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gjjftg —Hfij Page 8B BOOKS Michener mystified by success By Peter Van Deventer United Press International James Michener visited Chesapeake Bay in his childhood and remembered as an adult that its lush Eastern Shore “cried out for literary form.” The result: his current best-selling novel “Chesapeake.” “It has a thousand inlets and, like Scheherazade, you could spend a thousand nights explor ing them," marveled the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. “It cried out for literary form.” The novel, the story of three families spanning four centuries, has sold nearly a million copies. Michener says he is mystified by its success. “I never thought such a regional subject as the bay could have such appeal," he said. “Perhaps I touched things that were more universal than I thought. The great subjects in the book are religion, slavery and watermen.” Michener, who has penned socio-historical fiction about such diverse places and cultures as Hawaii, Spain, Hungary, Israel, and Japan, wrote “Chesapeake” while living two miles outside the quiet Chesapeake Bay resort town of St. Michaels. He moved to the Eastern Shore from his Tinicum Township farm in Bucks County, Pa., three years ago to learn about watermen. “I just moved in and waited six months so that everybody would get used to me, and then they were knocking on my door to tell me stories and I just listened,” said Michener. Michener went oystering, turtl- ing and sailing and then, based on those experiences and his own knowledge, created fictitious is lands, towns and people. He is a Quaker with a strong sense of the “brotherhood of man,” so he made one of the three families in the book a Quaker family that fights for equal rights for blacks. Michener said he gets his deep-seated desire to travel from his orphan childhood. After being cared for by a poor seamstress during his early years, he began a hitch-hiking tour of America at 14. Michener did not write his first book until he was 40. Now, at 71, he has 26 to his credit. He also has taught in high school and college, edited textbooks, done a stint in the Navy and campaigned, un successfully, for Congress. “I never worried about the fact that I came to writing late,” he said. “It was always in the cards. I jumped around early in life, but I never left a job. Other jobs always found me.” Michener, who writes five hours a day beginning early in the morn ing, calls each one of his books a “one-shot freak.” “I come to write every book in an arbitrary, personal way,” he said. “There are days I sit here writ ing and every invitation that comes in I would give a right arm to do. I don’t always think writing books is the most important thing. But under the circumstances I’m getting older.” Michener, who claims he never sermonizes, said the irony that a modern-day descendant of the Quaker family in “Chesapeake” becomes involved in Watergate and commits suicide is only “laid out” for the reader. Bestsellers (UPI — Publishers’ Weekly) NONFICTION FICTION 1. War and Remembrance — Herman Wouk 2. Chesapeake — James A. Michener 3. Fools Die — Mario Puzo 4. The Coup — John Updike 5. The Stories of John Cheever — John Cheever 6. Second Generation — Howard Fast 7. Silmarillion —J.R.R. Tolkien 8. Illusions: the Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah — Richard Bach 9. Evergreen — Belva Plain 10. The Far Pavilions — M.M. Kaye 1. Mommie Dearest — Christ ina Crawford 2. A Distant Mirror — Barbara Tuchman 3. American Caesar — William Manchester 4. If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits — Erma Bombeck 5. Faeries — Brian Froud and Alan Lee 6. Gnomes — Wil Huygen 7. In Search of History — Theodore White 8. The Complete Book of Run ning — James Fixx 9. Nurse — Peggy Anderson 10. Jackie Oh! — Kitty Kelley RECORD COLLECTION 33 1 /3 sale All Albums & Tapes Vs Off List Price Sale Runs Through Jan. 31 211 University Drive 846-3901 MUSIC Tanya Tucker grows up By Bruce Meyer United Press International For some reason, it’s always a surprise when a child star grows up. It’s a natural enough thing to happen, of course; it happens to all of us. But for millions of movie-goers, Shirley Temple will always have golden curls and a bow in her hair — and Judy Garland will never grow out of those ruby slippers. Musicians don’t get age-cast as readily as movie stars, but the pattern is similar. It took a lot of fans years to figure out that Little Stevie Wonder had grown up. He had acquired the image of a precocious kid and, while that gave him a head start in the business, it forced him to prove himself all over again for the audience as he matured. Now Tanya Tucker is going through that same difficult process. Most people will probably remember Tanya as a 13-yearold coun try singing sensation, a little cutie with a big, powerful voice and a stage presence that never failed to startle the audience. Her first record, “Delta Dawn,” was a smash and she followed that with a string of impressively sophisticated country hits. But now she’s 20 years old; that little girl image just doesn’t work any more. And with her new album, “TNT” (MCA Records), she has declared her independence from her past in a fashion almost as startling as when she first appeared. Tanya Tucker is now a rock ‘n’ roller — and she’s got the skin-tight black leather jeans to prove it. “When I first came to Nashville,” she says, “I was really happy to be there. I was 13 and, of course, my roots were in country music. It was all I ever listened to, back home in Wilcox, Arizona — Jimmy Rogers, Hank Williams. But I went to high school in Vegas and started listening to rock ‘n’ roll. I liked the way it felt, liked the way I could move to it.” Anyone who has seen Tanya in concert can attest to the fact that she moves to it very well indeed. And the new record demonstrates once and for all that she can rock in the studio just as well as she does on stage. Produced by the decidedly non-country Jerry Goldstein of Far Out Productions, “TNT” mixes rock standards like Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” and Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel” with some newer mate rial, including a fine version of “Texas (When I Die),” a tune that proves she isn’t about to forget her established country audience. The band is tight and there are a variety of guests on the clean, well-produced album, including John Prine and Seals and Crofts. The whole thing may seem sudden to anyone who was still think ing of Tanya as a kid — but she doesn’t see it that way. “It’s just a growing experience — I’m growing up in my music. And people that are close to me don’t think it’s such a drastic change. My stage presence hasn't changed, it’s just that now people who buy my records will have a better idea of what I’m like in concert.” Jazz stars McPartland, Jamal produce new albums By William D. Laffler United Press International Marian McPartland is an outstanding jazz musician who can stand a piano on end, and her stylings blend nicely with other artists. In 1977 she brought four other women together into a jazz session and pulled off a musical coup, even though only two of them had known each other before the meeting. Eight of the tunes may be heard on “Now’s the Time!” (Halcyon HAL 115), a jazz record that belongs in every collector’s library. The quintet consists of McPartland on piano, Mary Osborne on guitar, Vi Redd on sax, Lynn Milano on bass and Dottie Dodgion on drums. Dodgion had played with McPartland previously in a trio. Each of the five artists gets into the action but there is no tendency among any of them to dominate. The result is almost an hour of good jazz. The McPartland piano is always ready to enhance a melody and create an opening for a fellow musician to move in. One of the standout numbers is “Sophisticated Lady,” with Mary Osborne offering a stunning performance on guitar. And Vi Redd’s sax is really sensaational on the album title tune and “But Beautiful.” With Lynn Milano and Dottie Dodgion feeling the pulse with the base and drums, the jazz beat heightens. Most of this concert is based on pop-type compositions, such as “Laura” and “I’ll Remember April.” There is only one slightly far-out number, Thelonius Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser,” but the quintet holds it within melodious bounds. Ahmad Jamal is another superstar of jazz who is flexible musi cally. For more than two decades Jamal has kept his imprint on the flow of progressive music, fascinating listeners with his imaginative improvisations on the keyboard. Jamal also has a compatibility with groups, heading his own sextet. His latest recording, “One” (20th Century-Fox T555), is cast in this mold. Although the cerebral impressions are not as deep as in his solo recordings, “One” comes off as an excellent session worth many playbacks. The opening number, the title tune, is a bit ostentatious but not obsequious. With Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are,” Jamal moves up front with a fine solo. From then on, the music is compelling. The final numbers — “Dynamo,” “Sumayah,” and “Festival” are Jamal compositions, and good ones. Top 20 (Based on Billboard’s survey of sales and broadcast play) SINGLES Pop Music 1. Le Freak — Chic 2. Too Much Heaven — Bee Gees 3. Y.M.C.A. — Village People 4. Do You Think I’m Sexy — Rod Stewart 5. My Life — Billy Joel 6. A Little More Love — Olivia Newton-John 7. Ooh Baby, Baby — Linda Ronstadt 8. Hold The Line — Toto 9. Every 1’s A Winner — Hot Chocolate 10. September — Earth, Wind And Fire 11. Fire — Pointer Sisters 12. You Don’t Bring Me Flow ers — Barbra Streisand And Neil Diamond 13. Lotta Love — Nicolette Carson 14. New York Groove — Ace Frehley 15. Somewhere In the Night — Barry Manilow 16.1 Was Made For Dancing — Leif Garrett 17. Got To Be Real — Cheryl Lynn 18. Shake It — Ian Matthews 19. Soul Man — Blues Brothers 20. / Will Survive — Gloria Gaynor Country and Western 1. Why Have You Left The One You Left Me For — Crys tal Gayle 2. Every Which Way But Loose — Eddie Rabbitt 3. Back On My Mind Again- Santa Barbara — Ronnie Mil- sap 4. Come On In — Oak Ridge Boys 5. The Official Historian On Shirley-Jean Berrell — The Statler Brothers 6. / Really Got The Feeling- Baby I’m Burning — Dolly Parton 7. Your Love Had Taken Me That High — Conway Twitty 8. Texas — Tanya Tucker 9. Maybelline — George Jones And Johnny Paycheck 10. You Don’t Bring Me Flow ers — Jim Ed Brown And Helen Cornelius 11. / Just Can’t Stay Married To You — Crusty Lane 12. It’s Time We Talk Things Over — Rex Allen Jr. And The Boys 13. The Song We Made Love To — Mickey Gilley 14. Happy Together — T.G. Sheppard 15. Fall In Love With Me — Randy Barlow 16. Lovin’ On — Bellamy Brothers 17. Tonight She’s Gonna Love Me — Razzy Bailey 18. I’ll Wake You When I Get Home — Charlie Rich 19. Alibis — Johnny Rod riguez 20. Mr. Jones — Big Al Down ing