''Living the Book of My Life'' is the debut album of actor

Philip Michael Thomas Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series ''Miami Vice''. His first notable roles were in '' Coonskin'' (1975) and opposite Irene C ...

, released in 1985. Written and produced by Thomas himself, the album was one stage of his intention to win the "EGOT" combination of

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

and

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

s. Despite his ambitions, and the involvement of several noted reggae session musicians, the album has been described as a "bomb", and has received negative reviews from music critics both upon release and in retrospect.

Production

began working ''Living the Book of My Life'' while acting on the television series ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

''; he wrote and produced the record as part of his stated goal to become an " EGOT" winner. Thomas had coined this acronym to describe his ambitions to win

and

s in his career. Although primarily an actor, Thomas had previous musical experience, having starred in the 1976 musical ''

Sparkle Sparkle may refer to: * Sparkle (catamaran), a catamaran designed by Angus Primrose * Sparkle (drink), a lemon-flavored soft drink * Sparkle, a brand of paper towels owned by Georgia-Pacific * Dick Tracy#Plenty family, Sparkle Plenty, a character ...

''. Interviewed about the release of ''Living the Book of My Life'' in late 1985, Thomas likened it to a

Christmas gift A Christmas gift or Christmas present is a gift given in celebration of Christmas. Christmas gifts are often exchanged on Christmas Eve (December 24), Christmas Day itself (December 25) or on the last day of the twelve-day Christmas season, Tw ...

, stating: "you know what the ad will be for the LP? 'Take me home and turn me on—Philip Michael Thomas for Christmas'. I'm Santa Claus this year ..I am Christmas". Working with Thomas on the album were a number of established reggae studio musicians, including percussionist

Uziah Thompson Uzziah "Sticky" Thompson (1 August 1936 – 25 August 2014) was a Jamaican percussionist, vocalist and deejay active from the late 1950s. He worked with some of the best known performers of Jamaican music and played on hundreds of albums. Biog ...

, saxophonist

Dean Fraser Dean Ivanhoe Fraser (sometimes appearing as Dean Frazer) (born 4 August 1957) Allmusic.com biography by Sandra Brennan/ref> is a Jamaican saxophonist who has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the Mu ...

, and guitar player

Geoffrey Chung Geoffrey Aloysius Chung (1950 – 13 October 1995) was a Jamaican musician, recording engineer, and record producer. Biography Chung was born in 1950 in Kingston, Jamaica.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of ...

; backing vocals were also provided by

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teena ...

Reception

''Living the Book of My Life'' has largely been met with negative reviews. A contemporary review by

Anita Sarko Anita Sarko (c. 1947 – October 18, 2015) was an American DJ and journalist. She grew up in Detroit, then attended the University of Arizona and graduated from the Michigan State University. She moved to New York City in 1979 and was the DJ in the ...

for ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' magazine was critical of the album's writing and of Thomas' voice. Sarko compared elements of the record unfavorably to

Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...

and

The Last Poets The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement's black nationalism. The name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who bel ...

, and described Thomas' singing as "so weak, so lifeless". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

Kurt Loder Kurtis Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at ''Rolling Stone'', during a tenure that ''Reason'' later called "legendary". He has contribute ...

, writing in 1986, wrote that the album was "a humongous bomb", and described it as "a tepid gruel of treacly reggae, the lyrics a mind-puckering jambalaya of self-enthused psychobabble". Loder noted that Thomas was known for his charisma but that it did not translate into his music. Writing for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' in 1996, Rich Brown included it on a list of "failed albums" by actors, singling out the song "Fish and Chips" as a low point. Brown noted that as Thomas produced and wrote the album, "at least we know whom to blame". A similar retrospective of actors' albums by ''Spin'' in 2007 described it as a "thin drip of New Agey pop/R&B drivel", noting that it "quickly dried up" compared to the later release of an album by Thomas' ''Miami Vice'' co-star

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Em ...

. A 2014 retrospective look at the album by Desmond Alfonso for ''Large-Up'' magazine described the record as "the definition of 'unwarranted vanity project'"; Alfonso singled out the song "Just the Way I Planned It" for its "catchy yet preposterous R&B groove".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'':

Footnotes

{{reflist 1985 debut albums Atlantic Records albums