Everybody's Brother

August 19, 2013
Pop star Cee Lo calls himself “a sensitive and magical child” feeling “lost and terribly alone in the wilderness” in his outrageous new memoir, assisted by his longtime pal Big Gipp and writer David Wild. Born to a hardworking nurse in Atlanta, Thomas DeCarlo Burton (aka Cee Lo) remembers both the hard knocks of his early life, the death of his father when Cee Lo was two years old, and hearing the mysterious sounds of “a visitation from the Good God of the Holy Groove” in his grandmother’s living room. He was always a fancy dresser, a self-described “half-angel-half-devil,” who dropped acid, smoked grass, and shoplifted as a young tough. Influenced by the likes of James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Bill Withers, Tupac, and Prince, he created an outsized, flamboyant persona, which, along with his soulful voice, enthralled audiences. He eventually became a judge on the hit TV show The Voice. Brassy, often snarky, and totally madcap, Cee Lo mouths off in this ribald tell-all, to the enjoyment of his fans and newbies everywhere.

August 15, 2013
An entertaining memoir that captures the voice of an artist who hasn't necessarily accomplished enough to warrant the telling of his life story. Musical memoirs have become a hot commodity, and Green is a brash and savvy-enough entertainer to know to strike while the iron is hot. He made his breakthrough as the singer of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," which he followed with the viral solo hit known to some as "Forget You." He then parlayed that into TV exposure on The Voice. Even for those aware of his musical back story with the Goodie Mob, such a career might be covered in a long magazine profile. But if the ebullient entertainer born Thomas DeCarlo Burton is mainly a legend in his own mind, he seasons that legend with plenty of spice in a book that (written with journalist Wild) shows how, "in the epic journey that has been my life, there are good guys and bad guys, heroes and villains, beautiful princesses, shape-shifting mutants, and pretty much everything in between." Green also provides an inspirational mandate: "I write this book not just to celebrate my own voice and to revel in my own success story, but to encourage the next generation of underdogs to listen closely to the voices in their own heads....May we all find our voices and keep rising together." For all his grandiosity, CeeLo (who seems to be moving toward single-name status) is a funny guy with a colorful story to share, from his proto-gangster days as a petty criminal in his native Atlanta through his musical redemption. The most revelatory parts concern the creative tension in his teaming with Danger Mouse as Gnarls Barkley, "a couple of crazy mutants who met in the dark and created a spark of something bigger than both of us." His showbiz ambitions culminate in a Vegas review, "CeeLo Is Loberace," inspired not only by Liberace, but Elton John. An "only in America" story with Horatio Alger as a rapper and neo-soul singer.

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October 15, 2013

Green may be short in stature and a self-described "mutant" (he mentions both of these things frequently in this autobiography), but he is an outsize entertainer. Millions know him as the lyricist and singer in the duo Gnarls Barkley ("Crazy"), as a celebrity judge on the reality TV show The Voice, and as a solo artist who hit it big with the song "Fuck You" (also released as "Forget You") in 2012. Born Thomas DeCarlo Burton and raised in southwest Atlanta, Green has penned a "psychedelic fable" that takes the reader from the life of a "little villain" in the "Dirty South" to later artistic collaboration, philanthropy, and the Las Vegas stage. Although his boastfulness and ego can get tiresome, Green tempers them with an almost desperate desire to be loved and to entertain, expressed in his own, unique voice. VERDICT A musical chameleon, Green is steadfast in his philosophy, drive, and desire to tell his truth. You might think he's crazy. So does he. Fans and viewers will enjoy the ride, and there will be demand in libraries with popular music collections.--Bill Baars, Lake Oswego P.L., OR

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