Moondog

I purchased this as a gift for a Moondog fan. He loved it.

An essential look into the life and work (though his music is insufficiently analyzed for its brilliance, a weakness of the book) of a major musical figure who integrated many styles of music decades before the artists of the 1960s were going to. He was clearly a musician way ahead of his time, and it is about time that someone told his story. Even Allan Freed, whose radio shows helped to stir the rock revolution of the 1950s, called himself the Moondog after the real one, without his knowledge and permission, and started all his shows with one of Moondog's tracks (which the courts later ordered Freed to desist from doing). Moondog is one of the musical giants of the 20th Century and plays an important part in that era just prior to rock when many musicians were trying new experiments, some who became popular, and others like Moondog who remained in relative musical obscurity (despite being quite well known as a street figure who sold his art directly to others). The book is quite well written and sufficiently absorbing. It is I think an essential part of the history of popular music of the late 20th Century that is little known and should become so for modern listeners to better educate themselves about the musical history of our era. I only keep about 15% of the books on rock that I read, and I read almost all of them that appear on the shelves. This one is I think a keeper.

If you want to know about Moondog's life, this is what you'll have to buy, so there's no use nitpicking: isn't it nice to learn that when Moondog sued Alan Freed, he called Arturo Toscanini as a character witness? This isn't an especially well-written book; it's stilted and repetitive, but the author is a dogged researcher. By necessity, he has to rely on Moondog's own memoir (in verse) for details of his early life. Because it's an authorized biography, it doesn't ask any hard questions about the quality of Moondog's music or of his mental health. However, it comes with a CD of rare recordings, including madrigals sung by Moondog, Philip Glass and Stephen Reich. The CD alone is worth the price of the book.

The story of Moondog is fascinating; unfortunately the story telling is lacking. If you love Moondog 5 stars; if you love reading 1 star. I'm splitting the difference.

Awesome book, moon dog is a legend - but irritating / offensive that a book about a blind person doesn't have an audio book version.

everything fine. thanks.

... or he should be. Composer, musician and visionary Louis Thomas Hardin was blinded by a blasting cap at age 16, an event which dramatically changed the course of his life. While studying at the Iowa School of the Blind he became interested in music and eventually decided to devote his life to it. He traveled for some years, hitch-hiking (!) across the country several times, before settling in New York City in 1943. For the next 30 years he lived there as a street musician/poet, dressed in homemade viking garb, and became known as "the Viking of 6th Avenue". (He actually never lived exclusively on the street, renting apartments in Manhattan and staying with friends from time to time.) Legally changing his name to "Moondog" in 1947, he used that name exclusively for the rest of his life. Moondog's music is both quirky and accessible. He has been described as an "avant garde" composer, yet was totally committed to strict principles of European classicism and tonality, and felt himself to be humbly carrying on in the tradition of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. As he once put it, "I am a tonalist at odds with all atonalists, polytonalists, quartertonalists, computerisers etc." Yet for all that, he was an American original, a fiercely independent, rugged individualist in the mold of Ruggles and Ives. Combining the rigid forms of madrigals and rounds with odd meters and his own unique theories concerning "overtones" he managed to produce music -- a great deal of it -- which was both unique and at the same time true to his classical ideals. And as with many American originals (like Ives, Ruggles, Cage, and Partch), Moondog has been pretty much relegated to the back-burner of American music, with the other "eccentrics". And yet... Moondog hob-nobed with, and was respected by many of the acknowledged great musicians of the day: Artur Rodinski, Arturo Toscanini, Leonard Bernstein, Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker. He recorded with Julie Andrews, Bob Dylan, and Frank Zappa. He recorded solo and chamber music albums for Columbia. He appeared on stage with the likes of Marlon Brando, Alan Ginsberg, Lenny Bruce, and Tiny Tim. And scores of musicians from Janis Joplin to Philip Glass acknowledged his influence. At last we have a biography of this remarkable musician, heretofore known to the general public only through the liner notes of a few obscure and under-marketed albums. Robert Scotto has assembled a thorough, convincing, and sensitive portrait, greatly enhanced by interviews with Moondog himself, and those who associated closely with him. This is the story of a man who refused to be hampered by a disability that would have stopped many of us in our tracks, and who moreover constructed a career from deliberately chosen adversity.This book is inspiring, funny, interesting, and ironic: despite his exposure and illustrious acquaintances, Moondog, as many American musicians, didn't reach the point of self-supporting musical success until he moved Europe. Settling in Germany in 1974, he wrote a tremendous volume of music and made numerous recordings (a great deal of his music still needs to be transcribed from the Braille). His career was thriving in 1999, when he died of complications from diabetes.There are some issues with the book: a few inaccuracies, a tinge of hero-worship here and there, the occasional awkwardly worded phrase -- but this is to be expected in the first complete biography of an eccentric personality. None of these minor defects detracted significantly from my enjoyment of the book, and as icing on the cake, the book comes with a CD containing representative samples of Moondog's work.All in all, if you're a student or fan of unique music, or just looking for an interesting biography that's a little off the beaten trail, I highly recommend this book.And if you're already a Moondog fan this book is, of course, essential.

Moondog, a fascinating man and music that needs attention. I was hoping that this book would engage me and get me into the mind and the music concept of Moondog. But I found it over long and tedious. A Jake Thackray song says, she, (him) will say a thousand words when one word would do. That is this book. I just wanted to know the 'nitty gritty' of this man, his history and his music, not an ad nauseam analysis of American culture etc etc , other books do it better. Scotto, dragging out chapters and getting 'wordy' is not clever, it's boring. An entry on 'Wikipedia is more interesting. 5 star for the man I have yet to discover, 1 star for the book that is indulgent in his wordy ego.

second purchase of this one, as first copy got lost in a plane..now even better than first time

Fascinating insight into the complex yet simple life of a visionary. A must read companion for people who, like me, intimately believe his music is inexplicably life changing. A very well written bio that paints the rich backdrop of culture(s) sociology, media, art, music, sexuality, family, childhood upbringing that lead a simple boy to become a relentless and multi-talented inquisitor.A humanistic lesson in Hope.

Moondog was an amazing man and musician/composer. His really is an uplifting story of huge personal and musical triumphs against terrible odds. Listen to his music, read his story.