Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation

Additional Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation Information

A groundbreaking and irresistible biography of three of America's most important musical artists -- Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon -- charts their lives as women at a magical moment in time.

Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon remain among the most enduring and important women in popular music. Each woman is distinct. Carole King is the product of outer-borough, middle-class New York City; Joni Mitchell is a granddaughter of Canadian farmers; and Carly Simon is a child of the Manhattan intellectual upper crust. They collectively represent, in their lives and their songs, a great swath of American girls who came of age in the late 1960s. Their stories trace the arc of the now mythic sixties generation -- female version -- but in a bracingly specific and deeply recalled way, far from cliché. The history of the women of that generation has never been written -- until now, through their resonant lives and emblematic songs.

Filled with the voices of many dozens of these women's intimates, who are speaking in these pages for the first time, this alternating biography reads like a novel -- except it's all true, and the heroines are famous and beloved. Sheila Weller captures the character of each woman and gives a balanced portrayal enriched by a wealth of new information.

Girls Like Us is an epic treatment of midcentury women who dared to break tradition and become what none had been before them -- confessors in song, rock superstars, and adventurers of heart and soul.

What Customers Say About Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation:

So far so good - still getting into it but an amazing insight to some of the really well known singing stars of that era and how their lives all intertwined with one another.really enjoyable so far and great to get an understanding of who the "Girl's" came to be.Really well written too.

Joni Mitchell was the Id, saying the things we thought but did not say ("watching your hairline recede, my vain darling."), and sometimes doing the things we would want to, but would not do. Carole King was the Superego, writing the idea of the idealized versions of ourselves ("Beautiful," "Believe In Humanity"). And Carly Simon was the Ego -- she spoke as the true Girl Like Us, whether "Mind On My Man" or "Haven't Got Time For The Pain."This was a book I could not put down. Much has been written, including right here on Amazon, of how the lives of these three women are intertwined -- with each other's, and with ours. There's more to it than that: in a way, they're three pieces of the same whole.

This book does not disappoint. I have purchased and listened to King/Mitchell/Simon records thousands of times and wondered about the lives of these women. But I really never could imagine just what crazy exciting lives these women have lead. Truly amazing human beings.

A blow by blow retelling of each artists romantic life and childhoods as well as their professional life. I decided to read the sections on Carole King first, then Joni, then Carly. This is warts and all biography. I found the criticisms of the book on this site to be unfounded or simply ridiculous.

Where many of the songs came from are explained. All your questions about these three that could possibly be answered are. I have read a few magazine articles about Carly Simon and seen a biography on Joni Mitchell. This is incredibly well researched and informative.

What were they really like. Each have gone through many different phases and this book does not skimp. Exactly how did they come to create all this great music.

i have music cd's from all 3. (lots of sex) suffers stage fright*author was very interested in S E X* some of the reviewers mention that the author is a NAME DROPPER.thats so true.ALL HAVE MORE TALENT THAN ANYONE ELSE ON THE FACE OF THIS PLANETif u want to know what was going on in the music world inthe 60's and 70's this will tell u. this is a long book/not so well written & well researchedi think CAROLE KING is a true music genius.JONI MITCHELL is brittleand hard/not likeable. (oh but can she write.).CARLY SIMON is neurotic.

As to the broader societal implications advanced by the lives and music of these women, the author saw nothing but some sort of glorious advance for feminism. None of them seem to have lived happy lives.

Equally unhappy men can be found at or near the center of the story being told. Their experience and decision-making don't seem to be a good template for other young people or adults, men or women.

This was an interesting (even fascinating) read, and the author did an excellent job of setting forth the facts and circumstances that molded each performer/artist. To me, that seems open to question.

At the end of the day, one might conclude that modern times have offered women the opportunity to be as ambitious and wealthy as men, with decidedly mixed results. Within each specific set of personal developments in their lives, the author did a good job of assessing how and what impacted whom, and to what extent.

Nothing they did, no trend they started or assisted, no world view they advanced was anything other than solid, unyielding evidence that (in the face of all opposition), these artists had furthered the cause of women and humanity in a profoundly positive manner.