All I Ever Wanted, Kathy Valentine
All I Ever Wanted, Kathy Valentine
9 Rating(s)
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

All I Ever Wanted
A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir

Author: Kathy Valentine

Narrator: Kathy Valentine

Unabridged: 9 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/07/2020


Synopsis

This brutally honest memoir tells the story of The Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine’s impact on the music world and how she moved forward following the end of the band that once defined her whole life.

At twenty-one, Kathy Valentine was at the Whisky in Los Angeles when she met a guitarist from a fledgling band called the Go-Go's-and the band needed a bassist. The Go-Go's became the first multi-platinum-selling, all-female band to play instruments themselves, write their own songs, and have a number one album. Their debut, Beauty and the Beat, spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard 200and featured the hit songs "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips Are Sealed." The record's success brought the pressures of a relentless workload and schedule culminating in a wild, hazy, substance-fueled tour that took the band from the club circuit to arenas, where fans, promoters, and crew were more than ready to keep the party going.

For Valentine, the band's success was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream-but it's only part of her story. All I Ever Wanted traces the path that took her from her childhood in Texas-where she all but raised herself-to the height of rock n' roll stardom, devastation after the collapse of the band that had come to define her, and the quest to regain her sense of self after its end. Valentine also speaks candidly about the lasting effects of parental betrayal, abortion, rape, and her struggles with drugs and alcohol-and the music that saved her every step of the way. Populated with vivid portraits of Valentine's interactions during the 1980s with musicians and actors from the Police and Rod Stewart to John Belushi and Rob Lowe, All I Ever Wanted is a deeply personal reflection on a life spent in music.
 

Reviews

Goodreads review by Neil on April 22, 2020

Life is not a story, but a good memoir makes it seem like one. For the uninitiated, author Kathy Valentine was the bassist for the Go-Go’s, the new-wave (or pop-punk, if you prefer) band that achieved its greatest commercial success in the 1980s. The Go-Go’s were also the first all-female band to sc......more

Goodreads review by julieta on December 17, 2021

I really enjoyed this sincere and at times fun (and others depressing) memoir. I love the fact that Valentine is forever trying to put a band together, something I tried for a long time, (in a different way I am doing it still) and also the fact that something happens to her when she plays music, wh......more

Goodreads review by Csparrenberger on April 23, 2020

Our local libraries are closed due to the virus. I decided to purchase this book on Amazon. This is the best $25 I have spent this year. This book is interesting on so many different levels. For me, the most interesting was a look at the behind the scenes deals made with record companies and their a......more

Goodreads review by Holly on February 27, 2020

Kathy Valentine stumbled into pop history as the bass player of the GoGos, the first all-girl band to top the BILLBOARD Top 200 Albums chart. But in many ways, she grew up the alienated, washed-out child of the first wave of divorced parents who got lost along the way. With an eye of clarity and self......more

Goodreads review by Diana on September 11, 2020

This one surprised me. I am a huge Go Go's fan but Kathy always seemed to be in the background. This book was an excellent memoir of Kathy's childhood, teenage years, musical education and ultimate success. It was also a beautiful insight into addiction and sobriety. This book had a lot more depth,......more