Blogocentric Formulations

Kindle and Audible Keep Lifting Me Higher and Higher

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SONG: "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher"
ARTIST: Jackie Wilson
STATUS: Deceased (pneumonia, 1/21/1984)
ALBUM: Higher and Higher (1967)

This song is one of my favorites on my Resurrection Jukebox playlist... there's just something so upbeat and wholesome about the tune. Plus, the song (even when performed by Howard Huntsberry) is capable of animating national monuments in the battle against the supernatural, as we learned in Ghostbusters II:

It's worth noting (well, to me anyway) that Howard Huntsberry not only covered Jackie Wilson's song for the Ghostbusters II soundtrack, but also played the role of Jackie Wilson in the movie La Bamba. In that movie he sang a version of Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops" for the soundtrack. Jeez, guy, get some songs of your own, huh?

Jackie Wilson was considered one of the most influential R&B singers of his generation, recording over fifty hit singles including 16 Billboard R&B Top 10 Hits (six of which were #1), as well as 14 Top 20 Billboard 100 hits (six of which also broke the Top 10). He's a two-time Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and #69 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was nicknamed "Mr. Entertainment" and his lively performances were cited as inspiration for many performers that followed him, including Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and James Brown. Presley and Wilson actually became good friends over the years and after repeatedly hearing Wilson referred to as "The Black Elvis," Presley was quoted as saying, "I guess that makes me The White Jackie Wilson."

Wilson had a rather tragic life. At a New Orleans show in 1960 he was charged with assaulting a police officer after the officer violently shoved a fan who had jumped on stage. He was shot and wounded by one of his girlfriends, although stories vary between one where she caught him with another woman and where she was a deranged fan who threatened to shoot herself and his intervention resulted in him being shot in the stomach. He ended up spending a month and a half in the hospital and lost one of his kidneys in the ordeal. He was left nearly broke after his business manager embezzled funds. He was arrested in South Carolina in 1967 for "morals charges" when police found Wilson and a black friend entertaining two white women. His sixteen-year-old son was shot and killed on a neighbor's porch in 1970. He also lost two of his daughters, one to heart attack at the age of 24 in 1977, and the other in a drug-related incident in 1988. He wasn't aware of their deaths though, because he had a heart attack on stage in 1975 and spent the following nine years in a coma. He recovered briefly in 1976, but then lapsed back into a coma until he eventually succumbed to complications from pneumonia in 1984.

Despite his mostly tragic life, Wilson's songs remain inspirational to many, including artists who have become famous in their own right.

                   

PROMPT: In what format do you typically read books (hardcover, paperback, Kindle, audiobook, etc.)?


I read books in all formats, and usually have different books going in different media at the same time. For example, the book I'm currently listening to on audio during my commute is:

ASIN: B002VGERGO	Flood: A Novel (Burke, Book 1) Product Type: Audible Books & Originals
	Amazon's Price: Price N/A Buy Now!

And I'm also reading a paperback novel at the moment:

ASIN: 0440129613	The Godwulf Manuscript (Spencer, No. 1) (Spenser) Product Type: Book
	Amazon's Price: $ 8.99 Buy Now!

But for those times when I don't have my paperback book handy and I'm not in my car, I'm also reading this book on my Kindle/iPad/iPhone:

ASIN: B00CCONU0O	The Secret Lives of Married Women (Hard Case Crime Book 113) Product Type: Kindle Store
	Amazon's Price: $ 7.99 Buy Now!

I've currently finished all of my hardcover stuff, but there's a good chance I'll probably find one of those before too long as well, once I find a book that I just "have" to read and can't wait for the paperback.

As far as which books I read in which format, it's really a matter of economics or urgency. If it's something I want to read right away, I'll usually get it on Audible because I listen to most of my books that way during my commute. Hey, when you spend 3-4 hours a day in the car and prefer to listen to books at 1.5x speed, you tend to burn through them pretty quickly. But if it's cheaper to buy on Kindle, I'll usually go that route, only really option for hard copies if I find them deeply discounted at a used bookstore (or on Amazon), or get them as gifts from people. Occasionally I'll get the urge to buy something in hardcover or paperback just for the feel of actually turning pages, or will specifically get audio if I know and like the narrator ... but most of the time I'm not too particular, all other things being equal. I just go with the format that's cheapest or most readily accessible.