Washoe County Library System

"Madame Jenkins couldn't carry a tune in a bucket: despite that, in 1944 at the age of 76, she played Carnegie Hall to a capacity audience and had celebrity fans by the score. Her infamous 1940s recordings are still highly-prized today. In his well-researched and thoroughly entertaining biography, Darryl W. Bullock tells of Florence Foster Jenkins meteoric rise to success and the man who stood beside her, through every sharp note. Florence was ridiculed...

Selena Marie Gomez began her acting career on the children's TV show Barney and Friends and was discovered in 2004 by the Disney Network. She started off with guest appearances, which escalated into a recurring role on Hannah Montana. Gomez has evolved into a diverse performer, expanding into feature films and music. Her band, Selena Gomez & The Scene have sold over 1.3 million records in the U.S. alone. Explore her astonishing evolution from a Disney...

Falling in love during a pre-World War II Jersey Shore summer, two aspiring singers find their marriage tested when they must decide which of them will pursue career opportunities while the other stays at home to raise a family.

"From one of the preeminent cultural critics of her generation, a radiant weave of memoir, criticism, and biography that tells the story of black women in music--from the Dixie Cups to Gladys Knight to Janet, Whitney, and Mariah-- as the foundational story of American pop"--

The beloved singer-songwriter Cass Wheeler has abandoned retirement for one last chapter in her musical career. She assembles an album of greatest hits the songs that mean the most to her, songs that she wrote during the brightest and darkest times in her life. Each chapter springs from one of these songs. Told in tandem with the lyrics, this novel moves skillfully across episodes of a fascinating and sometimes tragic life from Cass lonely childhood,...

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, from his rollercoaster lifestyle as shown in the film Rocketman, to becoming a living legend. Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished...

"A pitch-perfect holiday rom com about two oil-and-water reality-star country singers who must fake a relationship in order to win the opportunity of a lifetime, perfect for fans of Sally Thorne's The Hating Game and Christina Lauren's In a Holidaze. Will they hit the right notes this holiday season? When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, each thinks they’ve finally gotten their big Nashville...

"Aretha grew up in a family of musicians, singing with her heart and soul in her father's gospel choir. She went on to bring that feeling to her own music, creating some of history's best-loved songs that still spark hope in listeners today." -- Cover.

"Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996) possessed one of the twentieth century’s most astonishing voices. In this first major biography since Fitzgerald’s death, historian Judith Tick offers a sublime portrait of this ambitious risk-taker whose exceptional musical spontaneity made her a transformational artist. Tick’s compelling narrative depicts Fitzgerald’s complicated career in fresh and original detail, upending the traditional view that segregates...