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Mingering Mike
One cold December morning, Dori Hadar -- DJ by night, criminal investigator by day -- was digging through crates of records at a flea market in Washington, D.C. There he stumbled into the elaborate world of Mingering Mikea soul superstar of the 1960s and '70s who released an astonishing 50 albums and at least as many singles in just 10 years. But Hadar had never heard of him, and he realized why on closer inspection: every album in the crates was made of cardboard. Each package was intricately crafted, complete with gatefold interiors, extensive liner notes, and grooves drawn onto the "vinyl." Some albums were even covered in shrinkwrap, as if purchased at actual record stores. The crates contained nearly 200 LPs and 45s by Mingering Mike, as well as other artists like Joseph War, the Big "D," and Rambling Ralph, on labels such as Sex Records, Decision, and Ming/War. There were also soundtracks to imaginary films, a benefit album for sickle cell anemia, and a tribute to Bruce Lee. Hadar put his detective skills to work and soon found himself at the door of the elusive man responsible for this alternate universe of funk. Their friendship blossomed and Mike revealed the story of his life and his many albums, hit singles, and movie soundtracks. A solitary boy raised by his brothers, sisters, and cousins, Mike lost himself in a world of his own imaginary superstardom, basing songs and albums on his and his family's experiences. Early teenage songs obsessed with love and heartache soon gave way to social themes surrounding the turbulent era of civil rights protests and political upheavalbrought even closer to home when Mike himself went underground dodging the Vietnam War.
In Mingering Mike, Hadar tells the story of a man and his myth: the kid who dreamed of being a star and the fantastical "careers" of the artists he created. All of Mingering Mike's best albums and 45s are presented in full color, finally bringing to the star the adoring audience he always imagined he had.
In Mingering Mike, Hadar tells the story of a man and his myth: the kid who dreamed of being a star and the fantastical "careers" of the artists he created. All of Mingering Mike's best albums and 45s are presented in full color, finally bringing to the star the adoring audience he always imagined he had.
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 22, 2007
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93 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 15, 2022
I’m currently putting the finishing touches together for a book of fake album sleeves, but I am wildly unworthy of even being mentioned in the same breath as the king of the genre, the mighty, mighty Mingering Mike. With some outsider/ naive artists there’s something uncomfortable about whether we’re somehow patronising or taking advantage of them. Henry Darger, for example, is a genius but he was also very clearly deeply troubled so the art is touched with a genuine sense of discomfort that we are somehow overlooking the context. Thank god for Mike. It’s one of the few wholly happy stories in outsider art, a solitary genius who created his own and very detailed world as a form of escapism from the worries and anxieties around him on a daily basis and whose tragic near destruction was saved by savvy record collectors who recognised the beauty of this strange, unique creation
Because Mike’s art is in many ways comparable only to Jandek in as much as it’s not just a musical thing - it’s a conceptual universe that primarily exists as album covers for records that don’t exist, but also include brief sketches of songs and a highly detailed interior world for his musical alter ego and his friends. It allowed him ways to communicate his emotions in a way probably no other art form could - the anti war stuff after he was drafted is genuinely powerful, a real anger replacing the innocent whimsy and an anger you can’t help but feel Mike could not fully articulate himself. There’s a really winning sense of innocent dreams being conjured from the aether in the art and characters. It’s wholly charming and wholly moving
And the book is spectacularly careful in how it tells Mike’s story. There are books and documentaries that definitely feel exploitative in this area, but this feels like a companion to the Song Poem documentary, Off The Charts, in as much as it never takes a lazy route for cheap gags or pretension but instead allows Mike’s story to slowly unfold and with Mike, for once, wholly in control of his legacy. Even the contextual piece at the end is very careful in how it writes about the art, celebrating Mike’s vision rather than reducing him to a novelty. For Mike, this must be one of the happiest outcomes imaginable- he never was a soul superstar, but his world and creation is wildly admired, he has finally released some music and he has now done actual album art. And this I imagine makes something like the Smithsonian now owning them feel small and insignificant in comparison. A beautiful book
Because Mike’s art is in many ways comparable only to Jandek in as much as it’s not just a musical thing - it’s a conceptual universe that primarily exists as album covers for records that don’t exist, but also include brief sketches of songs and a highly detailed interior world for his musical alter ego and his friends. It allowed him ways to communicate his emotions in a way probably no other art form could - the anti war stuff after he was drafted is genuinely powerful, a real anger replacing the innocent whimsy and an anger you can’t help but feel Mike could not fully articulate himself. There’s a really winning sense of innocent dreams being conjured from the aether in the art and characters. It’s wholly charming and wholly moving
And the book is spectacularly careful in how it tells Mike’s story. There are books and documentaries that definitely feel exploitative in this area, but this feels like a companion to the Song Poem documentary, Off The Charts, in as much as it never takes a lazy route for cheap gags or pretension but instead allows Mike’s story to slowly unfold and with Mike, for once, wholly in control of his legacy. Even the contextual piece at the end is very careful in how it writes about the art, celebrating Mike’s vision rather than reducing him to a novelty. For Mike, this must be one of the happiest outcomes imaginable- he never was a soul superstar, but his world and creation is wildly admired, he has finally released some music and he has now done actual album art. And this I imagine makes something like the Smithsonian now owning them feel small and insignificant in comparison. A beautiful book
August 10, 2022
Fun book. A good collection of art. Story is fascinating, so I wish there were a little more text.
March 31, 2009
One cold December morning, Dori Hadar—DJ by night, criminal investigator by day—was digging through crates of records at a flea market in Washington, D.C. There he stumbled into the elaborate world of Mingering Mike—a soul superstar of the 1960s and '70s who released an astonishing 50 albums and at least as many singles in just 10 years. But Hadar had never heard of him, and he realized why on closer inspection: every album in the crates was made of cardboard. Each package was intricately crafted, complete with gatefold interiors, extensive liner notes, and grooves drawn onto the "vinyl." Some albums were even covered in shrinkwrap, as if purchased at actual record stores.
The crates contained nearly 200 LPs and 45s by Mingering Mike, as well as other artists like Joseph War, the Big "D," and Rambling Ralph, on labels such as Sex Records, Decision, and Ming/War. There were also soundtracks to imaginary films, a benefit album for sickle cell anemia, and a tribute to Bruce Lee.
Hadar put his detective skills to work and soon found himself at the door of the elusive man responsible for this alternate universe of funk. Their friendship blossomed and Mike revealed the story of his life and his many albums, hit singles, and movie soundtracks. A solitary boy raised by his brothers, sisters, and cousins, Mike lost himself in a world of his own imaginary superstardom, basing songs and albums on his and his family's experiences. Early teenage songs obsessed with love and heartache soon gave way to social themes surrounding the turbulent era of civil rights protests and political upheaval—brought even closer to home when Mike himself went underground dodging the Vietnam War. In Mingering Mike, Hadar tells the story of a man and his myth: the kid who dreamed of being a star and the fantastical "careers" of the artists he created. All of Mingering Mike's best albums and 45s are presented in full color, finally bringing to the star the adoring audience he always imagined he had.
Dori Hadar is an avid vinyl junkie and can be found scavenging the crates of flea markets as soon as the sun comes up in and around Washington, D.C. Hadar is a DJ by night, specializing in funk, soul, and hip hop, and a criminal investigator by day, investigating murders for a DC-area defense attorney's firm.
Neil Strauss is former columnist for the New York Times and most recently is the author of The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. He has also been the co-writer on memoirs by Marilyn Manson, Dave Navarro, Tommy Lee, and Jenna Jameson.
The crates contained nearly 200 LPs and 45s by Mingering Mike, as well as other artists like Joseph War, the Big "D," and Rambling Ralph, on labels such as Sex Records, Decision, and Ming/War. There were also soundtracks to imaginary films, a benefit album for sickle cell anemia, and a tribute to Bruce Lee.
Hadar put his detective skills to work and soon found himself at the door of the elusive man responsible for this alternate universe of funk. Their friendship blossomed and Mike revealed the story of his life and his many albums, hit singles, and movie soundtracks. A solitary boy raised by his brothers, sisters, and cousins, Mike lost himself in a world of his own imaginary superstardom, basing songs and albums on his and his family's experiences. Early teenage songs obsessed with love and heartache soon gave way to social themes surrounding the turbulent era of civil rights protests and political upheaval—brought even closer to home when Mike himself went underground dodging the Vietnam War. In Mingering Mike, Hadar tells the story of a man and his myth: the kid who dreamed of being a star and the fantastical "careers" of the artists he created. All of Mingering Mike's best albums and 45s are presented in full color, finally bringing to the star the adoring audience he always imagined he had.
Dori Hadar is an avid vinyl junkie and can be found scavenging the crates of flea markets as soon as the sun comes up in and around Washington, D.C. Hadar is a DJ by night, specializing in funk, soul, and hip hop, and a criminal investigator by day, investigating murders for a DC-area defense attorney's firm.
Neil Strauss is former columnist for the New York Times and most recently is the author of The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. He has also been the co-writer on memoirs by Marilyn Manson, Dave Navarro, Tommy Lee, and Jenna Jameson.
January 30, 2008
When I was a kid, I was something of a record collector. Still am. I would sit and listen to Destroyers by Kiss or Vol. 4 by Black Sabbath and stare endlessly at the album covers, trying to figure out what it all meant. I wanted to be part of it, whatever it was. I would imagine what it would be like to be in a band and record music and release records. At twelve, I started playing guitar and the idea of being on a record suddenly became a possibility.
Mingering Mike had a lot of the same dreams I did, only he didn't play an instrument. But he did go right ahead and make records. His were handmade, record sleeve and the record itself, out of cardboard, with his art adorning the covers. The songs were his, written by himself and his cousin, The Big "D", along with covers of his favorite songs. They did some recordings together, sans instruments, providing rhythm with their hands and melody with their voices. He included his family, creating successful careers for some of them as well.
Mingering Mike: The Amazing Career Of An Imaginary Soul Superstar collects Mike's albums covers and records into a nice, oversize paperback, along with essays and biographical information. The story that unfolds is amazing. From Mingering Mike's first interest in being a recording artist to his eventual decision to stop making the records because, "his imaginary career as a soul superstar wasn't going to pay the bills," the reader is indoctrinated into Mingering Mike's secret world. With the fantastic art bookending the essays, you get to see what they're talking about and this is what ultimately pulls you all the way in to Mike's dream.
The best part is that this book was only written because Mike's records were accidentally donated to charity and author, Dori Hadar, found them. It's almost like those talent scouts of the early 20th century stumbling upon genius in the backwoods of America, exposing their finds to the public for a quick buck. Only with Mingering Mike, Hadar just wanted to share the wealth.
Someone needs to make a movie of Mingering Mike's life. Man, that would be a righteous film. Great book!
Mingering Mike had a lot of the same dreams I did, only he didn't play an instrument. But he did go right ahead and make records. His were handmade, record sleeve and the record itself, out of cardboard, with his art adorning the covers. The songs were his, written by himself and his cousin, The Big "D", along with covers of his favorite songs. They did some recordings together, sans instruments, providing rhythm with their hands and melody with their voices. He included his family, creating successful careers for some of them as well.
Mingering Mike: The Amazing Career Of An Imaginary Soul Superstar collects Mike's albums covers and records into a nice, oversize paperback, along with essays and biographical information. The story that unfolds is amazing. From Mingering Mike's first interest in being a recording artist to his eventual decision to stop making the records because, "his imaginary career as a soul superstar wasn't going to pay the bills," the reader is indoctrinated into Mingering Mike's secret world. With the fantastic art bookending the essays, you get to see what they're talking about and this is what ultimately pulls you all the way in to Mike's dream.
The best part is that this book was only written because Mike's records were accidentally donated to charity and author, Dori Hadar, found them. It's almost like those talent scouts of the early 20th century stumbling upon genius in the backwoods of America, exposing their finds to the public for a quick buck. Only with Mingering Mike, Hadar just wanted to share the wealth.
Someone needs to make a movie of Mingering Mike's life. Man, that would be a righteous film. Great book!
July 11, 2008
Elin gave this to me for my birthday. ... Outsider art for obsessive soul fans from a lonely DC teen... I sometimes felt implicated reading this book-- another white man with a fetish for a now-outmoded African-American art form--but in the end, I was still moved by the totality of the world "Mingering Mike" created with the song titles, liner notes, gatefold sleeves, label names, and movies this stands as an engaging imaginary world. I wish someone had recorded a song worthy of the title "3 Footsteps Away From The Altar" or the song "I'm Superman" whose lyrics included the lines:
"I'm Superman"
and now
I need
"Ah"
Superwoman
because
"I'm Superman"
I want 'ta have
some superkids
to carry on
my supername
"Let's face it"
even superman's
got'ta get old
trying ta fly
over all his
wrinkles
trying to go forward
when he's
going backward
aww
"I'm Superman"
bend steel
with my bare hands
and now I need
some kids
to carry on
my supername
"Yeah ho!"
I need ah woman
yawl.
"I'm Superman"
and now
I need
"Ah"
Superwoman
because
"I'm Superman"
I want 'ta have
some superkids
to carry on
my supername
"Let's face it"
even superman's
got'ta get old
trying ta fly
over all his
wrinkles
trying to go forward
when he's
going backward
aww
"I'm Superman"
bend steel
with my bare hands
and now I need
some kids
to carry on
my supername
"Yeah ho!"
I need ah woman
yawl.
April 28, 2009
What makes this book great, to me, is not the art, although the art is amazing; not the writing because the writing is thumbnaily, magazinic, and not at all an inspiration to anyone, I think; not the words of Mingering Mike himself which are occasionally scatterbrained, almost always naive and shopworn; it is the fantasy itself, the world as strange and mistake-ridden as our own, that Mingering Mike created for himself, for us.
Had Mingering Mike the opportunity, he could have made animated features. He could have made games and toys. Hell, if I had my way, there would be a Mingering Mike role-playing game. He wanted to be a famous pop star but he didn't have the talent for it (which is clear from his own words and the lyrics of some of the songs he wrote). What he had a talent for was putting his fantasies onto paper or in otherwords, writing stories. These stories and their illustrations are incredible and for the most part, this book does them justice.
Had Mingering Mike the opportunity, he could have made animated features. He could have made games and toys. Hell, if I had my way, there would be a Mingering Mike role-playing game. He wanted to be a famous pop star but he didn't have the talent for it (which is clear from his own words and the lyrics of some of the songs he wrote). What he had a talent for was putting his fantasies onto paper or in otherwords, writing stories. These stories and their illustrations are incredible and for the most part, this book does them justice.
November 26, 2008
I can hardly describe this book. It's the true story of a found crate of made-up album covers by an r&b singer named Mingering Mike. The author compiles all of these intricately designed faux records in this book and hunts down Mingering Mike to find out the real story behing the amazing artwork and its creator.
September 25, 2014
Mingering Mike is an example of the human imagination at its best, a secret world we are not only lucky enough to create, but also live in. We get to see the often stupefying music industry, with its endless liner notes and logos and marketing strategies, through the eyes of a compassionate, sensitive, and witty young man. Kind of hilarious, kind of heart-breaking. Truly beautiful.
September 8, 2007
An amazing true story of a frustrated young man who imagined a richly detailed career for himself as a recording artist and musical entrepreneur, making dozens of carefully detailed, hand-drawn album covers chronicling his rise to fame.
July 1, 2008
I almost couldn't believe it was real.
November 14, 2007
Amazing album cover art found in a flea market. The art is fantastic!
February 7, 2008
Uhhh, could I relate to this book anymore?! Fans of music, of making music, of outsider art. Sometimes it is enough to live in your head. Sometimes, its the only place one has that makes any sense.
July 8, 2008
The story of a man who created his own little soul empire with cardboard records, and hand-written liner notes. If you like stories of found art and people making do with what they got, this is it.
March 18, 2008
Amazing art and the story appeals to my O.C.D. and interest in real vs. fake.
August 3, 2010
The creative mind! It can't be contained!
June 24, 2011
Fascinating and sad in a driving-past-a-car-accident sort of way.
August 29, 2013
Review at Scrubbles.net, 4/18/07 - http://www.scrubbles.net/2007/04/18/b...
March 14, 2008
BEST BOOK EVER, THE END.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews