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Key West #15
The Paradise Gig
In September 1964, the Beatles, their private flight diverted by Hurricane Dora, made an unplanned visit to Key West. Poolside at their motel, the Fab Four fell into conversation with a snappy-dressing local named Bert the Shirt, who listened as the band worked out a harmony to the most beautiful song he’d ever heard--and wouldn’t hear again for over half a century. That night, the Beatles played an unannounced free concert in the motel bar. Everyone was welcome. Local musicians showed up with guitars and keyboards, and had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of jamming with the Beatles till 4 am. This legendary event has forever after been known to Key West locals as THE PARADISE GIG. Next day, hung over and exhausted, the Beatles left for the airport, having somehow lost a stained and battered notebook that held a priceless stash of unrecorded songs. NOW CUT TO THE A beautiful woman is doing a yoga headstand on a Key West beach when she’s abducted by a pair of thugs. An aspiring young singer is offered a recording deal that seems a bit too good to be true. Bad things happen to a couple of one-hit wonders…And old Bert hears a new song that is hauntingly familiar, but that he can’t quite place. Could it possibly be the same song he’d heard at poolside so many years before? Could it be that all the present mayhem circles back through the decades to THE PARADISE GIG? Could the precious, even sacred, Beatles notebook possibly turn up after all these years? Could Bert be the hero who would rediscover that stash of unheard songs for music lovers everywhere—and save a young singer’s life in the process? With Nacho, his intrepid Chihuahua, at his side, and with no one but bumbling detective Pete Amsterdam for an ally, the undaunted Bert the Shirt sets out through the Florida haze to piece it all together, learning along the way how much the world has changed—and how much it has not. In equal parts suspenseful and nostalgic, funny and romantic, this time-bending caper celebrates the power of music and the many tricks of memory, the joys of youth and the comforts of age, and the free and funky spirit of Key West.
209 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 26, 2020
184 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Laurence Shames
40 books238 followersLaurence Shames has been a New York City taxi driver, lounge singer, furniture mover, lifeguard, dishwasher, gym teacher, and shoe salesman. Having failed to distinguish himself in any of those professions, he turned to writing full-time in 1976 and has not done an honest day’s work since.
His basic laziness notwithstanding, Shames has published more than twenty books and hundreds of magazine articles and essays. Best known for his critically acclaimed series of Key West Capers--14 titles and counting!--he has also authored non-fiction and enjoyed considerable though largely secret success as a collaborator and ghostwriter. Shames has penned four New York Times bestsellers. These have appeared on four different lists, under four different names, none of them his own. This might be a record.
Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1951, to chain-smoking parents of modest means but flamboyant emotions, Shames did not know Philip Roth, Paul Simon, Queen Latifa, Shaquille O’Neal, or any of the other really cool people who have come from his hometown. He graduated summa cum laude from NYU in 1972 and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. As a side note, both his alma mater and honorary society have been extraordinarily adept at tracking his many address changes through the decades, in spite of the fact that he’s never sent them one red cent, and never will.
It was on an Italian beach in the summer of 1970 that Shames first heard the sacred call of the writer’s vocation. Lonely and poor, hungry and thirsty, he’d wandered into a seaside trattoria, where he noticed a couple tucking into a big platter of fritto misto. The man was nothing much to look at but the woman was really beautiful. She was perfectly tan and had a very fine-gauge gold chain looped around her bare tummy. The couple was sharing a liter of white wine; condensation beaded the carafe. Eye contact was made; the couple turned out to be Americans. The man wiped olive oil from his rather sensual lips and introduced himself as a writer. Shames knew in that moment that he would be one too.
He began writing stories and longer things he thought of as novels. He couldn’t sell them.
By 1979 he’d somehow become a journalist and was soon publishing in top-shelf magazines like Playboy, Outside, Saturday Review, and Vanity Fair. (This transition entailed some lucky breaks, but is not as vivid a tale as the fritto misto bit, so we’ll just sort of gloss over it.) In 1982, Shames was named Ethics columnist of Esquire, and also made a contributing editor to that magazine.
By 1986 he was writing non-fiction books. The critical, if not the commercial, success of these first established Shames’ credentials as a collaborator/ghostwriter. His 1991 national bestseller, Boss of Bosses, written with two FBI agents, got him thinking about the Mafia. It also bought him a ticket out of New York and a sweet little house in Key West, where he finally got back to Plan A: writing novels. Given his then-current preoccupations, the novels naturally featured palm trees, high humidity, dogs in sunglasses, and New York mobsters blundering through a town where people were too laid back to be afraid of them. But this part of the story is best told with reference to the books themselves, so please spend some time and explore them.
His basic laziness notwithstanding, Shames has published more than twenty books and hundreds of magazine articles and essays. Best known for his critically acclaimed series of Key West Capers--14 titles and counting!--he has also authored non-fiction and enjoyed considerable though largely secret success as a collaborator and ghostwriter. Shames has penned four New York Times bestsellers. These have appeared on four different lists, under four different names, none of them his own. This might be a record.
Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1951, to chain-smoking parents of modest means but flamboyant emotions, Shames did not know Philip Roth, Paul Simon, Queen Latifa, Shaquille O’Neal, or any of the other really cool people who have come from his hometown. He graduated summa cum laude from NYU in 1972 and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. As a side note, both his alma mater and honorary society have been extraordinarily adept at tracking his many address changes through the decades, in spite of the fact that he’s never sent them one red cent, and never will.
It was on an Italian beach in the summer of 1970 that Shames first heard the sacred call of the writer’s vocation. Lonely and poor, hungry and thirsty, he’d wandered into a seaside trattoria, where he noticed a couple tucking into a big platter of fritto misto. The man was nothing much to look at but the woman was really beautiful. She was perfectly tan and had a very fine-gauge gold chain looped around her bare tummy. The couple was sharing a liter of white wine; condensation beaded the carafe. Eye contact was made; the couple turned out to be Americans. The man wiped olive oil from his rather sensual lips and introduced himself as a writer. Shames knew in that moment that he would be one too.
He began writing stories and longer things he thought of as novels. He couldn’t sell them.
By 1979 he’d somehow become a journalist and was soon publishing in top-shelf magazines like Playboy, Outside, Saturday Review, and Vanity Fair. (This transition entailed some lucky breaks, but is not as vivid a tale as the fritto misto bit, so we’ll just sort of gloss over it.) In 1982, Shames was named Ethics columnist of Esquire, and also made a contributing editor to that magazine.
By 1986 he was writing non-fiction books. The critical, if not the commercial, success of these first established Shames’ credentials as a collaborator/ghostwriter. His 1991 national bestseller, Boss of Bosses, written with two FBI agents, got him thinking about the Mafia. It also bought him a ticket out of New York and a sweet little house in Key West, where he finally got back to Plan A: writing novels. Given his then-current preoccupations, the novels naturally featured palm trees, high humidity, dogs in sunglasses, and New York mobsters blundering through a town where people were too laid back to be afraid of them. But this part of the story is best told with reference to the books themselves, so please spend some time and explore them.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 31, 2020
In the stressful time of coronavirus, Laurence Shames has come through for us with a new story of the strange world of Key West. Our favorites, Bert the Shirt and Nacho, are once again called on to figure out what’s happening and ultimately to save the day. Shames doesn’t disappoint with another fun romp through Key West and its unique inhabitants. This episode takes us into the world of music, beginning with the Bert and the Beatles during their brief visit to Key West in the 60s (true story). Fast forward to the present and the high octane world of pop music. A young man gets the break of a lifetime, but is it really as good as it sounds? Leave it up to Bert, Nacho, and their friend Pete to get to the bottom of things and take care of business. Shames has written another great, fun book (with quite a bit of help from Nacho).
August 4, 2020
Keep them coming Mr. Shames!!!
More joy and memory material to thrill S. Florida vacationers! Much to add to your Key West memories and fun for the South tripping family!!! There are few who set so much Florida fun in their pages for all to enjoy. I would make some but, nooo.
More joy and memory material to thrill S. Florida vacationers! Much to add to your Key West memories and fun for the South tripping family!!! There are few who set so much Florida fun in their pages for all to enjoy. I would make some but, nooo.
September 19, 2021
Just funny. It’s a pleasure to read this book, kind of like a favorite snack. It’s not necessarily good for you. What you learn may not apply to your life, but you’ll have a good time. I’m going to buy another one and read it right now.
Just funny. It’s a pleasure to read this book, kind of like a favorite snack. It’s not necessarily good for you. What you learn may not apply to your life, but you’ll have a good time. I’m going to buy another one and read it right now.
Just funny. It’s a pleasure to read this book, kind of like a favorite snack. It’s not necessarily good for you. What you learn may not apply to your life, but you’ll have a good time. I’m going to buy another one and read it right now.
September 22, 2020
A Doggone Great Story
Shames takes the reader on an unusual mystery involving a narrating dog and unique characters embroiled in the music business and the legacy of the Beatles. A fun read.
Shames takes the reader on an unusual mystery involving a narrating dog and unique characters embroiled in the music business and the legacy of the Beatles. A fun read.
March 7, 2023
great book
As always Mr Sanders has written a great book !
I’m dreading the end of this series ! Cannot wait for next one maybe because I lived in Key West in the 70’s I enjoy and can envision all the changes and there are many
It’s defiantly a Tourist place now! I envy those who live there now, was back as a tourist in 2000 it had changed a lot then, made me sad !but more so now if the author speaking correctly I’m loving his narration. Love Bert and Nacho and the antics they get up to .
As always Mr Sanders has written a great book !
I’m dreading the end of this series ! Cannot wait for next one maybe because I lived in Key West in the 70’s I enjoy and can envision all the changes and there are many
It’s defiantly a Tourist place now! I envy those who live there now, was back as a tourist in 2000 it had changed a lot then, made me sad !but more so now if the author speaking correctly I’m loving his narration. Love Bert and Nacho and the antics they get up to .
March 10, 2023
friendship is. . .
I hadn’t read about Bert the Shirt in years. What a delight. He must be Methuselah! And Beatles! What more could a child of the 60’s ask for? A wonderful “what if” imagining of a real lost book and song, with the convivial Bert and Nacho, and lost and found Pete and Callie. A mystery is found , studied, and solved and leads to a super duper solution that works out for the worst and the best for all concerned. ☮️
I hadn’t read about Bert the Shirt in years. What a delight. He must be Methuselah! And Beatles! What more could a child of the 60’s ask for? A wonderful “what if” imagining of a real lost book and song, with the convivial Bert and Nacho, and lost and found Pete and Callie. A mystery is found , studied, and solved and leads to a super duper solution that works out for the worst and the best for all concerned. ☮️
October 24, 2023
Learn something new!
I had no idea the Beatles were in Key West! What a premise! It’s a return of Pete Amsterdam, the reluctant not-PI, a cleaned up Callie, the eponymous Bert the Shirt and, of course, the new narrator, Nacho. And while this one is about the music business, ‘Get Shorty’ it is not. Not a whole lot of twists, but some interesting character building. A good theoretical history lesson.
I had no idea the Beatles were in Key West! What a premise! It’s a return of Pete Amsterdam, the reluctant not-PI, a cleaned up Callie, the eponymous Bert the Shirt and, of course, the new narrator, Nacho. And while this one is about the music business, ‘Get Shorty’ it is not. Not a whole lot of twists, but some interesting character building. A good theoretical history lesson.
June 3, 2021
The Paradise Gig is a great vacation/beach read. Shames created a myriad of likeable characters in the Key West Capers series and are better than Bert the Shirt. These books aren’t going to win serious literary awards but they will bring a smile to your face. Paradise Gig has a great Beatles tie as well.
May 6, 2024
Another caper
I live the way Shames weaves his Key West characters from story to story. I love Bert. It saddens me to think of his age and his human frailty. We all get old but long live Bert and Nacho.
I live the way Shames weaves his Key West characters from story to story. I love Bert. It saddens me to think of his age and his human frailty. We all get old but long live Bert and Nacho.
May 7, 2024
Bert the Shirt. Nacho. Some bad guys. Some good, albeit naive, guys. Throw in some Beatles’ songs and you’ve got perfection Key West style.
My only complaint is why oh why isn’t this series more popular.
My only complaint is why oh why isn’t this series more popular.
April 16, 2020
Another fun, easy read, especially welcome in these difficult times.
April 30, 2020
more of an eloborate short story...
December 22, 2020
What can I say, this series is fun, easy. And entertaining.
June 28, 2021
Shames does it again with a great Bert and Natcho story. And this time builds it around a long lost Beatles song. Priceless!
July 17, 2021
This one was poor. Worst narrator ever and the story was weak.
May 27, 2022
I haven't gotten tired of Bert and Nacho. Keep them coming.
September 19, 2022
Shames is the Master !
His characters always itrigue ing ,story lines always unique ,bad guys always get caught in ha liar o us ways . There are none better!!!
His characters always itrigue ing ,story lines always unique ,bad guys always get caught in ha liar o us ways . There are none better!!!
February 28, 2023
Love this series of books. Light reading.
October 20, 2024
I didn't know that the Beatles had stopped over in Key West :-) Starting with that fact the rest of the plot becomes kind of obvious, but it's another fun read.
February 10, 2025
I really like Laurence Shames's books. I listened to this book and was thrown by the voices and the changes. Still a good book, but it needs to be longer. It is a fast read. Love Burt the Shirt!
July 4, 2020
This book pleased, pleased me, oh yeah. Paradise Gig combines three things that are impossible not to love: the Beatles, the beach, and Laurence Shames’ razor-sharp wit and prose. The inventive plot surrounds a notebook of songs that disappeared from the Beatles’ hotel room in 1964, when they were diverted to Key West by Hurricane Dora, where they ended up playing an unplanned jam session that came to be known as the Paradise Gig. (The gig really happened, the rest is fictional.)
Fast-forward to the present, where Marco, a shady music producer in the Keys, has a knack for finding and producing incredible one-hit wonders—only one hit because the new artists tend to meet unfortunate demises shortly after the songs are released. Oh yeah, and the artists don’t actually write the songs their names appear on. Marco gifts the song to them, with a contract proviso that all rights go Marco should the artist die.
The characters who steal the show are (of course, if you follow Shames’ Key West series) big-hearted aging mobster Bert the Shirt and his hilarious Chihuahua, Nacho. The story unfolds from several different points of view, including Nacho’s. No need to detail the plot or other characters. Suffice it to say all the characters are well-developed and the story, as improbable as it sounds, fits together nicely as Bert and Nacho help a few people out of a dangerous jam and solve the mystery of the Beatles’ long-lost notebook.
The Key West vibes are pure and true. You can smell the sunblock in the air and feel the sand between your toes. A truly funny book that is also smartly written. Highly recommended for any fan of wacky Florida fiction.
Fast-forward to the present, where Marco, a shady music producer in the Keys, has a knack for finding and producing incredible one-hit wonders—only one hit because the new artists tend to meet unfortunate demises shortly after the songs are released. Oh yeah, and the artists don’t actually write the songs their names appear on. Marco gifts the song to them, with a contract proviso that all rights go Marco should the artist die.
The characters who steal the show are (of course, if you follow Shames’ Key West series) big-hearted aging mobster Bert the Shirt and his hilarious Chihuahua, Nacho. The story unfolds from several different points of view, including Nacho’s. No need to detail the plot or other characters. Suffice it to say all the characters are well-developed and the story, as improbable as it sounds, fits together nicely as Bert and Nacho help a few people out of a dangerous jam and solve the mystery of the Beatles’ long-lost notebook.
The Key West vibes are pure and true. You can smell the sunblock in the air and feel the sand between your toes. A truly funny book that is also smartly written. Highly recommended for any fan of wacky Florida fiction.
June 8, 2020
I really loved this. Maybe because I have a chihuahua that I do put clothes on. The story was really great. Laurence does a great job describing things. Some go overboard but I loved how he writes. I would love to read more with this group of characters.
Paul Burt did an amazing excellent job narrating as always. Such a great voice!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review
Paul Burt did an amazing excellent job narrating as always. Such a great voice!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review
May 23, 2020
When it's time for a little dessert in your reading menu, (and you love FL/Key West) Shames or Hiaasen are the go to dessert dudes, they even supply the whipped cream. Funny reads with a bit of fact thrown in for good measure. Since Every reviewer has to have a 'but'... I could do w/o the Nacho narratives... As for CH, Razor Girl was a total hoot, hope Squeeze Me (Aug) is as good.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews