Hooked on a Horn: Memoirs of a Recovered Musician

By Gene Hull

Book Overview

A poignant and humorous retrospective of a young musician's struggle to maintain a career in music. It exposes the hidden motives that sometimes impel performing artists to succeed. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1412067219
• ISBN13: 9781412067218
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

I AM EXTREMELY IMPRESSED

Mr. Hull gives us an honest, no-holds-barred account of the Americans we've envied, the heroes who put their art before all else because there was no other way to go for them; the circus people, the singers, dancers, musicians and backstage people who brought us the kind of talent that only total dedication could have produced. We see these people perform for the mere price of a ticket, never really understanding the dedication that brought them to that stage, the sacrifices in their personal lives that brought their dreams to reality. We drink in their talent, are mesmerized by it, then go back to our own lives as they get on the next bus to the next stage in the next town. Mr. Hull gives us this life in it's rawest form. Thank you, Mr Hull, for giving us our heroes on a silver platter.

"Hooked On A Horn" is very highly recommended and entertaining reading

"Hooked On A Horn: Memoirs Of A Recovered Musician" is the autobiography of Gene Hull who first became interest in music when, at the age of ten, was taken by his parents to a live stage show where he saw the Benny Goodman Orchestra perform. This is the personal story of a professional musician who lived and played through the era of the big bands, the emergence of the music and social issues of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Gene Hull combine humor and a keen observation to reveal to the reader what a life on the road, encountering such music greats as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Elvis "Presley, Dave Brubeck, Vic Damone, Leonard Berstein, and such eminent entertainers and actors as Katherine Hepburn and Woody Allen was really like. "Hooked On A Horn" is very highly recommended and entertaining reading (enhanced with an accompanying music CD) that will have a special appeal to students of 20th Century American music, and those who appreciate an engaging memoir (with something of an ironic twist) of a man who lived through interesting times

I had other things to do, but I left them undone and read instead

Reading Gene Hull's Hooked on a Horn, I found myself in the presence of such music and showbiz greats as Benny Goodman, Elvis Presley, Katherine Hepburn and many others. A well-told life story of a musician and entertainer, in a unique and refreshing style.

Hooked on a Memoir

Gene Hull invites you for a ride in his memoir-mobile, and it's quite a trip! He doesn't polish it up and pretend it's a BMW of a life. His life has been a good vehicle, but not always dependable. You get the lumps, bumps and potholes of his life along with some high, smooth Tarmac. Just when everything's going fine, there's a flat tire or the thing runs out of gas. Somehow he salvages it, cranks it up, and gets it on the road again. His honest retrospect gives us all things to think about: family ties and values, and how pursuing the dream of being a professional musician affected his personal life. I appreciate how, with the wisdom of age, he understands the motivations and interactions with his parents and grandfather. The man drops names like a deciduous tree in autumn, but never by way of boasting. You always feel his sense of awe, and sometimes disappointment, in meeting or working with with some of the biggest names in entertainment. Some of the 'leaves' Gene dropped were Count Basie, Tex Beneke,Sarah Vaughn, and Katherine Hepburn. The personal meeting with Miss Hepburn is quite funny and points out what a gracious lady she could be. The leaves kept piling up around me as I read- Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Mel Torme, Sammy Davis, Rosemary Clooney (yes, George's aunt!), and Vic Damone, with whom 'Gene Hull's Strings' performed in Las Vegas. There's a bump in the road in that story you won't want to miss. And raspberries to the treatment Lena Horne was given in Vegas. Then again, I grew up on The Jackie Robinson Story, so I shouldn't have been surprised with Gene's vignette. Another big bump in the road occurred at the 1962 Newport Jazz Festival with a happy ending forty-one years later. But you'll have to take a ride with Gene yourself to find out what that was all about. Thanks for the ride, Gene. May you never run out of gas!

You won't be disappointed! A most enjoyable memoir.

HOOKED ON A HORN - Memoirs of a Recovered Musician by Gene Hull As I specialize in reviewing POD published book, I regularly receive memoirs-twenty-five in the past four months, to be exact. In addition, I have reviewed novels based on the true-life experiences of the authors: Clouds Are Always White on Top by Nolan Lewis, Battle Downunder by Charles Rush and Fears Flutterby by Rose Lamatt, to name a few. Memoirs are written for many different reasons: to share a problem, loss and insight with others; to help work through the loss of a loved one; to share travel adventures and aspects of different cultures; to purge one's soul-confess our human foibles; and, in the end, to remember and immortalize one's own life. Hooked on Horn is indeed a memoir, but in many ways, so much more! It's a sea adventure, a musical adventure, a small insight into our greatest jazz musicians in eras past, a family adventure, a mother's pride for her son's success. It is the story of a young man's dream, begun at age 10, and his disciplined `alpha' efforts to make that dream come true. The parts of Gene Hull's life that he has chosen to share about his professional musical journey are entertaining, educational, humorous, musically enlightening, heart wrenching, poignantly inspirational and presented with a creative flair. Gene has been in the music/entertainment field just about all his life. He has put together a number of bands, been on the road with big-name bands, conducted bands and produced shows. Prior to retiring, he produced award-winning productions and ice shows for Royal Caribbean International. Several stories conjured up a tear or two. The first is about the 1962 Newport Jazz Festival. Gene's group, the Jazz Giants-a band of ex-professional musicians who wanted to play interesting big band arrangements, was selected to be the guest opening band. This was their big opportunity! Allow me to quote several passages: "Months zoomed by with extra rehearsals, arrangements being polished, new ones written, PR mailings to hundreds of jazz fans, stories and interviews in local papers, even radio interviews. Interest in us steamrolled. We were becoming a household name in Connecticut. . . . "We kicked off our program at 8:00 PM. I don't remember a note we played; it went so fast. But I do remember the brass section screaming out into the night with colossal fire. The saxes steamed together like bonded brothers and took their ensemble sound to another level. From our first note, the energy and drive poured over me, almost putting me in a trance. The band was like a locomotive. Get out of the way everybody. Here we come. "The applause was generous from the sell-out crowd who had come expecting to see the famous. . . . In reality most every player had managed to play close to his best at the same time. A rare moment for us. I was proud to stand up there in front of this real band of brothers, who had laid it out for all to hear. This is who we are, world." They