Sing to Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who's Next

Reid, with veteran music journalist Selvin, recounts the highlights of his illustrious life as a supremely successful music producer in this memoir. He includes his early days playing DJ for "grown-up parties;" his time as a drummer for the band the Deele; and eventually forming a profitable record label, LaFace Records, with bandmate Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds. His remarks on performers and the modern music scene are polite and restrained. The inside details about his production methods show why he's so respected among his peers. As his reputation grows, Reid works his magic, leading Arista Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, and Epic Records, and starting the careers of Usher, Toni Braxton, TLC, Outkast, Pink, and Avril Lavigne, among others. Add to those triumphs a stint as a judge of the TV show X Factor. With a keen understanding of today's pop music and its major influence on its listeners around the globe, Reid's optimistic, soulful memoir mirrors the timeline of contemporary music culture with all of its peaks and valleys. (Feb.)