Arts & Entertainment
Levittown Author Hopes to Revitalize R&B Legend with New Novel
Bergsman's new novel "The Death of Johnny Ace" is set to release later this month.
Author Steve Bergsman's first novel, Growing Up Levittown, was published last year as a memoir surrounding his controversial teenage years in the Long Island suburb.
Bergsman took a different route in the creation of his second novel, The Death of Johnny Ace, which is set to release later this month. The book is a fictional piece highlighting the career of an American rhythm and blues artist that ended suddenly and all too soon after an accidental suicide.
Ace's career took off just before the advent of rock and roll in the 1950s. The Memphis, Tenn. born singer was scheduled to headline a special Christmas Eve concert alongside Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thorton when a gunshot in his dressing room ended his life.
"There's a lot to know about Johnny Ace, so that gave me the space to create a fictional life and tell the story leading up to how he got to that auditorium in 1954," said Bergsman, a Phoenix, Arizona resident. "I could've written a strict biography, but he's not well known now, so that would've appealed to a limited audience."
"Johnny Ace was a popular rhythm and blues singer at a time where the airwaves were very segregated," he added. "Nevertheless, he was probably the most popular singer from 1952-54."
Bergsman's writing career started at Island Trees High School in 1966 when the district allowed Joseph Feinstein to implement a creative writing course into the curriculum. His love for literature sparked and Bergman continued on to the University of Florida where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism.
Over the course of his nearly four decade career, Bergsman has become an accomplished business and real estate writer. With his new career path and the release of The Death of Johnny Ace, Bergsman hopes his passion will revitalize the memory of an icon.
"Johnny Ace is a very important person in the history of music and rock and roll and he's essentially been forgotten now," Bergsman explained. "He's a person that deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I hope more people will read his story in a novelized version and once again become interested in his music."
The Death of Johnny Ace will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and bookstores nationwide October 15.
