SOLVED. MG/ YA book. New boy in town wants to join his classmates' bluegrass band as banjo player, but he's impeded by rich kid, whose garage the band uses to practice. Read around 1975-1978. [s]

[SamSpayedPI]

So the "Suggest books for me" thread about Band Books made me think of a book I read as a kid (most likely 1975-1978).

I only read it once (unusual for me) because I (a suburban kid who listened to rock and pop music) had a lot of trouble identifying with the characters. My point is, any of the following book description could be wrong due to an aged, faulty memory of a book that was never a favorite in the first place:

It was about young teens, I think, but perhaps geared for younger children? There was nothing sexual that I can remember, aside from maybe "liking" a girl.

The MC (around 14 years, maybe) moved to a new town; I think he lived in a mobile home park. He was a talented banjo player.

He finds out that a few of his classmates have put together a bluegrass band, which he desperately wants to join. They already have a banjo player, though. He isn't very good (at least, not nearly as good as our MC is portrayed to be), but he's "rich" to the extent that he has a single-family home with a garage or something where the band can practice, so he's a permanent member of the band.

I remember there's a pretty girl the MC likes. Of course, the day that there are no seats left on the bus so she has to sit next to him, is the day the MC has an enormous zit on his nose. She points at it and says "you've got a zit" (the MC is quietly devastated) and then says "and I've got a zit" and points to her chin (the MC didn't really notice until she pointed it out, and comes to the realization that maybe zits aren't really that big a deal).

At the end, I think, (view spoiler)[there's some music festival or something, and the MC (maybe) performs with an adult bluegrass band, and then the high school band members fall all over themselves to get him to join their band. I don't remember how the rich-kid-with-the-garage issue was dealt with. (hide spoiler)]

Thanks for any insight you can give me!

[Tab]

Bluegrass Iggy ?

One of the reviews on Goodreads says that it was a "cute story about a boy who dreams of leaving his small trailer park to play banjo in a Bluegrass band."

[SamSpayedPI]

Tab wrote: "Bluegrass Iggy ?"

Thank you, Tab. Maybe? Possibly?

As soon as I saw the blurb ("Feeling ugly and friendless, fourteen-year-old Iggy tries to become part of a bluegrass band as a banjo player"), I thought, "that must be it!".

With a little more research, however, doubt is creeping in.

Both the Goodreads and the Kirkus review make it sound like he wants to leave town and hit the big time in bluegrass music. The plot I remember is him wanting to join his friends' garage band.

In fact, the Kirkus review sounds like the MC has to make the choice to "be a good guy and play in his buddies' off-key band." In the book I remember, there was nothing in the world the MC wanted so much as to join his buddies' band; but they already had a banjo player and weren't looking for another.

That's not to say I can't be misremembering the plot, but the "rich kid with the garage" is the one aspect I'm most sure about.

I can't find an electronic copy in order to make sure; and I'm not ready to buy it since, as I said, it's not like it was one of my favorite reads.

[Kris]

I added a few details to the header. Feel free to edit it.

[Rainbowheart]

Found another summary of Bluegrass Iggy.

"Fourteen-year-old lggy likes to play bluegrass music. New to the trailer park and without friends, Iggy uses his banjo to soothe his loneliness. Finally, Jinii and Duke invite him to join their band, and after several setbacks, Iggy's musical skill wins him the admiration of the crowd."

There's also a Scholastic paperback that looks a lot different!

[Tab]

I can't get the picture to upload, but I found a blurb about "Bluegrass Iggy" on the back cover of another book by the same publisher. The publisher added a "You will also want to read..." section on the back cover.

You can see it on Openlibrary for the book "Emancipation of Joe Tepper." Skip to the back cover. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL48935...

The blurb for "Bluegrass Iggy" says:
Two fair weather companions who share Iggy's love of bluegrass music....dump him for another chum who has a house where they can more conveniently practice... —ALA Booklist

[SamSpayedPI]

Yes, those sound more like what I remember.

Thanks, all!

[Kris]

Should we marked your request as Solved? Bluegrass Iggy by Mary W. Sullivan

[SamSpayedPI]

Kris wrote: "Should we marked your request as Solved? Bluegrass Iggy by Mary W. Sullivan"

Too late! I already did!