Out of print for 10 years,
but now available for the first time in digital form

Echoes of the Sixties

     Echoes of the Sixties, the first book by EditPros co-owners Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March, has been reissued in digital form. The book, which Billboard Books published as a trade paperback in 1999, has been out of print since August 2001. Although several online retailers have continued to offer used and "remaindered" copies of Echoes of the Sixties (for which we receive no royalties), numerous readers have requested an e-book version for electronic readers.

     Preserving the original book manuscript, the e-book version of Echoes of the Sixties consists of 12 chapters, each focusing on a musical group or solo artist who first achieved popularity in the 1960s. Every chapter begins with an essay documenting the recording achievements of each band or soloist, followed by individual biographies examining the lives of each of the 43 featured performers. The book contains photographs of the musical artists with whom we had wide-ranging conversations, showing them as youths and as mature adults.

     Organized chronologically, Echoes of the Sixties includes chapters about:

• the Fireballs, with vocalists Chuck Tharp and Jimmy Gilmer, whose million-selling song "Sugar Shack" held the No. 1 position on the national charts for five weeks in the autumn of 1963;
• Gary "U.S." Bonds, whose five top-10 hits included "Quarter To Three," which held the No. 1 spot for two weeks in the late spring of 1961;
• the Tokens, whose African-inspired, million-selling song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" captivated fans and remained on the charts for 13 weeks, including three weeks at No. 1, in the late autumn of 1961;
• the Angels, the New Jersey trio whose wildly popular condemnation of male boorishness, "My Boyfriend's Back," held the No. 1 spot on the national charts for three weeks in August 1963;
• Peter and Gordon, whose No. 1 hit "A World Without Love" distinguished the duo as the first "British Invasion" performers after the Beatles to hit the top of the American charts;
• Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues, the band whose brilliant fusion of pop and classical music yielded seven gold and six platinum albums, songs on which included the hauntingly melodic "Nights In White Satin";
• the Beau Brummels, whose hit recordings "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little," produced by Sylvester Stewart (later known as Sly Stone), were at the leading edge of the 1960s musical evolution of San Francisco;
• Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, the whimsically attired band whose raucously improbable blend of Tex-Mex salsa and Memphis rhythm and blues resulted in the million-selling 1965 hit "Wooly Bully";
• the Lovin' Spoonful, whose belief in jug band music and rhythm and blues, as well as folk and rock music, led to seven top-10 hits, including the million-selling "Summer In The City" in the summer of '66;
• Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, whose chart successes during a potent two-year chart run encompassed four successive million-selling rhythmic ballads, including "Young Girl" and "Lady Willpower";
• Country Joe and the Fish, the band that emerged from the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley and assumed the mission of mobilizing opposition to the Vietnam War through the medium of music, exemplified by its satirical antiwar anthem, "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag";
• Iron Butterfly, the psychedelic heavy-metal Southern California band whose monumental LP In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, featuring the 17-minute title track, remained on the charts for 140 weeks, more than half of that time in the top 10.

     Five of the performers who participated in preparation of the book and were alive at the time of publication have since died. We express gratitude and extend our condolences to the family members and friends of those deceased performers:

• Gordon Waller of Peter and Gordon, who died of cardiac arrest at age 64 in Norwich, Conn., on July 17, 2009;
• Hank Medress of the Tokens, who died of lung cancer at 68 years of age in New York City on June 18, 2007;
• Chuck Tharp of the Fireballs, who died of heart failure following a battle with cancer, at age 65 in Clovis, New Mexico, on March 17, 2006;
• John Petersen of the Beau Brummels, who died of a heart attack at age 62 on Nov. 11, 2007;
• Eric Braunn of Iron Butterfly, who died of cardiac arrest at age 52 in Los Angeles on July 25, 2003.

     Shortly after Echoes of the Sixties was first published, one reviewer wrote, "This is an honest, truthful, profile of 43 of the most popular rock stars from the '60s. Written after in-depth interviews with the stars themselves, it tells their histories and what they are doing now. How their rock fame affected their lives. It is fun to read and really brings back memories. Highly recommended!"

     Another reviewer wrote, "This book was so great. I especially liked the Gary Puckett and the Union Gap section. I am from San Diego, CA, and it is cool to hear where they are now, and what their lives have been like. For the music lover this is a great selection!"

     Another reviewer described Echoes of the Sixties as "a well-written book about the lives of some of our favorite rock stars from the sixties. Not the kind of sex, drugs and rock and roll kind of stuff, but some very good interpersonal information and 'career guidance.' Some of the interviewees are well known and others are people you thought you didn't know, but they may have played your favorite solo or written your favorite song." The reviewer added, "This is a great book for those interested in how the music biz really works, and how it may treat its most creative bread-winners. Too bad there wasn't a sequel, or that others haven't written like minded volumes."

     We did, of course, eventually produce a sequel: Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? — Volume 1, with more to follow. For now, though, we're pleased to reissue Echoes of the Sixties in digital format.

Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone?

Ordering information:

     Echoes of the Sixties, published by EditPros LLC, is available as an "e-book" download in the United States for $6.99 USD; in Canada for $6.65 CAD; in the United Kingdom for £4.30 GBP; and in Australia for $6.35 AUD.
ISBN-10: 1-937317-02-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-937317-02-7

Outlets and formats include:

Kindle edition from Amazon.com

Nook Book from Barnes & Noble

Google eBooks through retail stores affiliated with the American Booksellers Association's IndieBound program. The Google eBooks platform is compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android phones, Web browsers, and various e-book reading devices, including Sony, Kobo, Nook, iriver Story and Aluratek Libre readers.

     We invite you to "like" our Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? page at http://www.facebook.com/WHATPSG, where you can learn more about Echoes of the Sixties.

     If you have read either of our books and enjoyed it, we encourage you to post a review at Amazon.com. Thank you.

Thanks so much for calling on us.

This document last modified Nov. 29, 2011
http://www.editpros.com/echoes_ebook.html