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Porter Wagoner‘s golden, rhinestone-crusted bootsand intricately stitched wagon-wheel cuffs provide some showbiz flash for the cover.
But inside photographer Ed Rode‘s coffee-table book Songwriter Musician: Behind the Curtain With Nashville’s Iconic Storytellers and Players, a series of static images captures a raw sense of dozens of creators affiliated with Music City.
The Chicks make goofy faces for the camera, informal Luke Bryan plays guitar with his shoe scuffing a couch, Dolly Parton gets lost in personal nostalgia, Dierks Bentley strikes a pose next to the mud-covered pickup that brought him to Nashville, and George Strait flashes a smile under a blue clear sky, though his eyes suggest a bit of sorrow or weariness.
People operate in a dynamic world, and through constant movement, convey multiple feelings at a time. When they reveal a little more than intended, a shift in expression or a gesture can cover the deep emotions when they rise to the surface. But a still photo, taken at the right moment, can capture a fleeting window to something intangible in the subject that might have been perceptible for a millisecond.
Given the emotional disposition at the heart of music, Rode’s portraits bring depth to a range of familiar artists and not-so-public songwriters and musicians. Self-published Aug. 20 by Ed Rode Photography, Songwriter Musician is more than 30 years in the making, drawing on the thousands of music-related photos he’s accumulated since moving to Nashville in 1990.
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“The way I like to shoot photos — as a photojournalist, as a documentary photographer — is capturing moments, capturing people as they are, trying to reveal personalities, trying to really tell a story,” Rode says. “I want to tell a story with one photo.”
Writing about music, it’s been said, is like dancing about architecture — words can never fully capture the pitch of an A-flat or the snarl of a Telecaster. Likewise, a photo can’t convey the spiritual tone of a scintillating mandolin or the raucous volume of an amped-up honky-tonk. But Rode’s photo of bluegrass icon Bill Monroe, leaning against a tree as he plucked his Gibson F-5 Master, provides a sense of Monroe’s relationship to his instrument. And a two-page spread of Keith Urban and Steven Tyler jamming in front of a packed house at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge captures the exuberance in the room, even if the page itself is silent.
Rode relates to the joy in the Urban-Tyler club collaboration and to the necessity that drove Monroe to play for 10 minutes impromptu for an audience of one in a Tennessee field.
“When he started playing, it was [like] breathing,” Rode says. “That’s the way I feel. I wake up every morning and I want to pick up a camera, I want to go make a photo. I want to capture a moment that won’t be repeated again. I dream about it. To me, I’m the luckiest SOB in the world. I do something that I absolutely love.”
Rode’s younger years set him on a path that’s obvious in hindsight. He grew up in a Midwestern home where Chet Atkins and The Beatles were frequently on the turntable. He had an affinity for drumming that ticked off his teachers and his Catholic-school principal, who was able to monitor classes from his office.
“I would be there banging the heck out of the desk,” he remembers, “and over the loud speaker, I’d get, ‘Rode, stop drumming.’ And to me, that was like fuel.”
He apprenticed at The Grand Rapids Press in Michigan, learning his craft while shooting photos at rock concerts, car wrecks, political speeches and basketball games. Shortly after accepting a job at The Nashville Banner in 1990, he got an assignment to cover a No. 1 party, where he met Atkins, the same guy whose albums were part of his childhood soundtrack. Atkins took a liking to Rode and had him over to his Music Row office a number of times. And, as Rode got enmeshed in the city’s creative community, Atkins encouraged him to think about doing some sort of documentary on Nashville’s songwriters and musicians.
Within a few years, Rode went freelance, shooting album covers, Music Row parties and concerts, and he built a significant catalog of candid shots and official portraits. He pitched the coffee-table book to publishers periodically, but never got a bite. Finally, with the aid of several investors, he designed and released the book on his own, uncertain of its commercial value but convinced of its historical importance. It captures plenty of familiar faces — Taylor Swift, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn and Chris Stapleton, just for starters — but also features a number of “insiders,” including songwriter Bob McDill (“Good Ole Boys Like Me,” “Amanda”), guitarist Mike Henderson, songwriter Dennis Morgan (“Smoky Mountain Rain,” “River of Love”) and producer Chris DeStefano (Chris Young, Chase Rice).
Rode holds an affinity for his subjects’ work.
“I feel like we both start with blank slates,” he explains. “Back in the day, you put a blank roll of film up and you’d shoot. You start with nothing. And when you’re writing a song, you got a piece of paper in front of you and a pencil or whatever and you start with nothing, and then out comes something. And I kind of felt that kinship a little bit.”
Rode is selling Songwriter Musician from his website, but even though his 30-year project is complete, the work is not.
“I haven’t stopped shooting songwriters,” he says. “The day I step off this earth, you can probably call my career done. But up until then, it’s really easy to pick up that camera and carry it with me everywhere I go.”
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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Summer this year has proven to be a extra warm one thanks to a heatwave that has impacted most of the […]
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Cody Simpson has proven to be a man of many talents, earning a Billboard 200 top 10 album with Surfers Paradise in 2013, in addition to launching his own eco-friendly fashion brand and qualifying for the Australian national swimming team back in 2022.
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In an attempt to make it to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 27-year-old had to make sacrifices, including putting his music career on hold for five years. In the end, he fell short in both the 100-meter men’s freestyle and 100-meter butterfly during the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials, failing to earn a spot on the relay team for Paris.
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Rather than hold on to the disappointment, Simpson is already throwing on his Olympics merch and looking ahead, including going back into music. For fans anticipating his music comeback, the star already teased a lot of “exciting projects” lined up, according to a press statement. While you wait, though, the “Free” singer shifted his creativity to writing and has published his first-ever kid’s book, titled The Sea In Me, which you can buy online now from Amazon.
Keep reading to learn more.
Amazon
“The Sea in Me” by Cody Simpson
Simpson’s children’s book isn’t just the first time the singer has published a story for kids, but it’s the first story he’s ever written. There are 32 pages total with illustrations done by Amandine Thomas, while the storyline dives into how Simpson uses swimming to escape the chaos of life outside the water.
While there are many music books to choose from, the pop singer’s children’s book looks to inspire the younger generation while focusing on an activity other than singing or playing an instrument. While it’s not a musician memoir, it does give a more in-depth look into another of the artist’s passions, allowing fans to gain insight into how special swimming is to Simpson, even after he was unable to make it to the 2024 Olympics.
For more product recommendations, check out ShopBillboard‘s roundups of the best country music books, books about jazz and Taylor Swift books.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Dating Taylor Swift has generated a desire for Swifties to learn everything possible about Travis Kelce’s relationship with the singer. But […]
Cher‘s life has been so epic that one volume won’t suffice. The singer posted the cover of her upcoming two-part memoir on her Instagram on Wednesday (July 24), revealing a throwback pic from early in her six-decade career and her name splayed in color-shifting font just above.
According to The Hollywood Reporter Cher: The Memoir, Part One, is due out on November 19 through Dey Street Books, an imprint of the William Morrow Group at Harper Collins. “After more than seventy years of fighting to live her life on her own terms, Cher finally reveals her true story in intimate detail, in a two-part memoir,” the publisher wrote in a statement about the book that will chronicle the 78-year-old singer’s childhood and tumultuous marriage to late partner Sonny Bono. “With her trademark honesty and humor, Cher: The Memoir traces how this diamond in the rough succeeded with no plan and little confidence to become the trailblazing superstar the world has been unable to ignore for more than half a century.”
The second part of the anticipated autobiography is slated for release in 2025.
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The singer cemented her pop icon credentials further in December when she earned a No. 1 hit on the Billboard songs chart with “DJ Play a Christmas Song,” tying her with the Rolling Stones as the only acts to have at least one new No. 1 on a Billboard songs chart in each of seven decades from the 1960s through the 2020s.
The road to the memoir has been a long one, with the Cher tweeting in 2018 that the first part of the book would drop in 2020, while also hyping a biopic whose details have not yet been confirmed; in 1998, Cher released a memoir entitled The First Time, a collection of essays that recounted a number of the major first-time events in her life.
Then, on the Tonight Show in November, Cher told Jimmy Fallon that she wasn’t quite ready to share her full story with her fans, saying she didn’t have a title for the book at the time. “I just totally chickened out. I didn’t put in some things that need to be in, and they’re not comfortable,” she told Fallon. “But they need to be put in, so I have to go back and man up… I’ve lived too long and done too much, and so it’s like it should be the encyclopedia.”
The Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning singer/actress who rose to fame in the 1960s as part of the duo Sonny & Cher with Bono is best known for their signature duet “I Got You Babe,” as well as solo hits “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),” “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves,” “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Believe,” and acting in films such as Silkwood, Mask, Moonstruck and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Check out the cover of Cher: The Memoir, Part One below.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Eminem dropped his newest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), on July 12, and it’s already a contender […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Yvie Oddly isn’t one to shy away from the spotlight, having won the eleventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2019, […]
The flurry of commemorative material that’s been released in the wake of Avicii’s 2018 death expands today (June 13), with the release of a new photobook, Avicii: The life and music of Tim Bergling.
The book comes from publisher Bokförlaget Max Ström, which producers large-format photobooks, and features more than 200 images of the artist born Tim Bergling. Through these photos, many of them which have never before been made public, the book traces the artist’s life from his childhood in Sweden to global superstardom. See exclusive images from Avicii: The life and music of Tim Bergling, below.
The book, which is currently available in Europe (with a U.S. publishing date to be announced soon), was created in collaboration with the Tim Bergling Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Bergling’s parents, Klas Bergling and Anki Lidén, in the wake of his 2018 death. Based in Sweden, the organization advocates for mental health wellness and suicide prevention among young people.
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The new book comes days after the debut of a new Avicii documentary, Avicii – I’m Tim at the Tribeca Festival in New York City. The book includes a foreword by Swedish journalist Måns Mosesson, the author of the 2022 Avicii biography Tim: The Official Biography Of Avicii. Read an exclusive excerpt of this foreword about the producer’s time at an Ibiza rehabilitation facility in 2015 below.
Tim Bergling at three years old. Photo from the book “Avicii, The Life and Music of Tim Bergling” Max Ström Publishing 2024.
PrivateAvicii Music AB
The moment of reckoning arrived deep in the Ibizan woods, surrounded by tall pines and fragrant orchards. Following a difficult conversation with concerned friends and colleagues, Tim Bergling entered rehab in the autumn of 2015, just as his second album Stories was finally released.
At long last he had time to catch up on his sleep at the facility, which was located on a converted farm. The garden, with its bright palm lilies and hibiscus bushes, stretched out beyond his window. A few stone steps led down to the consulting rooms.
Tim built a little campsite for himself up on the rooftop, staff helped him lug a sun lounger up there. At dusk he would gaze out over the Mediterranean shrouded in autumn mist, considering his life and all the experiences that had led him to that particular place.
One day, the treatment director took a book off the shelf in the consulting room. It was by Eckhart Tolle, a German self-help author. Entitled The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, it set out the principles of living in the present moment, also called mindfulness.
Tim liked what he read. He sought out the roots of these ideas and learned that much of Tolle’s writings drew on ancient Buddhist teachings – concepts that Tim enjoyed discussing in therapy. The Eastern practice was based on paying attention to the sensations flowing through one’s body, recognising difficult or embarrassing feelings without judging or repressing them. By acknowledging stress, the idea was that one could gradually free oneself from it.
Tim practiced sitting silently in meditation. He tried to tune in to every smack against the punching bag down by the pool. Boxing also helped him to let go of what had become a highly destructive lifestyle. During his nightly excursions among the wild rabbits in the surrounding woods, a new idea started to emerge in his head. It was a decision even he had not anticipated. An idea that would previously have seemed so impossible, he would have waved it away before it had a chance to establish itself in his consciousness.
He would stop touring.
It was a drastic move, but it immediately felt right. Playing live sets did not benefit him as a person. They were just a source of stress and drained him of joy. He would probably always love making music. In fact, that was one of the reasons why he needed to make a change. If he stopped touring, that would free up energy for composing music, which was what he really longed to do.
He also decided to split from his manager Arash Pournouri. Their relationship had been growing increasingly fraught for some time. After three months in rehab, Tim Bergling left Ibiza in great shape and full of confidence. He posted an announcement on Instagram for his three million followers.
My path has been filled with success, but it hasn’t come without its bumps.I know I am blessed to be able to travel all around the world and perform, but
I have too little left for the life of a real person behind the artist.
A new life began to take shape. Tim continued travelling around the world, but he no longer did so as a one-man entertainment industry. Instead, he hung out with monkeys on Madagascar, took selfies with gorillas in Uganda and floated on a barge along the Amazon deep into the jungle.
In the spring of 2016, he embarked on a special bus trip with a bunch of Swedish musicians. They set off from the west coast of the USA and headed east. They stopped off in national parks and carried their instruments across the rugged terrain. In the great outdoors, they wrote elegant, laid-back songs filled with rediscovered freedom. Many would later end up on Avīci (01), an EP Tim wanted to centre on the human condition. He outlined how he wanted the project to be presented. Ambitious films, inspired by the teachings of Buddhism, would trace a human journey from darkness into light.
This was his focus now: people’s destructive thought patterns and ways to break out of them. How to emerge from addiction and find a peaceful existence.
A new life, in other words.
Bergling in the southern Swedish province of Skåne, where his family had bought a run-down cottage with a view of the sea in the fishing village of Skillinge. Photo from the book Avicii, The Life and Music of Tim Bergling” Max Ström Publishing 2024.
Private family photo
In April 2012, Bergling sent this photo to his mom Anki from the Caribbean island of Saint-Barthélemy. This was also Bergling’s first post on Instagram. Photo from the book Avicii, The Life and Music of Tim Bergling” Max Ström Publishing 2024.
Private/Avicii Music AB
Avicii’s crew started taking a private plane in the summer of 2012 to save time getting from one gig to another. Their 10-seater Cessna sported decals that read “Air Vicii” and “Ash Alliance.” Photo from the book Avicii, The Life and Music of Tim Bergling” Max Ström Publishing 2024.
Rukes/Avicii Music AB
A performance in Osaka, Japan, on June 4, 2016. Photo from the book Avicii, The Life and Music of Tim Bergling” Max Ström Publishing 2024.
Sean Eriksson/Avicii Music AB
Bergling photographed in Nevada while filming a 2015 commercial for Volvo. Photo from the book Avicii, The Life and Music of Tim Bergling” Max Ström Publishing 2024.
Gustav Johansson
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Suzanne Collins is taking us back to Panem with a fifth installation in The Hunger Games book series, but this time, she’s taking us back in time to 24 years prior to the events of the main trilogy. The Hollywood Reporter announced the news this week, stating the upcoming book titled, Sunrise on the Reaping, won’t be released until March 18, 2025, but that means you have plenty of time to catch up on the series — including watching the most recent movie online, which also gained recognition for debuting an Olivia Rodrigo song.
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This time around, readers won’t be following President Snow’s point-of-view, but will get to hear from another familiar face: Haymitch Abernathy — Katniss and Peeta’s mentor and the only other person from District 12 to win the Hunger Games. His experience is also significant as it marked the Second Quarter Quell to take place.
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Instead of counting down the days until the book comes out, new and seasoned fans of the Hunger Games world can read every book to help pass the time. Right now, you can even score 39% off a boxed set from Target, Amazon and Walmart, which drops the price down to less than $40. Keep reading to shop the deal below.
“The Hunger Games” Books 1-4 Box Set
$38.06
$38.06
$61.96
39% off
$38.06
$46.47
18% off
Enter the world of The Hunger Games with this boxed book set that includes every single book currently published in the series. You can choose from paperback or hardcover editions and enjoy a display-worthy box that won’t just keep your collection dust-free, but also looks great placed on a mantle.
How Many Books Are in The Hunger Games Series?
There are four books published as of now including The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay and The Ballad of the Songbirds & Snakes. Once Sunrise on the Reaping is published there will be a total of five books within the series. If you look at the movies though, the third book, Mockingjay was split into two movies, which expanded the movies into five total.
If you’d also like to watch The Hunger Games films, you can stream all four movies online through Starz, which has a 7-day free trial through Prime Video. After the free trial is over, you’ll be charged $9.99 a month on top of your Prime membership subscription. You’ll need a Prime membership in order to watch The Hunger Games series online for free. If you don’t already have a membership, Amazon offers a 30-day free trial for new users who sign up.
How to Read The Hunger Games in Order
The best way to read the books is in the order the series was released in, which would start with The Hunger Games followed by Catching Fire, Mockingjay and The Ballad of the Songbirds & Snakes. While the fourth book is considered a prequel to the main trilogy, you could still read Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes first, to understand all the Easter eggs that will likely be placed within Sunrise on the Reaping.
Fans can also look forward to seeing book five on the big screen as it was reported that the upcoming book has already scored a movie deal.
For more product recommendations, check out ShopBillboard‘s roundups of the best female musician memoirs, country music books and books about jazz.
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Amazon is combatting its The Summer I Turned Pretty (summer)drought with an exclusive watch party featuring appearances from the cast of the hit YA show. Season three of the drama was delayed due to last year’s Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which pushed the premiere to the summer of 2025. To hold fans over until then, Prime Video is giving you the opportunity to go back to Cousin’s Beach with members of the cast.
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Lola Tung, Rain Spencer, Chris Briney, Gavin Casalegno and Sean Kaufman will gather together for two virtual watch parties as they look back on their favorite episodes from season two. You can tune in on Friday (June 7) and Friday (June 21) at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET to watch The Summer I Turned Pretty season two episodes four and five with the cast. The livestreaming event will feature the cast members watching the episodes with you as they react and share never-before-seen commentary including behind-the-scenes moments.
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Keep reading to learn how to attend The Summer I Turned Pretty watch party with the cast.
How to Watch The Summer I Turned Pretty Watch Party
You can watch both livestreams through Prime Video with season two, episode four airing on Friday (June 7) and the season two, episode five watch party premiering on Friday (June 21). Tung, Spencer, Briney and Casalengno will gather together for the June 7 watch party while Kaufman and Spencer provide exclusive insight for the episode five livestream.
You’ll need to have a Prime membership in order to watch The Summer I Turned Pretty cast watch party online. If you already have a membership, you can RSVP to the watch party here.
Don’t have a Prime membership? Amazon is offering new users a 30-day free trial when you sign up, which will let you watch The Summer I Turned Pretty online for free and more. Once your free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular subscription fee of $14.99 a month or $139 a year.
Students can save more money with a student membership that comes with a six-month free trial and 50% off subscription price. Qualifying government programs can even get you an EBT/Medicaid membership, which comes with a 30-day free trial and half off subscription price.
Along with being able to watch season one and two of The Summer I Turned Pretty, Prime members will get access to the entire Prime Video library including original and exclusive content like Fallout, The Idea of You, Outer Range, Them: The Scare, The Boys, Gen V, Daisy Jones & The Six and The Goat.
Subscribers can also take advantage of Prime member-only perks like free one-day shipping, grocery delivery, access to Prime Day, Prime Try Before You Buy, Prime Reading and more.
Where to Buy The Summer I Turned Pretty Official Merch
As you gear up for the upcoming watch parties, Amazon is releasing new The Summer I Turned Pretty merch every Friday in addition to their previous apparel and accessories from the series’ official store.
Whether you’re team Conrad, team Jeremiah, or team Belly, ShopBillboard put together a few our favorite pieces for you to buy online now.
The Love Tour Season 2 T-Shirt
Show off some highlights from season two of the hit series with this “The Love Tour” graphic T-shirt. It comes decorated with quotes and photos from the latest episodes, on a cotton T-shirt that’s both lightweight and breathable.
The Summer Tour Season 1 T-Shirt
The first season gets condensed onto this simple T-shirt, which includes pictures of the main cast and the iconic quote, “It was the summer everything began.” On the back of the top, you can find a list of the episode names from the season while the cotton material helps ensure you’re comfy all day long.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” Cousins Rowing T-Shirt
For a more subtle look, this T-shirt features a “Cousins Rowing” graphic that only fans of the book series and show will understand. You can choose from a variety of fits including men’s, women and youth, as well as a four base shades such as light blue, navy, red and gray.
Jay Franco “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Whale of a Tale Cousins Beach Tote Bag
$24.98
$49.99
50% off
Viewers may recognize this tote as the exact one Belly uses within the series. It’s currently marked down 50% and features a main pocket where you can store your latest books, water bottle, keys, phone and more.
The Complete “Summer I Turned Pretty” Trilogy (Boxed Set)
$26.96
$35.99
25% off
To hold yourself over until season three, read up on the books that the TV series is adapted from. This book set includes all three books in the series in a display-worthy box that’ll not only help protect the novels, but will look cute on a bookcase or mantle.
Need a refresher? Check below to watch the trailer for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 trailer.
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