Sing to Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who's Next

by LA Reid

Overview

In this long-awaited memoir, illustrated with over 100 never-before-seen photos from his personal collection, the groundbreaking record producer chronicles his struggles, his success, and the celebrated artists that made him a legend.

Legendary music producer L. A. Reid—the man behind artists such as Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Kanye West, Rihanna, TLC, Outkast, Pink, Justin Bieber, and Usher—changed the music business forever. Now, he tells his story, taking fans on an intimate tour of his life. L.A. Confidential is a fascinating journey from Reid’s small-town R&B roots in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his work as a drummer to his fame as a Grammy Award-winning music producer and his gig as a judge on the hit reality show, The X Factor.

Reid takes readers behind the scenes of the music industry, charting his rise to fame and sharing stories of the countless singers he’s met, nurtured, and molded into stars. Part music memoir, part inspirational business guide, this beautifully designed memoir, jam packed with photos, showcases Reid’s trademark passion and ingenuity and introduces a multifaceted genius who continues to shape pop culture today. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062274755
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Antonio “LA” Reid has been a key figure in shaping the sound and experience of popular music for over twenty-five years—as a record producer, songwriter, and label executive. Reid first broke into the music world in the 1980s as the drummer for the R&B band the Deele. Along with bandmate Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Reid made his move behind the scenes of the industry in 1989 when he founded LaFace Records. Prior to becoming chairman and CEO of Epic Records in July 2011, Reid also served as chairman of the former Island Def Jam Music Group from 2004 to 2011 and as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004.

Reid’s excellence in the music world is not limited to his work as an executive. Winner of eighteen BMI Awards, he’s also a talent in his own right. Reid has produced and/or co-written dozens of number one singles and has won three Grammy Awards. He has been presented with numerous acknowledgements, including UNICEF’s Spirit of Compassion Award, the Recording Academy’s President’s Merit Award, and the prestigious Harvard University Alumni Award for Excellence in Media and Entertainment. Reid lives in Manhattan with his wife, Erica, and his two children Arianna and Addison. He has three grown children, Antonio, Ashley, and Aaron.

Table of Contents

Prologue: The Audition 1

1 Give the Drummer Some 7

2 Pure Essence 23

3 The Real Deele 45

4 The Solar System 67

5 Girlfriend 81

6 The Dirty South 97

7 End of the Road 119

8 Another Sad Love Song 133

9 Player's Ball 145

10 Waterfalls 165

11 Nobody Knows It but Me 183

12 Aristacat 199

13 Kast Out 217

14 Culture Clash 233

15 Emancipation of Me 245

16 Kingdom Come 269

17 My Beautiful Dark Twisted Reality 291

18 X-It 319

19 Here Comes the Judge 333

20 Epic Life 353

Epilogue: Showdown at Coachella 375

Acknowledgments 387

Editorial Reviews

02/22/2016
Reid, with veteran music journalist Selvin, recounts the highlights of his illustrious life as a supremely successful music producer in this memoir. He includes his early days playing DJ for "grown-up parties;" his time as a drummer for the band the Deele; and eventually forming a profitable record label, LaFace Records, with bandmate Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds. His remarks on performers and the modern music scene are polite and restrained. The inside details about his production methods show why he's so respected among his peers. As his reputation grows, Reid works his magic, leading Arista Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, and Epic Records, and starting the careers of Usher, Toni Braxton, TLC, Outkast, Pink, and Avril Lavigne, among others. Add to those triumphs a stint as a judge of the TV show X Factor. With a keen understanding of today's pop music and its major influence on its listeners around the globe, Reid's optimistic, soulful memoir mirrors the timeline of contemporary music culture with all of its peaks and valleys. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

2016-01-13
"I always know in a few seconds." Music mogul Reid reveals the secrets of the producer's trade. Exhibit A is a young man named Usher Raymond IV, who came into the Atlanta headquarters of LaFace Records at a time when the label was suffering the inevitable growth pains, among them demands from its lead act, the hip-hop group TLC, for more money. Money is, as might be expected, a constant presence and preoccupation in Reid's narrative, but happily, not at the expense of the music. He writes of having grown up in Cincinnati in the shadow of the King Records building, James Brown's label. "Rhythm intoxicated me," he writes, "and eventually it occurred to me that I wanted to play along." He did so as drummer and driving force for the regionally popular combo called The Deele, which crafted hits for itself and other acts—notably Pebbles, whom Reid would marry. None too star-struck with himself, the author writes of learning his way around the music business, motivated in part by the desire to get out of his mother's home: "I had no real prospects in the music business," he notes, "but that didn't occur to me." Instead, he kept at it, realizing, critically, that he had a good brain as well as talent. He worked hard to learn as much as he could about that business and eventually stepped from behind the drum kit to take the lead first as a producer, then as a label owner, and then as an executive for the biggest hit-makers—a job, he notes, that is full of infighting and ugly politics. Throughout, Reid conveys his love of music and his open-minded search for new talent, no matter what the genre, including recent discoveries the Kongos and Meghan Trainor. (Incidentally, Usher passed that audition in a few seconds, and the rest is history.) An entertaining, thoughtful account of the music business, one that would-be machers will want to study closely.

Kirkus Reviews

Dion Graham narrates L.A. Reid’s memoir, which begins with his experience of falling in love with the drums as a child in Cincinnati. The story traces his path to his current life as a producer and an executive who has had a hand in some of the most popular music of the last few decades, including that of Mariah Carey, Rihanna, and Pink. Throughout, Graham conveys the mix of toughness, sensitivity, and love for the work that has characterized Reid’s career. Graham creates voices for the family, friends, and celebrities who populate Reid’s life and drops into more sedate tones for vulnerable moments, as when Reid talks about his grief after a friend’s suicide. An enlightening portrait and an enjoyable look behind the scenes of the music business. A.F. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

MAY 2016 - AudioFile

Dion Graham narrates L.A. Reid’s memoir, which begins with his experience of falling in love with the drums as a child in Cincinnati. The story traces his path to his current life as a producer and an executive who has had a hand in some of the most popular music of the last few decades, including that of Mariah Carey, Rihanna, and Pink. Throughout, Graham conveys the mix of toughness, sensitivity, and love for the work that has characterized Reid’s career. Graham creates voices for the family, friends, and celebrities who populate Reid’s life and drops into more sedate tones for vulnerable moments, as when Reid talks about his grief after a friend’s suicide. An enlightening portrait and an enjoyable look behind the scenes of the music business. A.F. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

MAY 2016 - AudioFile