was abusive and an alcoholic.
  
  As the oldest child, Belinda had to take on a lot of responsibilities around the house.  This was in part because her mother suffered from a mental illness and because with seven kids in the house, there was a lot to do. Belinda also had a very fragile self-esteem. Because her family was poor, she didn't have a lot of cool clothes and she had a less than svelte body. Her classmates made fun of her.
  
  As she came of age, Belinda Carlisle went from being an awkward, chubby kid to a wild teenager. She writes of hanging around her friends at concert venues in Los Angeles, drinking, doing drugs, and occasionally shoplifting. She developed an affinity for punk music and eventually ran into the other women who would help make up the Go Go's.
  
  Making music and getting laid and snorting cocaine and getting drunk... lather, rinse, repeat
  
  Once the story progresses into Belinda Carlisle's music career, an unpleasant image of her begins to emerge. She describes herself as a very troubled person, not particularly talented as a songwriter, not able to play any instruments, and not even the greatest singer. But she was the lead singer for the Go Go's, despite those shortcomings. Her status as a lead singer opened doors for her, created resentments for some of the other band members, and apparently made her feel very insecure.
  
  As Carlisle writes it, she was constantly snorting cocaine and drinking because she didn't like herself. She also didn't like her bio dad, who, once Belinda became an adult and was famous, tried to reconnect with her. She writes of an incident in which he showed up at a concert with his second wife and their daughters, whom she claims he "replaced her with". Belinda met them while extremely high on cocaine. She says he tried to explain his side of the story. She tuned him out, claiming that he was just blaming her mother-- who no doubt was responsible for at least some of went wrong. Then she expressed bitterness that he would try to contact her "just because she was famous". I daresay if she was that high on cocaine, her perceptions of what was actually said in that meeting are probably very skewed.
  
  Later, bio dad and Belinda's sisters from his side of the family tried to reconnect again. She refused to see them and eventually told her dad she didn't want a relationship with him. And yet, throughout this book, it's pretty clear to me that his unexplained departure when she was a little kid had left a huge void. As far as I can tell, that psychic wound is still very painful for her. Yet, as she proudly proclaims her sobriety and newfound sanity, this is an area she evidently still refuses to address.
  
  I'll admit...
  
  My husband is one of those dads who left his children when they were young and no longer has a relationship with them thanks to extreme parental alienation. Because of that, I feel some empathy for Belinda Carlisle's father. Granted, everybody's situation is different. Harold Carlisle might very well be the jerk Belinda Carlisle makes him out to be. But, I do think it says something for him that he tried on several occasions to reunite with her. Yes, he did find her when she was famous, but this all occurred at a time before the Internet. Maybe that was the only way he could track her down.
  
  I don't get the comment Belinda Carlisle made about her dad "replacing her" with daughters from his second marriage. First off, it would be impossible for Belinda's father (or any other parent) to replace one child with another. And secondly, clearly Harold Carlisle wasn't all bad.  He did apparently stick around and raise his younger kids.  If he was a total bum, he would have left them, too.  Finally, Belinda's mother had four kids with her second husband and she considers them her siblings. Why isn't her father allowed to have a life post divorce? Clearly, her parents didn't belong together, but Belinda makes it clear that neither of them were angels. Why heap all the blame on dad?
  
  Like father like daughter...
  
  Another issue Carlisle never seems to address is that for all her complaints about her father's absence, she was apparently often absent from her son Duke's life. She was using cocaine and alcohol frequently when Duke was a small child, traveling a lot, and partying a whole lot. Yes, she was still married to Duke's father, but by her own admission she was not around much and was certainly no paragon of parenthood. I'm sure she'd blame that on her bio father, too.
  
  Beyond Belinda's daddy woes...
  
  There's an awful lot about drugs in this book. It seems that Belinda Carlisle spent about thirty years of her life high on cocaine. For that, she was rewarded with fame and fortune. She doesn't make fame out to be as great as it seems, except when she starts name dropping all the celebrities she's met over the years. Since this is a celebrity memoir and the nature of a celebrity's work puts them in contact with other celebrities, that's to be expected. But it does seem to me that Carlisle got more than her fair share of second and third chances. More often than not, she comes off as a bit self-absorbed and selfish.
  
  Despite my griping...
  
  I will admit that Lips Unsealed is well-written and interesting and, for that, I'm giving it four stars. Belinda Carlisle must have a guardian angel, since she found a husband that she describes as "saintly". They've been married for over two decades and their son has apparently grown up healthy and functional. They live in Los Angeles and the South of France. They must be doing something right.
  
  Overall
  
  Belinda Carlisle's memoir did annoy me on more than one occasion, but I think it's worth reading if you're a fan of hers or the Go Go's. She claims that now that she's in her 50s, she's clean and sober. I truly hope she is and has learned from her mistakes. Judging by this memoir, however, I think she's still got a long way to travel on the road to recovery.
  
  For more information: http://belindacarlisle.50webs.com/

Julie Andrews' Home...

A review of Julie Andrews' life story…  I have always loved her as a singer and actress!

Straight from Julie Andrews...

 Nov 19, 2008 (Updated Nov 19, 2008)
Review by knotheadusc  

Rated a Very Helpful Review

Pros:Well-written and engaging. Julie Andrews' first 27 years are fascinating. Photos.

Cons:Abrupt ending. I wanted to read beyond 1962.

The Bottom Line:Who says you can't go Home again?

I have always admired the great actress and singer Julie Andrews, star of My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, andThe Sound of Music. I also love to read true stories, especially biographies and autobiographies. When I spotted Julie Andrews' autobiography, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, I decided I had to read it. I wanted to know how this woman who has had such an enduring career in show business got her start.

Julie Andrews began life on October 1, 1935 on Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK. Her mother was an aspiring vaudevillian actress and musician and her father was a teacher. She was born Julia Elizabeth Wells, but her name was later changed to Julie Andrews when her mother got remarried to Ted Andrews, a singer and actor. Apparently, it was thought that the name Julie flowed better with her new last name than did Julia. Julie Andrews muses that she never knew how her father felt about the name change but concedes that he must have been hurt.

Using a very intimate writing style, Andrews reveals how she grew up the product of a broken home, with a mother who drank too much and enjoyed too many extramarital affairs. Along with this turbulent home life, Julie Andrews also lived through the worst years of World War II. She includes some memories of those times, when German invasions were common and feared. She writes of hearing air raid sirens and sharp warnings from the warden who passed by. She vividly describes hiding in subway stations for safety during bombing raids and comments that her stepfather, Ted Andrews, once forgot his guitar. The guitar was very precious, since it provided him his livelihood. He managed to retrieve it and entertained the masses in the subway station. I found Andrews' tales about living through World War II especially interesting, since I wasn't around during that time and am now living in a place where it still leaves an enduring impression.

I was also interested in reading Julie Andrews' life story because I am a singer. Julie Andrews is, of course, a wonderful singer. She was discovered by her stepfather, who revealed her powerful four octave voice and started giving her singing lessons. Andrews' mother was a brilliant accompanist. It wasn't long before Julie was a part of their act. Not long after she became part of the act, she became its star, complete with top billing.

Naturally, Julie Andrews' vocal training and performances led to later training with a string of eccentric but excellent teachers. I think I would have enjoyed reading about these experiences even if I weren't myself a singer. Andrews' writing makes them come alive. Since I do sing, I found I could relate a bit to her experiences. Andrews also reveals that she has perfect pitch, which I also have; it was interesting to read about that as well.

Julie Andrews made her Broadway debut in 1954, when she was 19 years old. She was very successful in her role in The Boy Friend, which led to one of her best known Broadway roles as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. I found Andrews' comments about My Fair Lady fascinating, especially as she revealed tidbits about the great actor, Rex Harrison, who played Professor Higgins. Andrews also dishes about working with Richard Burton, who was apparently very crass and egotistical.

I appreciated Andrews' reflections on her family members. She writes about her mother, stepfather, and father, of course. She also includes information about her many siblings, stepmother, and her daughter. Naturally, she also writes about her first marriage to Tony Walton.  Andrews even includes a "shocker" about her family that I wasn't expecting.  I won't reveal it here because I don't want to spoil it, but I will remark that again, I found myself relating to her a bit.  Suffice it to say, it can be very tough living in a step situation.  It's also tough living with an alcoholic.  Julie Andrews managed to do both and flourish.

Home includes two generous black and white photo sections, with pictures of her parents and grandparents as well as Andrews herself as a little girl. There are also photographs of Andrews in her roles. Unfortunately, Andrews rather abruptly ends this part of her life story at 1962, just as she was on verge of making Mary Poppins for Walt Disney. I was disappointed at the end of this book, because I wanted to know more about her later years. I hope she comes out with a sequel.

In any case, I think Home: A Memoir of My Early Years is worthwhile reading for anyone who enjoys a good memoir. Julie Andrews writes as if she's sitting down and talking with her readers. I could practically hear her chirpy voice in my ears as I read her very personal and revealing narrative. I wish this book hadn't ended quite as abruptly as it did, but as it is, she had a lot to write about during the first 27 years of her life. It leaves me hoping that her next book will be just as satisfying.

Recommend this product? Yes

Review of Don Felder's Heaven and Hell: My Life In the Eagles

Loved this book…  I like Don Felder, too.  I don't blame him for being pissed.

Don Felder has his say about his time in the Eagles...

 May 22, 2008 (Updated May 28, 2008)
Review by knotheadusc  

Rated a Very Helpful Review

Pros:Very juicy story of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Often very funny and revealing.

Cons:Slight element of sour grapes.

The Bottom Line:If you've ever been curious about life as an Eagle, you should read Don Felder's book.

I was pretty excited when I saw that Don Felder, former guitarist in the Eagles, had written his bookHeaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001). The book, which was published in 2008 and written with help from author Wendy Holden, was in my hot little hands just weeks after it came on the market. Although it's a pretty sizable volume, I was able to finish it after just a few days of frenzied reading. Don Felder has a lot to say... probably much to the chagrin of his former bandmates.

Heaven and Hell begins with a quick chapter describing what it was like for Felder and his fellow Eagles before a typical show. They would emerge into a stadium, fresh from a beer drinking and cocaine session, take their places, and gaze out at the crowd. The concert would begin and Felder would enjoy the rush of adrenaline, fan adoration, and cocaine as he and the rest of the Eagles launched into "Hotel California". After this very brief look at life as a rock star, Felder begins his life story, starting at the beginning.

Don Felder was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida. He grew up poor and survived a bout with polio, the second son of hardworking parents who lived in a house Felder's father had built with his own two hands. While he was sick with polio as a small child, Don Felder discovered the joy of music. One day, he traded some firecrackers for a neighbor's old guitar and started learning how to play. It wasn't long before Felder was so good that he was playing gigs and teaching other people how to play. One of his earliest students was none other than Tom Petty. Felder seemed destined for a career as a rock star.

With friends like founding Eagle, Bernie Leadon, Duane and Gregg Allman, and Graham Nash, it certainly seemed like Don Felder had plenty of contacts who could help him get his foot in the door of the music business. As Heaven and Hell continues, Felder explains how he came to meet and marry his wife and eventually end up in southern California where his destiny as a star awaited. Using a very laid back style, Felder continues the story of how he gave up a gig with Stephen Stills to become a part of the Eagles, a band that is notoriously private, yet extremely popular.

It was Felder's friendship with Bernie Leadon that led him to meet the other members of the Eagles circa 1971, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Randy Meisner. Felder describes how each band member had a unique style and talent that, when blended together, created what became known as the "California Rock" sound. Back in the early 70s, the Eagles' style was decidedly more country than rock. Felder describes the early Eagles as a bunch of young guys who enjoyed drinking, drugging, and getting laid. All of them, except for Randy Meisner, were single and apparently very horny. Don Felder joined them for jam session. A few years after that, he moved to California and officially became an Eagle in 1974.

Felder and his co-author then describe what a mixed blessing being an Eagle actually was. Here he was, a member of an extraordinarily talented band that would one day be the biggest selling act in America. He was doing what he loved, adored by fans, and making a lot of money. He was also constantly on the road, dealing with the lonely grind of touring. Drugs and girls were constant temptations for Felder, who was happily married and a father. Worst of all, none of the Eagles seemed to get along. Though they made beautiful music together and each Eagle brought something special to the group, the band members bickered amongst each other constantly. Apparently, even in Felder's early days as an Eagle, there was extreme contention among the band members. Don Henley and Glenn Frey were, according to Felder, the most egotistical members of the group.

Being an Eagles fan, I was pretty interested in reading about the band's politics. However, I also enjoyed reading Felder's many anecdotes about other rock stars he got to know. Some of the stories in Heaven and Hell are quite revealing and some are just plain hilarious.

Any Eagles fan knows that the band didn't always play country rock. In 1976, the band developed more of a rock sound when Bernie Leadon left and was replaced by funky guitar player Joe Walsh. Felder includes some great stories about Joe Walsh; apparently, he's quite a practical joker. Felder also includes the story about how the great song "Hotel California" came to be created and how, after the album that spawned "Hotel California", Randy Meisner quit the band and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit. Felder writes about the people behind the scenes as well, including the Eagles' manager and producer.

What goes up must eventually come down and that seems to be true for the Eagles as well. By 1980, the band was at the height of its success. And the band members were also fighting amongst themselves. Fueled by their egos, greed, and perhaps too much cocaine, the Eagles ended up breaking up. For the first time in years, Felder was able to go home to his family, enjoy some of the fruits of his career, and be a father to his children. Fourteen years later, the band got back together for the Hell Freezes Over tour. Felder includes some juicy bits about that reunion, too.

Heaven and Hell also discusses how Don Felder was eventually fired from the Eagles and how he sued the band when it tried to force him to sell his interest. I got the feeling, as I was reading this book, that Don Felder wrote it, in part, as a way of thumbing his nose at Glenn Frey and Don Henley, who seemed to be the biggest offenders of egotistical and greedy behavior. I was certainly left with the impression that while Don Felder respected their talent as musicians, particularly Henley's talents as a singer and song writer, he didn't appreciate being screwed by them. Of course, Don Henley and Glenn Frey have their own sides of the story. We may never get to read what they think of what happened, but it sure is fun reading Felder's account.

I don't know how much of this book was written by Don Felder and how much was written by Wendy Holden. I will say that the book did seem to come from Felder-- never once did I feel like it was a story told by another person. The book is long and involved, but it's fun to read and very interesting. And again, I did laugh aloud several times, usually due to Felder's wry descriptions of @sshole behavior coming from Glenn Frey. I don't think the two are on good terms at all. Besides lots of juicy anecdotes, Heaven and Hell also includes lots of pictures, especially of Felder and his family.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed reading Heaven and Hell and I would, without question, recommend it to any Eagles fan or anyone who just likes to read about rock stars. While I feel like this book had a slight element of sour grapes to it, I also feel like Don Felder has every right to tell his story. By this account, it sounds like he was not treated very well and I can't blame him for speaking out. He seems like a nice person and that makes me hope his book is successful... but I also genuinely enjoyed reading his story. It seems ironic that he was a member of a band bearing the name of a bird that symbolizes freedom, yet he's probably never been freer in his lifetime than he is right now. I, for one, say good for Don Felder.