‘Success from Fail Street?’ blends music history, personal memoir, poetry, and psychological insight in a candid journey through an extraordinary life in the arts.
SARASOTA, Fla. – Songstress, actor, psychologist and author Martha Velez-Reid, PhD, revisits an extraordinary life lived alongside some of the 20th century’s most celebrated figures in “Success from Fail Street? Martha Velez: Making Music with Icons” (published by Archway Publishing).
Part celebrity memoir and part theatrical monologue, “Success from Fail Street?” combines personal narrative, poetry and song to recount Velez-Reid’s experiences with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. At the heart of the narrative is a larger question: What does success mean to a singer who found herself working alongside artists who achieved extraordinary levels of fame?
Velez-Reid approaches this question from an uncommon vantage point. A Puerto Rican girl raised in the Bronx, she pursued an ambitious career that brought her to unexpected crossroads in rock, reggae and blues history. Those experiences included working or interacting with celebrated musicians and even declining an invitation from Hendrix to sing at the Woodstock festival. Through her recollections, the author presents a firsthand, behind-the-scenes perspective on the music culture of the 1960s and ’70s.
Beyond its music history, “Success from Fail Street?” returns repeatedly to the ideals of peace and love. Velez-Reid uses her memories of iconic artists to consider how music can connect people across generations and how the cultural ideals associated with an earlier era can continue to resonate in contemporary society.
When asked what she wants readers to take away from the book, the author answered, “I hope they take away my hybrid, free-from Joycean inspired approach, that deviates from the norm. A crisp writing style that evokes poetic inspiration while crafting the palpable visages of iconic characters. A monologue narrative, theatre piece, that is meant to be performed Live!”
“Success from Fail Street? Martha Velez: Making Music with Icons”By: Martha Velez-Reid, PhD
Softcover: 6 x 9 in | 98 pages | ISBN 9781665775366
E-Book: 98 pages | ISBN 9781665775373
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
About the Author
Martha Velez-Reid, PhD, is an award-winning playwright, actor, singer, teaching artist and psychologist whose career spans theater, television, film, music and education. She received the Los Angeles Award for Playwriting and Acting for her play “Power of the Powerless/American Heartbeat.”
On Broadway, she performed the lead in “Hair,” with off-Broadway credits including “Our Town,” “The Skin of Our Teeth” and “The Shadow Box.” Her television credits include “ER,” “L.A. Law,” “a.k.a. Pablo” and “Falcon Crest,” while her film work includes “Star Maps,” “Safe,” “Fatherhood” and “187.”
As a recording artist, Velez-Reid has worked with Eric Clapton and Bob Marley and the Wailers, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Van Morrison. She holds a doctorate in depth psychology and cultural mythologies, a master’s degree in clinical psychology and a Harvard higher education teaching certification.
Her interdisciplinary work draws on decades of artistic experience and psychological study to explore culture, creativity, identity and the human psyche.
Part celebrity memoir and part theatrical monologue, “Success from Fail Street?” combines personal narrative, poetry and song to recount Velez-Reid’s experiences with John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. At the heart of the narrative is a larger question: What does success mean to a singer who found herself working alongside artists who achieved extraordinary levels of fame?
Velez-Reid approaches this question from an uncommon vantage point. A Puerto Rican girl raised in the Bronx, she pursued an ambitious career that brought her to unexpected crossroads in rock, reggae and blues history. Those experiences included working or interacting with celebrated musicians and even declining an invitation from Hendrix to sing at the Woodstock festival. Through her recollections, the author presents a firsthand, behind-the-scenes perspective on the music culture of the 1960s and ’70s.
Beyond its music history, “Success from Fail Street?” returns repeatedly to the ideals of peace and love. Velez-Reid uses her memories of iconic artists to consider how music can connect people across generations and how the cultural ideals associated with an earlier era can continue to resonate in contemporary society.
When asked what she wants readers to take away from the book, the author answered, “I hope they take away my hybrid, free-from Joycean inspired approach, that deviates from the norm. A crisp writing style that evokes poetic inspiration while crafting the palpable visages of iconic characters. A monologue narrative, theatre piece, that is meant to be performed Live!”
“Success from Fail Street? Martha Velez: Making Music with Icons”By: Martha Velez-Reid, PhD
Softcover: 6 x 9 in | 98 pages | ISBN 9781665775366
E-Book: 98 pages | ISBN 9781665775373
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
About the Author
Martha Velez-Reid, PhD, is an award-winning playwright, actor, singer, teaching artist and psychologist whose career spans theater, television, film, music and education. She received the Los Angeles Award for Playwriting and Acting for her play “Power of the Powerless/American Heartbeat.”
On Broadway, she performed the lead in “Hair,” with off-Broadway credits including “Our Town,” “The Skin of Our Teeth” and “The Shadow Box.” Her television credits include “ER,” “L.A. Law,” “a.k.a. Pablo” and “Falcon Crest,” while her film work includes “Star Maps,” “Safe,” “Fatherhood” and “187.”
As a recording artist, Velez-Reid has worked with Eric Clapton and Bob Marley and the Wailers, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Van Morrison. She holds a doctorate in depth psychology and cultural mythologies, a master’s degree in clinical psychology and a Harvard higher education teaching certification.
Her interdisciplinary work draws on decades of artistic experience and psychological study to explore culture, creativity, identity and the human psyche.
