Chicago author works with Jazz legend George Benson on autobiography

Alan Goldsher

One of Chicago’s most prolific authors and celebrity ghostwriters, Alan Goldsher (the guy who brought you “Paul is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion,” perhaps the finest Beatles-zombie mash-up ever put to paper) is at it again with two titles slated for publication in the spring of 2014.

The first, available May 27, is an autobiography written with multiple-Grammy-winning Jazz legend George Benson from Da Capo Press.

“George is a hipster,” Goldsher said in an email, “and I don’t mean in the Williamsburg way, but rather he’s a man who his genuinely, palpably hip. (I feel like I’m 10% cooler whenever I talk to him.) What many people don’t realize is that George is way more than “Breezin’” and “On Broadway” — he’s a veritable jazz historian. He’s either played alongside or been in the presence

George Benson, via georgebenson.com/Greg Allen

his generation’s greats — Miles, Coltrane, etc. — and speaks about them with a passion that’s contagious and compelling.”

Calling Benson’s life story “fun, funny and often poignant,” Goldsher (who is also a professional bass guitarist) claimed there’s something in the book for casual and hardcore music fans alike.

June 3 marks the release of Goldsher’s collaboration with the much lesser-known but still powerful music manager Ron Weisner — a force behind such rock luminaries as Madonna, Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, Gladys Knight, Curtis Mayfield and Michael Jackson — that promises “lots of fun gossip” about Ms. Ciccone, the Jacksons and more.

Because he’ll sleep when he’s dead, Goldsher is also shopping a “paranormal music comedy” titled “The Titans of Rock Save the Universe,” which he describes as “a collection of short stories that imagine what would happen if rockers had superpowers.”

Jack Black: option it now!

For more info on Goldsher and his projects, check out www.alangoldsher.com.