Piano Girl: A Memoir by Robin Meloy Goldsby
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Book Reviews of Piano Girl: A Memoir
Book Review: Expect the Unexpected!
Summary: 5 Stars
OK folks, you think you know what this book will be about. I can tell you already -- you are wrong. This book far surpassed my expectations. I thought it would be a cute, mildly entertaining memoir of some chick who played the piano-bar circuit. I cannot even begin to tell you what I experienced while reading PIANO GIRL. I am a pianist/singer/composer so of course I related to the handful of musical references -- but more importantly, what shocked me was the universality of this novel. She does not dwell on the music aspect in that hoity-toity high-brow way. She focuses on what you would never expect! The every-woman's adventure thru the Big, Bad City and how playing the piano in every possible venue gave her a front row center seat to some of the most interesting if not peculiar people who inhabit this planet. I found her to be part Carol Burnett, part "Amy" on "Everybody Loves Raymond" -- mixed with the class and sophistication of an obviously savvy, cultured musician/stylist. She is so incredibly humble yet after hearing her piano samples online and reading about the effect she had on some of the most promiment people in society -- it confirms the fact that being a "musical stylist" takes precedence. When she ultimately leaves New York, I found myself saddened for two reasons: I didn't want her to leave all the crazy shennanigans of the Big Apple since it was so entertaining to read about, but also because I was hoping that someday I would meet this wonderful lady in a local New York hang-out and share what this book meant to me. But alas, she has gone overseas and has found a successful career playing at the most regal, if not medieval places. I laughed out loud many times, yet I was surprised who fast she could turn that around and evoke the lump-in-your-throat feeling as well. Robin Meloy Goldsby is one in a million and I will never forget the experience of reading PIANO GIRL. Whether you play the piano or not, it is instrumental (pun intended) that you pick this book up and immerse yourself in her world.Book Review: What do you learn from 30 years of playing lounge piano?
Summary: 5 Stars
You learn, first of all, what is essential to take to every gig. Aside from her father's list, Robin also packed along her sense of humor and adventure as well as a never say die spirit that kept the show going despite crazy drunks, wild children, and the invasion of huge NYC cockroaches.
"Piano Girl" is not just a reflection of one woman's life playing in bars and hotels across the world from Pittsburgh to German castles, but what she sees in the audience as she's playing. The pictures are painted with compassion and a whole lot of humor.
You also learn which musician to get serious with. Robin says she's dated them all, and it'd surprise you who the best man to settle down with is.
Plus, a whole lot of thinking outside of the box in odd situations. Precisely what do you do when you're the Maid of Honor and the pianist for a Chinese wedding at Riker's Island Prison? Or, when a celebrity appears in the audience? How about how do you handle a tryout as a circus dancer if you really can barely dance? Or, what song to play when a 70-year-old woman has just left the restroom and gone up in the hotel's glass elevator with her skirt tucked up in her panties exposing herself to the lobby?
I don't normally read memoirs, but I found "Piano Girl" a well-written and entertaining read. May you play tickle those ivories for many years to come, Robin!
Rebecca Kyle, May 2008
Below are links to Ms. Goldsby's musical CDs as well:
Songs from the Castle
Twilight
Somewhere In Time
Book Review: Misty water-colored memoir (now available in paperback)
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the paperback edition of Piano Girl: Lessons in Life, Music, and the Perfect Blue Hawaiian
Like the good old Barbra Streisand staple, Robin Meloy Goldsby shares with us the memories that light the corners of her mind, and true to the lyrics, it's the laughter we will remember, whenever we remember this personal and funny autobiography.
Beginning her working career as a waitress, the author's inability to balance food and beverages without causing grievous bodily harm quickly prompted a switch to another occupation. When practice sessions on the piano at the Club Car lead to an offer to play for the patrons five nights a week, Ms. Goldsby exchanges her hair net for beach-blanket Barbie attire, and delights the audience with her collection of 12 songs and her "fake book" which is used when you need to bluff your way through a musical request.
Eventually, tube tops evolve into cocktail dresses, and cocktail lounges become ritzy hotel lobbies, luxury island resorts and even castles, but Ms. Goldsby continues to amaze and amuse with her observations from the business side of the piano.
Designing agents, questionable bookings and embarrassing situations are all described here in glorious detail, but above all, the colorful, eccentric and certifiably crazy characters encountered make for an enjoyable reading experience.
It's obvious that if Ms. Goldsby had the chance to do it all again, she certainly would.
Amanda Richards
Book Review: One Of My Favorite Books Ever!
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading Robin Meloy Goldsby's newest book, "Rhythm," I felt compelled to reread her first book, "Piano Girl: A Memoir." Where "Rhythm" is a work of fiction, "Piano Girl" is Goldsby's seamlessly crafted and incredibly entertaining autobiography, telling the stories of her 30-year career as a lounge pianist beginning with a diner in Nantucket to her more recent gigs playing in the castles of Europe. For many years, she played in the finer hotel lobbies and restaurants on the East Coast, and her tales of the people and places she encounters along the way are often laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes poignant, and always abundantly human. People have often commented to me that playing the piano for a living must be the most relaxing job in the world, but Goldsby's book will set more than a few of them straight. From stalkers to obnoxious patrons to disabled golf carts and huge ficus trees losing their leaves as she played, the stories are rich, vivid, and very colorful. Goldsby has a wonderfully conversational writing style and "Piano Girl" provides a very enjoyable and satisfying read whether or not you play the piano.
If you are a fan of Robin Spielberg and her music, you'll be interested in a couple of chapters that touch on the beginnings of her career as well. Goldsby became a mentor to Spielberg, and in the process, they became and remain the best of friends.
"Piano Girl" is one of my favorite books ever, and I'm sure it will have something for every reader to savor. Very highly recommended!
Book Review: Music, Words, Inspiration
Summary: 5 Stars
I first heard Robin Goldsby interviewed by Marian McPartland on NPR's Piano Jazz, which is broadcast here in Europe. Her beautiful music Songs from the Castle and her wonderful sense of humor compelled me to buy her book Piano Girl.
As a hobby musician, I've often wondered what it would be like to play professionally-- in a concert hall, a bar, in a show. Goldsby has done it all--including a gig as a stripping pianist, a national tour with Sesame Street and a long-term job in a luxury resort in a third-world country. My favorite chapters include the stories she wrote about her years in New York City. Her words are touching, at times hysterically funny, and often thought-provoking.
Piano Girl deals primarily with Goldsby's life as a galavanting cocktail pianist--playing melodies for people who hear but neglect to listen. But I sense that Goldsby's days as a cocktail-lounge background musician are about to come to a screeching halt. This woman can write.
I've also just read and reviewed Robin's new novel RHYTHM. Rhythm: A Novel It's an amazing story, by a striking new voice in American literature.