Daughter of a Song - (Lou Halsell Rodenberger Prize) by Sarah Curtis (Paperback)

About the Book

A biographical memoir of motherhood, music, and the mythic figure of rock 'n' roller Sonny Curtis.

Book Synopsis

Born in a Dust Bowl dugout on the hard, flat plains
outside Lubbock, Texas, Sonny Curtis picked cotton as a kid, formed a band with
his high school friend Buddy Holly, and opened shows for Elvis--and that was
just by the age of twenty-two. Now at the end of his long career, Curtis is
considered a rock 'n' roll trailblazer. He toured the world with the Crickets
and with Waylon Jennings. He wrote the classic songs "I Fought the Law," "Love
Is All Around" (the theme song to The Mary Tyler Moore Show), and the country
standard "I'm No Stranger to the Rain." Curtis has left an impression on
American myth and music that has gone heretofore undocumented.

But to the author, Sonny was a loving if cryptic
father as elusive as the spotlight itself. Part biography, part memoir, Daughter
of a Song braids together an insider's perspective on an outsider's life.
With Sonny out on the road for long stretches, Sarah Curtis pieced his life and
legacy together through research and recollection, following her father from
the 1950s birth of rock 'n' roll in West Texas to the 1960s Hollywood scene
where Sonny met his wife, a Vietnam War protester and California hippie. The
two of them would leave Hollywood behind for the rural Tennessee cattle farm
where they raised Sarah.

With vivid storytelling, cultural commentary, lyrical
prose, and a dose of humor, Daughter of a Song considers the
complexities of fate and fame, the cultures we shape and the ones that shape
us. It is the story of a man saved by art, and the daughter who must navigate
to the center of his creativity to reckon with her own.

Review Quotes

"The
story of Sonny Curtis the singer-songwriter is part of rock and roll history.
The candid and emotional story that his daughter Sarah has told here is even
richer. Her heartfelt biography of Sonny will make his millions of fans
love him even more." --Mo Rocca, correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning

"Daughter of a Song is
a haunting melody of a memoir, filled with the lively rhythms of country music
and the complex harmonies of the human heart. Sarah Curtis has inherited an ear
for storytelling, and she has written a book that is memorable, generous, and
wise." --Dinty W.
Moore, author of Between Panic and Desire

"Daughter of a Song
is a deeply moving and gorgeously written book, at once a sweeping and
compelling history and an intimate personal tale of a Southwestern American
family. Sarah Curtis unspools her father's journey from the humblest of origins
to the international stage via rock and roll, contributing some of the greatest
songs in the popular music canon along the way. But at its heart, it's the
story of Sarah's place in the family, from her youth as the only child of a
musician father and supportive mother, to her adult roles as a mom, wife,
caring daughter, and, thankfully for us, a writer. As in a great novel, each
character is finely and compassionately drawn. Every parent should be so lucky
to have a son or daughter who writes such an eloquent tribute to their family." --Bill
Janovitz, author of The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told

"Like the man brought to
life on its pages, Daughter of a Song occupies a space all its
own. No mere celebrity biography, this is a work of literature exploring the
complexities of fate and fame, roots and home, and cultural pressures that
can either hem us in or set us free. Sarah Curtis reminds us where
songs come from--and how they endure. A stunning debut by a gifted storyteller."
--Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, author of Finding Querencia: Essays from
In-Between

"Sarah Curtis has been
doubly blessed: she has a story to tell, and the chops to tell it. Daughter
of a Song is about music, about America, about a father and a
daughter and fame and poverty and talent and hard work, and the blessing
and curse all these matters of life and death can sometimes be. Throw in Buddy
Holly, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Waylon Jennings, and
a long-suffering mother who speaks truth in love, and you have everything
you need for a terrific and fabulous and very real book.
This is it." --Bret Lott, author of Jewel
and The Hunt Club

"Sarah Curtis is the
daughter of Sonny Curtis, a member of the Crickets who backed Buddy Holly; he's
also a successful songwriter. However, this isn't a
let-me-tell-you-about-my-famous-father memoir. It's, well, more. Daughter
of a Song explores popular culture, class, family dynamics, the allure and
toxicity of fame, and personal identity. The story Curtis writes is
simultaneously intimate and epic--moving from the dust of Lubbock, Texas, to the
glitz of LA, to stops in between and beyond. Curtis has the literary chops to
make things come alive with words, whether she's relating her father's
literally dirt-poor upbringing, the emotional minefield of a Waylon Jennings
party, or her own complicated feelings about her upbringing. Like her father,
Curtis is a pro; she has honed her craft. And, like her father's music, Daughter
of a Song is the real deal." --Sue
William Silverman, author, How to Survive
Death and Other Inconveniences