My Name Is Love

Man, what a cool person Ms. Love is. There are many things I enjoyed about this book and her story. One thing I loved is that she didn't get involved with drugs and alcohol! That's rife in rock 'n roll memoirs. I actually can't think of one off the top of my head that didn't have at least a chapter of the celebrity's life given over to a life of dissipation. (I'm no saint. I had many chapters of dissipation! So I love when people don't fall that way.) I also loved that she didn't run around. She was true blue. And she always spoke her mind to Phil Spector or whoever. Love, love, love that.She cracked me up describing the dancing skills of Mick Jagger and...I can't remember now, maybe Freddy and the Dreamers. I remember watching that guy on Ed Sullivan doing just as she said, flapping his arms like a disabled ostrich. Too funny.A lot of scoops about so many musicians and singers and rock stars in this book, so that's fun, too.She is so talented. I totally understood her sometimes feeling like Tony Bennett singing back-up to Frank Sinatra. She was as good if not almost always better than the singers she backed-up, so it was good to see she had such faith in God because certainly God knew the challenges he sent her would give her the opportunity to evolve her soul. Although I was sorry to read she felt if she'd had more faith, a certain tragedy would not have happened early in her marriage. I don't believe in a cruel God. An incomprehensible one, yes, but not cruel. But I respect her feelings on this matter.And this woman has such a way with words! I don't have my Kindle with me to quote her, but early on in the book she's describing a room in a mansion as having "good posture" and I thought, Oh my gosh, how perfect. She does these kind of original takes throughout the book that I totally loved.I loved her description of Dionne Warwick's music as boarding-school soul. So perfect. That's it!!The only reason I don't give this five stars is because I got bored with the family details. I love that she loves her family, but I really just wanted to read about Ms. Love and her career and not so much about her kids and family. Some yes, but not as much as there was. But let me add that some people will love that view into her life. It's just me I'm talking about.

I've known about Darlene Love being a member of the Blossoms but had no idea about her struggles in the music industry all these decades. Very talented lady whose name wasn't well known by the public until later in her life. The things an artist has to go through is not for the weak. People try to swallow you up & break you for their own gain. I also was aware years ago she had a relationship with Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers (still love them) & I read his book also so that sparked my interest to buy her book. I was not disappointed. It's a book about her personal & musical life. She has perseverance & strength in both aspects of her life thru good & bad times. If you stay your ground & never give up as Darlene Love has, you can get through the many rough times and come out feeling the journey may have been rocky but there's also so much you have gained in your life. Respect & Admiration goes out to Darlene Love. I like this lady. Sing On.

I remember Darlene from way back, probably from the early sixties, and her songs helped me to cope with being 13 in 1963. Those early songs like, " Today I Met the Boy I'm going to Marry", and Wait Till my Bobby gets Home", are classic rock hits, and nobody gets to your soul as well as Darlene, with that magical voice. This book made me feel as though we were having a "girlfriend" conversation, and was not pretentious at all. Her honesty and authenticity throughout the whole book, was very refreshing. I also appreciated her ability to write about her painful relationships and marriages, and her difficulty with her boys, when she could have easily omitted a lot of this. Reading about her bittersweet love affair with Bill Medley was very revealing, and although I knew about it beforehand, I still enjoyed reading about how they really did seem to genuinely love each other, but had to realize that the timing was all wrong. The parts about Phil Spector, Sonny & Cher in the very early sixties, Nino Tempo, and especially about how the Ronettes were shipped out to Phil in California, from New York, when they were teenagers, was so interesting. If anyone ever watched the t.v. show, Shindig, they will remember the Blossoms, and Darlene was with them on the show. These tidbits were great also, as most people don't know what went on behind the scenes of the show, especially the extreme prejudice shown towards Black performers. Darlene struggled with her unfair treatment from Phil Spector for a long time. He sabotaged her career early on, by using her voice on records and not putting her name on the label, and therefore not allowing her to receive payment for her services. She also, for some reason, never got to the level of fame as some of the people who started out at the same time as she did, although equally as talented as they were, like Dionne Warwick. This haunted her for most of her life, and it seemed to come down to mismanagement and bad timing. Towards the end of the book, Darlene rises above it all, and finds her peace, and happiness with a wonderful man, and a new manager who has really recharged her career. Hope to catch her live sometime soon!

Reading!

Fascinating to get her view of the year's being misused by Spector

Very engaging read making you feel like you were there.

I'm loving the entire book.

I Loved it she is one of my all time favorites.What a great and powerful voice