Big City Cat - by Steve Forbert (Paperback)

About the Book

Steve Forbert carved out a niche in New York City's vibrant club scene, playing now-iconic venues like Gerde's Folk City and CBGB's during a time when rootsy rock was fading out and New Wave and punk acts were moving in. His critically acclaimed first album, Alive on Arrival, captured that heady period. Forbert's next, Jackrabbit Slim, introduced the hit "Romeo's Tune. Since then he's produced 20 studio albums. Keith Urban, Rosanne Cash, and Marty Stuart, among others, have recorded his songs and Forbert's tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, Any Old Time, was nominated for a Grammy. Big City Cat: My Life in Folk-Rock features photos from Forbert's personal collection. His stories are interspersed with early journal entries from New York City as well as reminiscences from the people around him--including former manager Danny Fields and E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent, who produced three of Forbert's albums. It's a tale of a talented survivor in a challenging and changing music industry.

Book Synopsis

As a young man from Meridian, Mississippi, Steve Forbert managed to carve out a niche in New York City's vibrant club scene, playing now-iconic venues like Gerde's Folk City and CBGB's during a time when rootsy rock was fading out and the Ramones, Talking Heads, and other New Wave and punk acts were moving in. That heady period was captured on his first album, Alive on Arrival. "Now or then," writes Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild, "you would be hard-pressed to find a debut effort that was simultaneously as fresh and accomplished as Alive on Arrival . . . it was like a great first novel by a young author who somehow managed to split the difference between Mark Twain and J.D. Salinger." Forbert's next LP, Jackrabbit Slim, introduced the hit song "Romeo's Tune" to the world. Since then he's produced studio albums (17 and counting) full of perceptive, critically acclaimed songs in his eclectic pop-rock-folk Americana style. Keith Urban, Rosanne Cash, and Marty Stuart, among others, have recorded his songs. Forbert's 2003 tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, Any Old Time, was nominated for a Grammy and he even made a cameo appearance in Cyndi Lauper's music video for "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."Big City Cat: My Life in Folk-Rock focuses on Forbert's early NYC days but also covers his career up to the present day. Interspersed with his narrative are interviews with notables such as Danny Fields, Garry Tallent, and John Simon. This insightful and humorous memoir is not simply the tale of a talented survivor, but also a glimpse into a musician's life and the challenges faced--as well as the lessons learned--in a changing industry during the last forty years.

Review Quotes

"An enormously entertaining and endlessly touching memoir of where Forbert started and where he is now. ...the book turn(s) the sunshine on a man who is one of the best friends American music ever had." -- Bill Bentley "The Morton Report"

"Forbert has a warm way of describing the pull of NYC and the ensuing challenges of getting traction, against the context of a small town upbringing. ...His perspective on what life was like for a 20-something recently arrived in NYC is sharp. ...Forbert offers a sparkling observation about the pull of music as excellent as any I have seen." -- Brad Auerbach "Entertainment Today"

"Forbert's memoir may be one of the best of the year.....Reading [it] is like sitting down with an old friend, listening to him spin out stories as you'd listen to some old familiar, favorite music. ...Big City Cat, offers a glimpse into the ways that Forbert continues to develop this gift of creativity that has sustained him all these years." -- Henry Carrigan "No Depression"