Perfect Performers
Deacon King Kong, Bad Brad’s BBQ, Christine McVie, Johnny Bench, Hardwood Hands
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. I hope you enjoy the picks and pics.
Fave Five 10: Perfect Performers. Brooklyn Book (Deacon King Kong), Big Pig Gig (Bad Brad’s BBQ), Soulful Singer (Christine McVie), Cincinnati Catcher (Johnny Bench), and Hardwood Hands.
This week’s issue features a book with a perfect ending, a BBQ platter perfect for a group of five, the late Christine (Perfect) McVie, and the perfect baseball catcher.
Book Best Bet
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
My sister Joan recommended this book to me and told me that she loved the ending. I loved the storytelling, the characters, the twists, and the perfect ending. The large and eclectic cast of characters includes Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Italians, Irish, churchgoers, drug dealers, smugglers, and mobsters in Brooklyn and the rest of New York City. They are all connected in intriguing ways, and this makes McBride’s writing very entertaining.
From Amazon:
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction
Winner of the Gotham Book Prize
One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year"
Oprah's Book Club Pick
Named one of the Top Ten Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and TIME Magazine
A Washington Post Notable Novel
From the author of the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird and the bestselling modern classic The Color of Water, comes one of the most celebrated novels of the year.
In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and, in front of everybody, shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range.
The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride’s funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself.
As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters—caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York—overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion.
Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.
Restaurant Recommendation
Bad Brad’s BBQ 20300 Farmington Rd., Livonia MI 48152
Last night was another Book Club Counterprogramming dinner for the husbands of Barb’s book club members. We dined at the fifth and newest location of Bad Brad’s BBQ. Barb and I have enjoyed multiple meals at the Orion Township location, but we only go there when we are on our way to a concert at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion. That’s a 60-minute drive, so we were very pleased to learn that a new location would be opening in Livonia, directly east of Northville. The building was completed two years ago, but the restaurant just opened on November 29 due to staffing challenges.
The wait was worth it. I suggested that we order the Big Pig Gig, available for groups of four or more, and it was perfect for the five of us. Served family style, it included more than enough food, with a wide variety of meats and sides.
1/4 Rack of Ribs
1/4 Chicken
4 Meats
Pulled Pork
Pulled Chicken
Beef Brisket, Sliced
Brisket & Cheddar Sausage
5 Large Sides
Bad Brad’s Pit Beans
Sweet Potato Mash
Corn Bread
Mac & Cheese
Collard Greens
There were four chicken quarters, and the chicken was outstanding, as was the sausage. We also loved the beans, sweet potato mash, corn bread, and collard greens.
The restaurant is huge, and there was a 45-minute for a table on a Tuesday night, but the service was perfect. The mural on the wall behind our booth was perfect for a barbecue joint:
Marvelous Musicians
I was saddened by the news that Christine died one week ago today. It was the sound of her voice that started me as a fan of Fleetwood Mac. Her maiden name, Christine Perfect, is apt, as she was the perfect member of the band. Her singing, songwriting, keyboard playing, and steady demeanor were essential to the success of Fleetwood Mac. When she joined the band in 1970, it was the start of its transition from blues to pop rock, culminating with the addition of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
I bought her solo album in 1984 and always liked her singing. When she rejoined Fleetwood Mac in 2014, Barb and I were thrilled to see the full band perform in Michigan.
From Wikipedia: Christine Anne McVie (née Perfect; born July 12, 1943 in Bouth, Lancashire, England; died November 30, 2022 in England) was an English musician and songwriter. She was principally known as a vocalist and keyboardist with the band Fleetwood Mac.
A member of several bands on the mid-1960s British Blues scene, notably Chicken Shack, she began playing with Fleetwood Mac in 1968, initially as a contract session player, before formally joining the band in 1970. She started to emerge as a songwriter by 1971, with her first compositions appearing on her fourth album with the group, Future Games. She would remain with the band through many lineup changes for the next several decades, generally writing and performing lead vocals on about half of the tracks on all of their subsequent studio albums (though she had partially retired in 1998, and only appeared as a session musician on the band's last studio album, Say You Will. She also released three solo studio albums. Steve Leggett of AllMusic described her as an "unabashedly easy-on-the-ears singer/songwriter, and the prime mover behind some of Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits." Eight songs written or co-written by her, including "Don't Stop", "Everywhere", and "Little Lies", appeared on Fleetwood Mac's 1988 Greatest Hits album.
As a member of Fleetwood Mac, McVie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1998. The same year, after almost 30 years with the band, she opted to leave and lived in semi-retirement for nearly 15 years. She released a solo album in 2004. She appeared on stage with Fleetwood Mac at the O2 Arena in London in September 2013, before rejoining the band in 2014 prior to their On with the Show tour.
McVie received a Gold Badge of Merit Award from BASCA, now The Ivors Academy, in 2006. She received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in 2014 and was honored with the Trailblazer Award at the UK Americana Awards in 2021. She was also the recipient of two Grammy Awards.
SongBird
Fleetwood Mac
In 1970 my brother David and I bought Fleetwood Mac’s Then Play On based on a recommendation. We didn't like it, so we exchanged it for another album. In 1975, when I heard "Over My Head," it was a completely different sound, and I bought Fleetwood Mac (their second eponymous record), and their next 5 albums. When Christine rejoined the band for a tour, Barb and I saw them at The Palace of Auburn Hills on October 22, 2014. They are one of my favorite bands of all time.
Fleetwood Mac is a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. They have sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling bands. Fleetwood Mac was founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer. Bassist John McVie completed the lineup for their self-titled debut album. Danny Kirwan joined as a third guitarist in 1968. Keyboardist Christine Perfect, who contributed as a session musician from the second album, married McVie and joined in 1970. At this time, it was primarily a British blues band.
In late 1974, while Fleetwood was scouting studios in Los Angeles, he was introduced to folk-rock duo Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Fleetwood Mac soon asked Buckingham to be their new lead guitarist, and Buckingham agreed on the condition that Nicks would also join the band. The addition of Buckingham and Nicks gave the band a more pop rock sound, and their 1975 self-titled album, Fleetwood Mac, reached No. 1 in the United States.
My Fleetwood Mac and Christine McVie Playlist
Sports Star
Today is Johnny’s 75th birthday. He was the greatest catcher of all time—a perfect combination of slugging, fielding, and leadership. Johnny was one of my favorite baseball players, except when he was beating my New York Mets (1968-70) or my St. Louis Cardinals (1971-1983). As the World Series MVP in 1976, he led the Big Red Machine (the Cincinnati Reds) to a sweep over the New York Yankees in the most dominating performance of any baseball team I have ever seen.
Johnny Bench was Rookie of the Year in 1968, was a 14-time All-Star, and won two National League MVP Awards. His 75.1 career WAR is the highest of any catcher and one of only two above 70—4.9 ahead of Gary Carter’s 70.2. Johnny ended his 17-year career with 367 home runs as a catcher, a then-record. He led the majors in home runs in 1970, becoming the first catcher to ever do so. Bench played his entire career with the Reds, winning 10 Gold Gloves and two World Series Championships.
Johnny twice led the National League in home runs and three times in RBI. His 389 home runs and 1,376 runs batted in remain the most in Cincinnati Reds history. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.
Johnny Bench Highlights
Picture Pun
Hands down, the best thing I saw on my walk yesterday.
