Bobby Darin: the Ultimate Listener's Guide DELAYS UPDATE

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(FOR LATEST INFO ON DELAYS, SKIP TO THE LATEST POST)

Today (November 25th, 2023) sees the publication of the The Ultimate Listener's Guide to the career of Bobby Darin.

Those of you who bought the 2nd edition, published back in 2018, will probably remember that I said quite clearly in that book that there wouldn't be a 3rd edition. However, some things happened that meant it was sensible to go back on that promise. The first of these was covid. I spent the first lockdown making a video essay/documentary about early film. In the second lockdown, I started work on a sessionography for Bobby Darin.

There were previously two sessionographies of Bobby: one on the Praguefrank website, and the other by Jan-Jaap Been. I really want to take time out to thank them for their work. While those sessionographies are now somewhat out of date (in that they don't include more recent releases), they were (and still are) huge achievements that have laid the groundwork for someone like me to come along and build on.

But doing this for Bobby is completely different to doing it for, say, Elvis or Sinatra. The problem with this endeavour for Bobby is that so much information is still not known (or, in some cases, has been lost) - especially regarding musicians in some sessions, but also even dates of sessions are uncertain. The official website for Darin doesn't even have a full list of albums - and some of the albums they do mention have got incorrect cover art! I have done everything I can to bring together everything we do know about Bobby's recordings. There are still lots of gaps, but I have been honest where we don't know something, rather than make guesses. There's a lot of misinformation online about Bobby, and I'd rather say we're unsure of something rather than add to it. In the "notes" below each session is information on, among other things, where alternate takes can be found.

So, when the session info was getting close to being finished, my plan was to issue it as a 100 page book that could sit on the shelf alongside the 2018 edition of the "Listener's Guide." And then something weird happened - unreleased Bobby recordings started appearing in the most unlikely of places, most notably various auction sites. There was an inexplicable flurry of them over a period of eighteen months or so. While they all remain unreleased for now, I was given access to them by the new owners for the purposes of this book, meaning I could add in analysis of music that not only have we not heard before, but also didn't know existed! There are some significant (and historical) surprises among them, and I hope you will get to hear them in the not-to-distant future, but it was great to be able to include them in the book so that it is already up to date when they find their way out into the world. And so, bearing in mind the new musical material AND the sessionography AND it being the 50th anniversary of Bobby's passing this December, the decision was made to re-release the book.

The decision was made to include everything that Bobby recorded that has been included on audio-only releases (official and unofficial). So, for example, the duet with Judy Garland from The Judy Garland Show is included because it was released on the Judy Duets CD album. The Seeing is Believing DVD got a digital-only audio-only release, too, and so those songs are included within the book (both in session information and critique/analysis). I have also included info on all of Bobby's officially-unreleased audio recordings that we know of, such as the 1959 recording at the Hollywood Bowl, and radio recordings from 1960 and 1966 (and much more). As stated earlier, I have gone into details about unreleased material when it was made available to me.

It is now a rather hefty tome - hardback. A4 size. 135 images. 540 pages. 225,000 words!! It's been a long (and sometimes very trying) endeavour, particularly with technical proofing issues delaying the book's release by about two months. All but two images from the previous edition have been retained, and some new ones added. I have published the book only in hardback because of its weight and size. I'm not convinced it would be very sturdy in paperback. There won't be a kindle edition, because the layout of the sessions section doesn't work in kindle format. Retail price is £23/$29. That's a couple of pounds more than I would have liked, but KDP increased their printing costs a few months ago for the first time in seven years.

A few technical points: The book was released on November 25th, 2023. It should now be available in most Amazon stores. I need to add here that there is currently a slightly longer dispatch time for Amazon.com. The books are printed to order, but there is a manufacturing issue at one of the printers that Amazon uses in the USA, hence a bit of a backlog. They are therefore listing dispatch time as around three weeks, although they have told me that they are actually dispatching a little before that at the time of writing this post.

And so, at this point, I release this commemorative 50th anniversary edition of the book into the wild! Many thanks to everyone who helped me during the writing of this or the previous editions, especially Karin Grevelund, Matt Forbes (whose cover design is stunning), Alex Bird, and L. Vergara Herrero. I hope it does Bobby's legacy justice.

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[Greystoke]

Big congratulations and well done, Shane. I have the 2nd edition and I think I'll likely buy this one, too.

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Yes, it's right. I'm always more interested in getting something read (or at least on a book shelf) than making more money. Times are hard for many, so if that price gets it in more people's homes, so much the better. Clearly, it's not going to be on thick glossy paper with gilt edging, though - but the Bobby core fandom is far less interested in deluxe items than the Elvis fandom, to be honest. And that's my general philosophy, too.

[londonflash]

I think that's a bargain and I'll certainly be buying.

I really enjoy your previous Darin book I have. In fact, A Life In Music, a Sinatra sessions book and your one on Elvis permanently reside on my bedside chest of drawers.

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Just a quick note to say that there is still a slight delay to dispatch on Amazon.com due to one of the print on demand facilities having issues. But in Europe there's no delay, and the dispatch delay is just a couple of weeks now on Amazon.com (a few weeks ago it was about seven weeks, so they're definitely getting it sorted).

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...Clearly, it's not going to be on thick glossy paper with gilt edging, though...

No, it's not, but it's hardly worth bothering about. My copy arrived this evening and credit where credit is due, it's a remarkable achievement. There is a recently published similar sized (but thinner) book on Elvis that costs £100, and the only real difference is the paper used to produce it. I'd have happily paid £76 less for that one and sacrificed the shiny finish.

Blimey, that got there quick!! Thanks for the support.

KDP offer the regular black and white product and the much more expensive colour product on much better paper, which would have worked out at around £48 - which is too much. They put their prices up slightly recently, but it was the first time in seven years, and it was only about £1 extra for a b&w book of that size. But the paper isn't so good as before, so I wish they'd introduced a kind of in-between finish - better paper but, say, £5 more.

But I'm not likely to publish another non-fiction book for maybe four or five years, and that's providing I start on the project I have in mind in the new year. So, things will have changed again by then, no doubt. But it will be something I work at in between fiction books. I have to say the new Darin book wasn't biting off more than I could chew - but it was more than I wanted to chew by the end (especially with a deadline due to the anniversary), and I don't want to be in that position again, especially when working as a one man band rather than with a traditional publisher. But I'd never have got the Darin book accepted with a traditional publisher in the rather large form it's currently in - and that's probably the right decision on their part, as it will only sell about 500 units in the coming months and years.

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Blimey, that got there quick!!

I had it sent to an Amazon locker, and it actually arrived early afternoon, less than 24 hours after I ordered it. Royal Mail, eat your heart out.

And they don't print them until you order it!!!

[pmp]

Blimey, that got there quick!!

I had it sent to an Amazon locker, and it actually arrived early afternoon, less than 24 hours after I ordered it. Royal Mail, eat your heart out.

And they don't print them until you order it!!!

I assumed when you said that originally, that they must have had some on standby. If not then that's even more remarkable.

It really makes a change to buy a book that cost what books ought to cost. It's a pity this isn't in the All Elvis section because... Well, you know.

Thanks. There were lots of issues with the Amazon printers, though, so there was a delay in getting it published without obvious faults. Nobody has mentioned printing faults, so I'm assuming all is good!

[pmp]

Hello everyone.  This is a "public service announcement" to try to get the latest information I have about the delays in the USA out to as many fans who might have ordered The Ultimate Listener's Guide as possible.

The book was intended to be published in hardback only. They are printed on demand - one copy at a time. In the UK and Europe, that has happened as it should, and there are no problems. In the USA, however, Amazon have an issue with their printer of hardbacks, and the delay I was told was 3-4 weeks delivery. That four weeks is now nearly up, and most people who ordered in the US have no book. I was told by a refreshingly candid assistant at the weekend that Amazon had "not been completely truthful" with the extent of the delays. This has caused a mess. Luckily, no-one pays for their items on Amazon until the book is dispatched, but that doesn't help in getting the book, and I know these kinds of issues are frustrating.

So, I have taken the decision to release the book in paperback as well. I was hoping to get this published by Christmas Day, but I've been ill all week, and it will now be the very beginning of the new year. So, if you are in the USA and have ordered the new edition of the book, you have three choices open to you:

1.) Wait until Amazon finally get the hardback out to you.

2.) Hold on until the paperback is released, and, at that point, cancel your hardback order if it hasn't been dispatched, and then buy (or not buy!) the paperback.

3.) Cancel your hardback now, and buy the paperback when it comes out.

There will be no delays in getting the paperback. They are unaffected by the current issues. Obviously, the paperback will be a bit cheaper for you, too, and it should be available in Australia. I could have coped with all of this better if the problem was caused by something I'd done, but it's completely out of my hands. Even so, I am really sorry if you have been affected by the delays. There are no delays on Amazon in the UK and Europe with regards to the hardbacks - but shipping to the US obviously adds a not insignificant amount to the price for you.

I will make a further announcement about the "relaunch" in due course.

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I should have updated this a week or two ago, but seemingly forgot. The paperback version of the book is now out - which is a good thing, as Amazon are way behind again regarding the printing of hardbacks in the USA. So the paperback is really your only choice there at the moment. In Europe, however, both paperback and hardback are available without delays. Prices are £23.99/$29.99 for the hardback, and £17.99/$23.99 for the paperback. The interior content of both is the same (540 pages, and roughly A4 size).