James Gavin (1) (1964–)

I've admired Lena Horne since I was a little kid - admittedly, for silly reasons: she was the only celebrity I knew of who shared my birthday, and she had my grandmother's first name. I saw her appearances on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and in The Wiz, but not much else. Recently, I've been trying to educate myself about African American cinema and the 20th century black experience more generally, so I decided it was a great time to read Ms. Horne's life story.

What I like about the show more book - which I sometimes don't get from biographies - is a strong sense of narrative. James Gavin, the author, clearly makes the choice to depict Horne as a conflicting persona who rarely let anyone into her private thoughts or feelings. That could be a hard, icy subject to examine, but Gavin uses a lot of sources, both new and archival, to make his point persuasive. His analyses of Horne's performances perhaps veer into a little exaggeration, but it's hard to deny the inconsistencies he finds between stages of her career (and thus, evidence that she herself was prone to a lot of exaggeration, if not outright rewriting of history, and a very opportunistic streak of reinvention). The resulting portrait of Horne is sad but easy to identify with - a woman who never felt like she belonged, didn't trust most people, and who vacillated wildly between wanting to be accepted and wanting to shut people out.

Aside from Ms. Horne's own story, the book is a valuable and thorough chronicle of what it was to be a black entertainer in the 20th century - in some ways, a black entertainer with a lot of privilege because of her light skin. (And yes, I'm aware of the relativism of that statement.) Horne is really forced to reassess herself and her position every time civil rights - and American society's stance - takes a step, either forward or back. It's not really comfortable to read about her reinventing herself in the 1970s, for instance, as an earthy, prowling tiger in performance, because it seems to conflict with all of her standards earlier in life - and particularly when you read about her dropping her precise diction for affected "jive talk," it seems disingenuous, too. But Gavin gives the reader such good context it's hard not to understand why she did it - and although it's painful that she ended so many friendships and confused so many admirers, you can't help but give her a certain amount of kudos just for surviving.

I'm glad I took the time to learn more about Lena Horne, and (because of the book) to experience more of her recordings and performances. She is a far more three-dimensional figure to me - someone I won't soon forget. I'll certainly raise a glass to her on our birthday from now on. show less

8 stars: Very Good

From the back cover: "
George Michael was an extravagantly gifted, openhearted soul singer whose work was both pained and smolderingly erotic. He was a songwriter of true craft and substance, and his music swept the world, starting in the mid-1980s. His fabricated image—that of a hypermacho sex god—loomed large in the pop culture of his day. It also hid—for a time—the secret he fought against revealing: Michael was gay. Soon his obsession with fame would start to show more backfire. As one of the industry’s most privileged yet tortured men began to self-destruct, the press showed little sympathy. George Michael: A Life explores the compelling story of a superstar whose struggles, as well as his songs, continue to touch fans all over the world.

Acclaimed music biographer James Gavin traces Michael’s metamorphosis from the shy and awkward Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou into the swaggering, dominant half of the leading British pop duo of the 1980s, Wham!; he then details Michael’s sensational solo career and its subsequent unraveling. With deep analysis of the creative process behind Michael’s albums, tours, and music videos, as well as interviews with hundreds of his friends and colleagues, George Michael: A Life is a probing, definitive portrait of a pop legend."

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The above description is spot on. I was drawn to George's story, his rise to fame, his breathtaking singing talent, up there with the best vocalists of the age, his hiding his sexuality and his fall. Perhaps most sad is that Gavin makes a solid case that George did not in fact die of an overdose but rather an intentional suicide. He certainly had attempted previously. He was hooked on drugs, watched his one true love, Anselmo, die from AIDS and was lashing out in various ways. Tragic but a fair and balanced book that shows us just how great that George was and therefore how sad it was when he fell.

Some quotes I liked:

"Ridgeley's template was apparently Adam Ant, the New Wave idol who dressed like Beau Brummell dandies and swashbuckling pirates of the 19th Century. Michael never forgot that vision of Ridgeley in tight trousers of "cherry silk" and "cerise satin", with his hair, like Ant's, tied in little braids. Occasionally he wore eye makeup. Some wondered if Ridgeley was gay. Georgios did. But he wasn't, he was just supremely self possessed.

"I'm very free. I have the freedom to go where I like and do what I like." For a closeted man, however, he had set himself a dangerous trap: he wanted to titillate with sex and keep his secrets untouched.

Michael sang of Freedom while living in a cage he'd built himself.

The singer's friendship with Elton John had also crumbled. Its combative swirl of feelings had included hero worship on Michael's part, jealousy on John's, constant competitiveness and underneath it all, true affection. ALthough both had long term partners, their lives had diverged dramtically. As addictions seized hold of Michael, John aggressively adovcated rehab, which had cured him of his cocaine and alcohol habits. Yet his craving for attention still raged and he used the media to gossip about friends and colleagues, criticizing their choices and air grievances.

The man who had written two anthems called Freedom had known little of it; even in death he had not found peace. In his final months he had talked to Kirsty Young about his trademark sunglasses, behind which he had long hidden. "I think the glasses were very much a first sign that my place in life had begun to become a heavy thing for me to carry." he said. "Something I truly didn't believe in." Michael recalled how much had had longed for one special person to make him feel complete, but the battle for self love had been his toughest and in the end he lost. His feelngs at the peak of Faith gave a clue as to what lay ahead. He was "adored by millions' he said "but couldn't work out why." show less

This book was a beast. Not only does it weigh a fair bit, it deals in heavy subject matter. George Michael was a deeply depressed individual. This book outlines his meteoric rise to the stratosphere of stardom. It also covers every dark spot on his record. From failed music tracks, fake girlfriends, and severe substance abuse to poor sexual decisions.

If you have come to this book looking for a bubblegum good time, you won't find it. If, however, you have come to better understand one of show more pop's favorite sons, read this book. show less

George Michael: A Life by James Gavin is an in depth and well researched look at the life and career of George Michael. I was torn between 4 and 5 stars but the overall project, to me, made me round up.

I noticed that some readers felt the first part was slow or less interesting. The effect on me was quite the opposite. I was pulled in from the beginning because I was learning about his family history. I know that many celebrity biographies, many very good ones in fact, offer a brief show more description of background and basically starts with the person just before starting on their career. I also know that in order to understand anyone, celebrity or not, family history as well as their youth is important, otherwise all we are learning about, to use a poor analogy, are the symptoms but not the underlying conditions. So I liked feeling from the beginning that I was going to get a broader and deeper biography. That said, those mostly interested in the celebrity gossip aspect of a biography will probably find the start a little slow. And those really just wanting to read the depressing parts probably only gain interest after the Faith time frame. No matter what you are looking for in a biography, however, it is in here.

I think when we read a biography of someone whose entire career took place during our own adulthood we sometimes feel twice as affected. This is true whether the story is mostly happy or mostly sad. Michael was five years younger than myself and while I wasn't a big fan I respected his talent and certainly, for a period, couldn't have avoided him if I wanted to. So to read what he was doing and experiencing also allowed me to remember those moments in history and what was going on. Which ultimately made me empathize even more with him.

I found the writing good, not great, but definitely sufficient to keep my interest and make my reading easy. Gavin seemed to me to have sections that read more like a work of journalism and other sections that were more casual and almost conversational. I think this keyed me into which parts were mostly statements of verifiable facts and which included the author's and other people's opinions.

I decided to bump the rating up because I think this biography is more than simply a good read, it is an example of a person's life and how things can appear one way to those on the outside and another way entirely to the person himself and those in his inner circle. So I think this biography carries a little more value than just a single celebrity's life.

I don't think you have to be a fan of Michael to enjoy this book, though if you are a fan you definitely will want to read it. For those who remember Wham and his solo career, this is a glimpse back to that time and will lead to some reflection on what those days were really like.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less