A Musician's Son

Book excerpt: Mark Brainards A Musicians Son (Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs) is a collection of selected works written over a span of forty years. The memoirs are a long musical journey under the tutelage of his musician father who played in the big band era with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and was a songwriter in his own rite. Influence and inspiration carried on through the rest of his family as well as friends, peers, bandmates, The Beatles, and women in his life. He has written over 200 songs and poems on many subjects including love, spirit, cars, women, heartbreak, places, experiences, and the bizarre. Many are included in this book with the stories behind them. "Even though I have accomplished so much, I feel like my life is still taking off. All my songs are my children and I'll leave them to somebody some day. Even though they never topped the charts, they're the greatest hits in my family anyway." MB