Piano Girl: A Memoir: Lessons in Life, Music, and the Perfect Blue Hawaiian

by Robin Meloy Goldsby

Piano Girl is the story of one woman's accidental career as a cocktail-lounge piano player. Sometimes poignant and often hilarious, this engaging memoir reveals the comedies, tragedies, and mundane miracles witnessed from the business side of the keyboard. A pianist in lounges and lobbies around the world, Robin Meloy Goldsby tells her story by connecting the people she has met with the places she has played and the pianos she has known. Along the way she discovers the human side, for better or worse, of her audiences – mobsters and moguls, the down-and-out and downright scary, and ordinary people dealing with life in extraordinary ways. Her tale provides insights into the art and craft of piano playing as well as inspiring lessons in life as Robin pursues her dreams on her own terms.

Genres: Music, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir

Hardcover

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

"Goldsby has a wicked sense of humor and a keen eye for the absurd—big-hearted, funny, truly eye-opening memoir."
Publishers Weekly Starred Review of Piano Girl: Lessons in Life, Love, and the Perfect Blue Hawaiian.

"Goldsby has seen it all from her piano and she dishes it up with a true storyteller's gusto. As refreshing as a frozen daiquiri." Jeff Yanc, Book Sense Picks and Notables

Robin Meloy Goldsby's first book, Piano Girl: A Memoir, made its hardcover debut in spring, 2005. The book presents a collection of autobiographical short stories--some funny, some poignant--that explore the life of a working musician.

Piano Girl Playbook: Notes on a Musical Life is the long awaited follow-up to Piano Girl. Goldsby's back catalog includes Rhythm: A Novel; Waltz of the Asparagus People: The Further Adventures of Piano Girl; and Manhattan Road Trip: Short Stories. Fragile, feisty, courageous, but sometimes just plain world-weary, Goldsby’s unbreakable protagonists push aside little injustices, dodge the slings and arrows of their tone-deaf neighbors, and keep playing the music they love.

Fodder for Goldsby's literary musings, Robin Meloy Goldsby's solo piano career has taken her from Pittsburgh’s roadside dives to posh New York City venues and exclusive resorts, and on to the European castles and concert stages where she now performs. A Steinway Artist, she has eight solo piano recordings to her name and has appeared in the USA on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland.

Currently, Robin is the featured pianist at the Excelsior Hotel Ernst in Cologne, Germany. Her quiet, elegant solo-piano music is popular on streaming platforms, with over 160 million streams in the USA alone.

Ms. Goldsby often serves as a cultural ambassador for European organizations dedicated to transatlantic relations. In November 2017, she presented her Home and Away program at Buckingham Palace for HRH, the Prince of Wales. She has performed her original music for German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Atlantik Brücke, e.V ); for numerous U.S. Consulates and Embassies in Europe; for Amerika Haus, e.V. NRW; for Steinway in New York, Berlin, Oslo, Düsseldorf, and Vienna; and for the Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas (FAWCO) worldwide. In 2014 Goldsby and her daughter, Julia, wrote and performed the theme song, “Maybe It’s You,” for the NGO International Women’s Forum at the United Nations in Geneva.

Robin is married to jazz bassist John Goldsby. They have two adult children, and live near Cologne Germany.

Reviews

[Robin Goldsby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hi Everyone! Since I can't very well review my own book, I thought I'd include my Publishers Weekly review. Piano Girl is an easy read, it's fun, and it will give you some insight into the sometimes crazy life of a working musician. Thanks.

Piano Girl: A Memoir
Robin Meloy Goldsby.
ISBN 0-87930-824-9

Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Goldsby regales readers with stories from her 30 years as a
cocktail lounge pianist in this vivacious memoir. Starting
out in dreary roadhouse bars and motels during the 1970s,
Goldsby eventually worked her way up to tonier venues: the
Marriott Marquis and the Grand Hyatt in New York City, a
posh resort in Haiti, castles in Europe. Along the way
there were false starts-an audition for the circus, a few
months singing in an ill-fated all-girl nightclub act, a
stint as a piano-playing stripper. It’s all the stuff of
comedy for Goldsby, who has a wicked sense of humor and a
keen eye for the absurd. Playing in a bar is great, she
figures, because she can watch the never-ending show on the
other side of the piano: the celebrities, nobodies, drunks,
tipsy matrons, stalkers, music lovers and music haters, and
a rogues’ gallery of colorful misfits. She even finds humor
in her replacement at the New York Marriott-a mannequin
seated at a player-piano. She also has a touching affection
for her assorted co-workers, who include a waiter who
charms everyone with his “tragic optimism” after having
been diagnosed with AIDS, a restroom attendant who sells
designer dresses out of a toilet stall for the handicapped
and a waitress whom Goldsby inspires to start her own
career as a pianist. This is a bighearted, funny, truly
eye-opening memoir.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soooo... now I kind of want to become cocktail-lounge piano player. I even said as much half-seriously to my mother and her reply was, "I know! I've always thought that'd be perfect for you."
Of course, I'm not sure how well I would deal with many of the situations detailed in this book, but it's still fun to dream. And who knows? The years may find me wedged in the corner of some hotel lounge behind a piano, letting my fingers sing the notes I always have beating inside me.

That much being said, this memoir was wonderful! I snickered, I sighed; it had plenty of those absurd stranger-than-fiction moments that make my favourite memoirs so great. I didn't want it to end, perhaps because I was living vicariously through the author.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this book had great potential. I'm a pianist & it was a fun peek into someone's life. The anecdotes were interesting and at times, unbelievable. I loved hearing about her composing & improvising, as I am not great at either of those things.

The only reason I didn't love it is because the plot seemed to just amble along. I didn't feel like there was a point, a purpose. That sounds mean, but was how I came away feeling. I enjoyed a lot of the material, but towards the end I was ready for it to be over.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because of my past experiences as a pianist in a restaurant, at weddings, and as background music in too many places to count, I looked forward to reading Piano Girl. It was a quick read, and I found many of her experiences interesting. The author did seem rather full of herself, though, and that got old.

[liindalisten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been playing the piano for almost 3 years! I always wanted to know what it would be like to be a cocktail-lounge pianist. I really enjoyed this book. At times, I imagined myself being in her situation and how amazing it would be. It inspired me to keep playing the piano. I still have many hours of practice to go but worth every minute. It's definitely a book I will read a second time in the near future.

[Chrisinny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memoir of woman who falls into playing piano in cocktail bars in NYC as a career. Amusing enough anecdotes strung together- funny lines every now and then. No real "life lessons" as front cover promises. Insight and fuller context, which sets apart exceptional memoirs, are missing here. Amusing enough but not riveting. Occasional shifts in time seem to serve no purpose. Likeability of author makes up for structural flaws.

[JDK1962 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little memoir. A collection of shorter, more episodic pieces, rather than a memoir with a solid narrative through line.

I did my first round of college in Pittsburgh (at Pitt), and am only a few years younger than the author, so got a kick out of some of the overlapping Pittsburgh memories.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining memoir! Very easy and engaging read. Laugh out loud at times. What a life I know nothing about! I wish I had read this before I went to Jordan with the author's daughter. I would have pummelled her with questions. Highly recommend!

[Balloon Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing memoirs of a cocktail pianist. She's witty, and lands one good one liner after another. That got a little tiresome.

I wouldn't have bought discount designer clothing that was questionably sourced, and I would have thought a bit more of her if she didn't buy it either.

[Stelladonna Leone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun read. Went to college with author, and from same hometown, but stories heartwarming and charming for everyone.

[Joycie Verdone · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read, a memoir. Lighthearted and funny

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book.

[Alison Sweetser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being roughly chronological, it’s more a series of essays than a story. It can easily be read in bites, perfect for those with busy schedules, a love of music and a curiousity about the world of piano bars. I laughed out loud regularly, which all by itself made the book worth my time.

[M.A. Kropp · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle for this book is Lessons in Life, Music, and the Perfect Blue Hawaiian. It is a memoir, spanning the author's career as a lounge pianist, from her accidental beginning as a college student vacationing on Nantucket Island through gigs at top New York hotels, island resorts, and German castles. It is all done with quirky humor, candid insight, and true love for the music she plays.

Beginning as a college student from Pittsburgh vacationing on Nantucket Island, Ms. Goldsby takes a job as a waitress which doesn't quite work out. She arranges to use a local bar's piano during off hours to practice, and the owner of the bar asks her to play at night for his customers. Thus begins a career. She moves from dive bars and beach lounges to New York city, and jobs at prestigious hotels. There are jaunts to Caribbean islands, stage shows, and other gigs. She gives us an insider's view of auditions and agents, producers and private clients. Sitting behind her piano, she sees all of New York life pass by: the business moguls, mob bosses, the down and out who just need a place to sit, and some truly crazy and scary customers. Her life is never dull, but it always seems fulfilling. The story ends in Germany, where she moves with her bass player husband, raises two children, records CDs, and plays her lounge piano music in ancient castles.

The book is funny, warm, inspiring, and a treat to read. Anyone who enjoys autobiography, memoirs, or music will find much to enchant here.

[Nancy Rossman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really a delightful and fun read about the exploits of a piano cocktail lounge performer. And I say this, because she is one with the comic side (maybe not always noted by the drinking patrons) as much with what I guess is her talent. You may be picturing some sleazy Holiday Inn thing but such is not the case. These were pure gold lobbies, hotel chains, cruise ships, and similar. Maybe not with much different outcomes but the clientele dressed better.

Really, I'd give it a 3.5 and only because there was no real thread to this memoir only a collection of her best stories, which were, BTW great. I laughed out loud. Quite a delight.

[Heather Propes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way she says she started out at 19 with "a roll of duct tape, an extension cord, and some old prom dresses". It also seems to cover that 70's "yacht rock" period that everyone is so fascinated by now, when rich idle swingers hung out in places like Nantucket or Newport Beach, CA, wearing captain hats and listening to Steely Dan. Really like this fun book.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy and delightful read. Stand-alone chapters explain how she becames a professional piano player in lounges and for private parties. She's very positive about the people she meets and the experiences she has.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of Robin Meloy Goldsby's memoirs of being a cocktail piano player... Overall I enjoyed this book very much, especially as I play piano (although not nearly as much as Robin) and found her many different encounters through the years very entertaining.

[Frederick Bingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

The memoir of a woman who has played in piano bars for 30 years. She trained as a classical pianist, but found she enjoyed the anonymity of playing in a bar more appealing. She has played in New York, Haiti and Europe.

[Vickie Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny book - I laughed out loud several times. And sometimes I can't help but think - "this could have been me". I was offered a job playing at the Holiday Inn while in college - I don't remember why I didn't do it.

[Michelle]

suprisingly funny autobiography of a lounge pianist

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

suprisingly funny autobiography of a lounge pianist

[Mihaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A first person memoir about an American woman's journey as an artist. Lighthearted and funny, includes a few stories from Cologne-Bonn area and Germany.