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Uncommon People

The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars 1955-1994

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Uncommon People

By: David Hepworth
Narrated by: David Hepworth
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The age of the rock star, like the age of the cowboy, has passed. Like the cowboy, the idea of the rock star lives on in our imaginations.

What did we see in them? Swagger. Recklessness. Sexual charisma. Damn-the-torpedoes self-belief. A certain way of carrying themselves. Good hair. Interesting shoes. Talent we wished we had.

What did we want of them? To be larger than life but also like us. To live out their songs. To stay young forever. No wonder many didn't stay the course.

In Uncommon People, David Hepworth zeroes in on defining moments and turning points in the lives of 40 rock stars from 1955 to 1995, taking us on a journey to burst 100 myths and create 100 more. As this tribe of uniquely motivated nobodies went about turning themselves into the ultimate somebodies, they also shaped us, our real lives and our fantasies. Uncommon People isn't just their story. It's ours as well.

©2017 David Hepworth (P)2017 Random House Audiobooks Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity Thought-Provoking cowboy
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The history of the rock star told through a structure which takes each year from 1955 to 1994 and follows one rock star on a day which will be hugely significant in their career. Hepworth's encylopaedic knowledge of music and consistently amusing prose style allows him to write about some great choices in a way that's both fascinating and entertaining. As with his other audible book "1971" each chapter ends with a playlist of tracks to sum up the year in question. I loved the stories; sought out tracks from the playlist (I'm reasonably knowledgable about music but Hepworth is in another league altogether and his playlists have introduced me to some great performers) and laughed like a crazy person while listening to this on public transport. Particular highlights include Little Richard's first recording session in which his producer has to find alternative lyrics to substitute for the original; wholly unpublishable; words of "tutti-frutti" and the sympathetic chapter on the profoundly damaged Janis Joplin's decision to attend her high-school reunion.

Uncommonly Good

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Excellent book... would highly recommend for music fans. Very well told and really interesting stories.

Excellent

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Great listen. Avoids all the cliches A completely fresh look at the subject. Not to be missed.

Exelent

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David Hepworth could have written this book for me, it tracked the soundtrack of my youth. My generation realise the best years of rock & roll are behind us and this book is the proof, but what great years they were.

Loved this book

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An excellent listen. Read brilliantly by the author. An excellent set up of a brief historical musical moment for each year.

A Brief History of Rock Stars

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