Jim Wilson and his new book.Photo:Courtesy of Jim Wilson; Willow Bay Media
Courtesy of Jim Wilson; Willow Bay Media
“There’s meeting celebrity, there’s meeting royalty and then there’s meeting a Beatle,” says Jim Wilson. And he would know — Wilson has met everybody.
All of that is in his new memoir,Tuned In — Memoirs of a Piano Man: Behind the Scenes with Music Legends and Finding the Artist Within, out April 2. But the book is about something much deeper, much more impactful than Wilson’s shoulder-rubbing with the stars.
But it was the sudden death of his best friend, Claude, 37, that really set Wilson on the path of sharing all the lessons he’s gleaned from the greats.
Losing Claude made Wilson reevaluate his own dreams, and how he could inspire others to follow theirs. That’s one of the most important lessons he’s learned from people like McCartney, Fogelberg, Elton John and Martin Short, who started out as clients and in many cases, became friends.
“The common through-line with all of them is that lesson of learning to dig the process,” he explains. “Like Paul McCartney, he’s made more money than he or his children, or his children’s children will ever need and yet you go into his private study, and there are these easels of paintings that he’s working on.”
“It’s that following the muse. It’s that honoring the act of creation,” he continues. “That’s been the biggest takeaway for me, and certainly served to inspire me on my journey.”
Make no mistake: There are plenty of star encounters inTuned In. Wilson tells the story of tuning the Sargeant Pepper piano backstage and then singing ‘Hey Jude’ at the Hollywood Bowl with Ringo Star, Natalie Merchant, Steve Miller and a stadium of music-lovers. He recounts hearing Chick Corea noodling over new melodies and taking road trips with Carole King.
No matter your musical taste, there’s almost certainly a songster in this book that would leave you, as Wilson put it, “opening your mouth and then feeling relieved to hear actual, human words coming out.”
Wilson on horseback with Dan Fogelberg.Courtesy of Anastasia Savage Ealy
Courtesy of Anastasia Savage Ealy
Tuned In: Memoirs of a Piano Man: Behind the Scenes with Music Legends and Finding the Artist Withinis out April 2 from Willow Bay Media and available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.
source: people.com
