Piano Girl: Lessons in Life, Music, and the Perfect Blue Hawaiian

by Robin Meloy Goldsby

Book Overview

Piano Girl is the story of one woman's accidental career as a cocktail-lounge piano player. Sometimes poignant and often hilarious, this engaging memoir reveals the comedies, tragedies, and mundane miracles witnessed from the business side of the keyboard. A pianist in lounges and lobbies around the world, Robin Meloy Goldsby tells her story by connecting the people she has met with the places she has played and the pianos she has known. Along the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879308249
• ISBN13: 9780879308247
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Backbeat Books
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Who Knew The Piano Player Could Be So Funny?

This is a delightful collection of stories, culminating in a memoir spanning thirty years. Piano Girl, A Memoir portrays the life of an American woman and her observations from the bench of a grand piano. Divided into three parts, from the early years describing her accidental venture into what turned out to be a lifelong career, to the middle years--the heart and soul of the book--to the most recent decade when her career moves to a new continent and she becomes not only a piano girl, but also a piano mommy. Robin Meloy Goldsby exhibits first-class writing skills. Cover to cover, this book was a pleasure to read. It's conversational, thought-provoking, and laugh out loud funny. Many may have a story or two about an unusual or humorous incident they've witnessed in a hotel lobby bar, Robin shows what it's been like to spend five hours a day, five days a week as a witness to this endless parade or characters and incidents. I found it particularly interesting that after several years in the entertainment business, it dawns on this born performer that she's not being paid to perform, but rather, she's in her position to enhance the ambience. From this point forward she decides to "be the audience" and let everyone else be the show. These stories share the show. I had a hard time putting down this book. The stories are so entertaining and the author is so charming, it had an infectious quality to it. At one point while writing about another pianist, a woman named Robin who she helped to get into the business and ultimately became a work partner of sorts and a lifelong friend, she describes how Robin's optimism pulled her from the edge of career disillusionment. "She gives me a reason to keep playing," writes Goldsby. Now, I play the piano a little bit, but I do a lot of reading. Just want to say, I made a note on this page (page 198) about Robin Meloy Goldsby: "She gives me a reason to keep reading." Highly recommend. Michele Cozzens, Author of A Line Between Friends and The Things I Wish I'd Said.

I Liked It!

As a fellow club musician, I was hoping to find a kindred spirit lurking in the pages of this book and I was not disappointed. Despite the surprising length of "Piano Girl"...just under 300 pages, the reflections are amusing, weird, touching, and occasionally amazing and the book held my attention from start to finish. Although her writing skills are not up to say, Nabokov, they are far better than you might expect going in, and really there are only a couple of somewhat awkward moments of English usage in the entire book! Quite an accomplishment I would say. I would recommend this book to aspiring artists and anyone who enjoys an unusual memoir. Nice job Robin!

DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!!!

If you like to laugh, and enjoy sightseeing, Piano Girl is a journey I would highly recommend! This collection of anecdotes will introduce you to unforgettable people and places. What's more, even though you'll often find yourself laughing out loud, you might also shed a few tears. You don't have to be a musician to relate to the stories, either. This book is so brilliantly written, that even though the stories are told from a piano player's perspective, you will still undoubtedly catch glimpses of your own life. In fact, reading Piano Girl is essentially reading life. As you travel through her memories, you will have a sense of witnessing the author's own transformation and growth. When you finish this book, which you won't be in a hurry to do, you will have the satisfaction of just having leafed through someone's cherished scrap-book. Most likely, you'll want to keep it on the same shelf as your own.

Tips for reading "Piano Girl"

I laughed, I cried, it was better than "Cats" (although I'm sure Robin's had to play "Memory" more times than she can count!) Don't read this book in public unless the idea of strangers watching you laugh out loud all by yourself doesn't bother you. Have a favorite beverage handy, but don't drink and read at the same time; solo spit takes aren't pretty. Lastly, don't read too quickly, because you'll be sad to leave the company of this wonderful lady and this hilarious, often poignant memoir. As for me, I'll never leave the house without a roll of duct tape and an extension cord again.

From MainlyPiano.com

"Piano Girl" is a seamlessly crafted, incredibly entertaining memoir that tells the story of one woman's journey from The Club Car in Nantucket to the castles of Europe with stops just about everywhere in between, all the while seated at a piano and playing music to enhance the experience for whoever is there to listen (or not listen!). Goldsby has a wonderfully conversational writing style, and her tales are often laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes poignant, and always abundantly human. Along with her recollections of adventures, big and small, are portraits of many of the characters she has met along the way, providing a rich and very satisfying read whether or not you play the piano.