Music audiobooks

Wayne Newton

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 26 minutes

Abridged: No

An in-depth examination of the career of Wayne Newton featuring extensive interviews with Newton Read more

Nat "King" Cole

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 45 minutes

Abridged: No

Nat King Cole’s musical journey began as a teenager receiving classical piano training, which he later abandoned to pursue jazz with the Nat King Cole Trio. His career continued to evolve as he found success as a singer with hits including “Nature Boy,” “Mona Lisa” and “Too Young.” Narrator Wink Martindale takes listeners on a captivating... Read more

Vic Damone

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 34 minutes

Abridged: No

Vic Damone quit school as a teenager to work at the Paramount Theater to help support his family after his father was injured. During this time he was exposed to a host of accomplished singers both on the stage and behind the scenes. While operating the backstage elevator for Perry Como, Damone asked if he could sing for him to see if he had any... Read more

Mac Davis

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 36 minutes

Abridged: No

It took 12 years for Mac Davis to find success in the music industry, first as a songwriter and later as a singer. Davis originally spent years working, going to college part time and writing his own music. He later dropped out of college and pursued work in the music industry doing radio and sales promotions, all the while cutting bathroom... Read more

The Four Freshmen

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 29 minutes

Abridged: No

“It’s a Blue World” brought The Four Freshmen onto the charts and into the spotlight in 1952. In the years that followed, the band went through numerous lineup changes but never lost the sound that made them famous.
Wink Martindale spoke with original members Bob Flanigan and Ross Barbour in 1973 about their career and the lasting influence they... Read more

Peggy Lee

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 31 minutes

Abridged: No

Norma Deloris Egstrom grew up far away from the big city life where her future would take her. While still a teenager, she left her small town of Jamestown, North Dakota to audition for WDAY in Fargo. An hour later, she found herself on the air and with a brand new name courtesy of radio personality Ken Kennedy – Peggy Lee.
The singer,... Read more

Neil Sedaka

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 30 minutes

Abridged: No

Neil Sedaka had more than a dozen hits from 1958 to 1963, but his career slumped with the arrival of the British Invasion. In 1974 he found his way back to the charts with “Laughter in the Rain.” In March of that year, Wink Martindale sat with Sedaka to discuss his early career and his thrilling comeback.
Sedaka recounts his early life as a... Read more

Frank Sinatra

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 25 minutes

Abridged: No

The second part of our Hall of Fame spotlight on Frank Sinatra’s legendary career features more audio interviews and highlights from Sinatra and the friends and family who knew him best -- including John F. Kennedy, Paul Anka and songwriter Sammy Cahn, among others.

Host Wink Martindale explores the stories behind some of the classic songs in... Read more

Frank Sinatra

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 34 minutes

Abridged: No

We conclude our four part Hall of Fame spotlight on Frank Sinatra’s career with more little known details about the man and his music. In this installment, you’ll hear about the post-Columbia Records days when he was no longer in demand. He had no hits and no record contract -- that is, until Capitol Records came calling and everything... Read more

Roger Williams

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 33 minutes

Abridged: No

Roger Williams stood alone in the world of popular music. He was just three years old when he first sat in front of a piano and played a song. He went on to study piano at Drake University and Julliard and had his first success with the single “Autumn Leaves.”

Williams sat down for a conversation with Wink Martindale in 1972 to discuss his... Read more

Andy Williams

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 40 minutes

Abridged: No

Andy Williams got his start doing anonymous voice tracks for movies in the 1940s. He got his start singing at teas with his brother, and then made a move to singing on radio in Des Moines, Iowa and Chicago. Finally, Williams found his way to New York where he started to really focus on his singing career.

Television played an instrumental... Read more

The Beach Boys

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 30 minutes

Abridged: No

The Beach Boys started in the Wilsons' garage with members Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. Their first hit was in 1962 and was considered a "surf" song that had distinct vocal harmonies.
History will show the progression of the Beach Boys songs that permeated the culture of the day. The harmonies,... Read more

Rodgers and Hammerstein

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 30 minutes

Abridged: No

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II joined forces to create the most consistently successful partnership in the American theater. Included among the seemingly endless list of their work are legendary works such as Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King & I, The Sound of Music and many more.
In the first part of this two-part series exploring... Read more

Neil Diamond

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 22 minutes

Abridged: No

The Coney Island section of Brooklyn, NY was the birthing ground for the man the rest of the world would eventually come to know as Neil Diamond. In this special Hall of Fame spotlight, host Wink Martindale takes a look at Diamond’s illustrious career, beginning with those early days in Coney Island, which Diamond tells Wink, was “the most... Read more

Johnny Mathis

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 35 minutes

Abridged: No

It’s a testament to Johnny Mathis’ talent and legacy that in 1958, just two years after signing with Columbia Records, the label released Johnny’s Greatest Hits, the first album of its kind. It remained on the charts for the next 9 ½ years.
Wink Martindale sat down with Mathis for a conversation in 1971. He discusses the diverse audience his... Read more

Frank Sinatra

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 25 minutes

Abridged: No

From Joe DiMaggio to Humphrey Bogart and from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra was close to legends. He inspired and worked with the greats of popular music for well over 50 years.

The first installment of our four part Hall of Fame spotlight on Frank Sinatra’s legendary career takes a look at the early years as he began to make a... Read more

Frank Sinatra

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 31 minutes

Abridged: No

The third part of our Hall of Fame spotlight on Frank Sinatra’s legendary career with host Wink Martindale continues the story of the artist who remains an internationally known icon. We dig deeper into the songs and soundtrack of Frank’s career as told by friends and family, those who knew him best, including Nelson Riddle, Gordon McRae and a... Read more

Rodgers and Hammerstein

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 25 minutes

Abridged: No

The second part of our Hall of Fame spotlight on Rodgers and Hammerstein details the phenomenal success Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had as partners after joining forces in 1943. Throughout their long career in theater, the pair helped to start the careers of many now famous singers, dancers and musicians.

Narrator Wink Martindale... Read more

Roberta Flack

By: Wink Martindale

Narrated by: Wink Martindale

Length: 29 minutes

Abridged: No

Roberta Flack gained national recognition with her song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” from the movie Play Misty for Me. The singer, songwriter and musician performed a wide variety of music including jazz, classical, folk, soul, pop and R&B. She was the first to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in two consecutive... Read more

Music Business

By: Introbooks Team

Narrated by: Cyrus Nilo

Length: 40 minutes

Abridged: No

The music business is part of the entertainment industry, a segment Billion dollars worldwide, surpassing the automotive sector in sales, behind only the defense industry. Artists and small producers do not have specific knowledge and skills to undertake their own business or to manage their career. This study sought to address the main issues... Read more

History of Opera

By: Introbooks Team

Narrated by: Tracy Tupman

Length: 39 minutes

Abridged: No

Blending music, dance, visual arts and drama seamlessly to create one of the most interesting things that millions of audiences enjoy is what opera is all about. Its 400 year old history is rich with instances of rise and fall of opera.With its roots in the Renaissance period, opera gradually spread across the world and today it has become a... Read more

Kill 'Em and Leave

By: James McBride

Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman

Length: 8 hours 59 minutes

Abridged: No

“You won’t leave this hypnotic book without feeling that James Brown is still out there, howling.”—The Boston Globe
 
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction, Deacon King Kong, and Five-Carat Soul
 
Kill ’Em and Leave is more than a book about James Brown. Brown embodied... Read more

Delta Lady

By: Rita Coolidge & Michael Walker

Narrated by: Rita Coolidge

Length: 5 hours 24 minutes

Abridged: No

The two-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter bares her heart and soul in this intimate memoir, a story of music, stardom, love, family, heritage, and resilience.She inspired songs—Leon Russell wrote “A Song for You” and “Delta Lady” for her, Stephen Stills wrote “Cherokee.” She co-wrote songs—“Superstar” and the piano coda to “Layla,”... Read more

Music Theory

By: Introbooks Team

Narrated by: Megan Mateer

Length: 51 minutes

Abridged: No

Music is found in every identified culture that man has ever known, in past and in present. Every ancient tribe even the isolated ones have known to have music especially in their rituals and prayers. Music has always been a part of us since the ancient times. According to historians it has existence among us for the past 55,000 years. Initially... Read more