The True Story of The Coward Brothers

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The True Story of The Coward Brothers

By: Elvis Costello

Narrated by: T Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, Rhea Seehorn, Edward Hibbert, Stephen Root, Kathreen Khavari

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About this listen

IMPROBABLE AT FIRST!!!
PREPOSTEROUS TO THE LAST!!!
THESE ROCK AND ROLL CHARLATANS CONFOUND, CONFUSE
BUT ULTIMATELY CROON AND CHARM IN THE GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD.

The True Story of The Coward Brothers follows two musical brothers – one English, one American, both the illegitimate sons of dubious parentage who may, as they claim to be, "one and half-brothers" – perhaps a reference to the disparity in their height and relative talents.

In this satirical audio series directed by Christopher Guest (This Is Spinal Tap, Best In Show), Henry and Howard Coward are lightly grilled by radio host, Sterling Lockhart (Harry Shearer; The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live) as they bitterly retrace the story of being duped out of their royalties and rightful place in pop history by their cutthroat manager who, among other things, persuaded them to fake their own deaths. Their sometimes poignant and heartrending story reveal an improbable love triangle involving their publisher's secretary, Phyliss Dandy (Rhea Seehorn; Better Call Saul, VEEP), as well as entertaining listeners with tales of their lost music, unsupportable claims of having written titles curiously adjacent to more famous songs, such as "A Lotta Money", "Tipsy Woman" and their failed attempt at Cold War topicality, "My Baby Just Whistles (Here Come The Missiles)".

This Audible Original features all-new music from The Coward Brothers and boasts an all-star cast which also includes Edward Hibbert (The Prestige, Earthworm Jim), Stephen Root (Barry, Office Space), and Kathreen Khavari (Avengers Assemble, Big Little Lies).

An epic tale of smash hits and broken dreams told in three acts, tune in, Dear Listener, to discover the inscrutable origins of the one and only: The Coward Brothers.

"A music mockumentary for the ages

Music obsessives and comedy fanatics will both find something to love in The True Story of the Coward Brothers, a wholly original audio mockumentary written by new-wave legend Elvis Costello and starring Costello and fellow music icon T Bone Burnett as the titular brothers. A rocking, rollicking listen, The True Story of the Coward Brothers opens on a dispatch from Your Name Here, a radio show hosted by Sterling Lockhart (an exquisitely stoic Harry Shearer), as Henry and Howard Coward regale listeners with the inside story of how their merciless band manager swindled their fortune and ruined their shot at fame. Madcap storytelling and catchy, brilliantly produced mock-pop earworms abound. And the cherry on top? This gem is directed by Christopher Guest, the filmmaker hailed for mockumentaries such as Best in Show and This Is Spinal Tap." —Alanna M.

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Watch the trailer for The True Story of The Coward Brothers

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Elvis Costello

T Bone Burnett

About the Creator and Performer

Born in London and raised there and in Liverpool, Declan Patrick MacManus—also known as Elvis Costello—has been performing in public for over fifty years, solo and with the band Rusty, the Attractions and his current ensemble, The Imposters.

He is a writer and part-time musician who made a number of records in the 20th century, some of which are still remembered today.

Elvis Costello is the composer and lyricist of several hundred songs, including fifteen titles co-written with Paul McCartney and renowned collaborations with Allan Toussaint, The Brodsky Quartet, and T Bone Burnett, with whom he wrote the Academy Award-nominated song, The Scarlet Tide.

Costello has composed songs for artists like Roy Orbison, Chet Baker, and Johnny Cash and written songs with Loretta Lynn, Fito Paez, and his wife, Diana Krall.

He has written lyrics for music by Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Peterson and for twelve Charles Mingus compositions, as well as composing music for twelve unpublished lyrics by Bob Dylan.

Costello’s most enduring songwriting collaboration has been with Burt Bacharach, beginning with the song God Give Me Strength in 1995 and continuing to the present day. Their co-written, award-winning album Painted From Memory led to the composition of a significant number of songs for musical theatre, some of which were collected on the album Look Now and the EP.

He is author of Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, a more than 600-page memoir which has been translated into six languages. Costello is also the composer of a half-finished opera, two ballet scores, and songs for several motion pictures and stage musicals, including an ongoing adaptation of Budd Schulberg’s A Face in the Crowd.

Making his debut in 1977 with the Stiff Records release My Aim Is True, Costello’s recording catalogue now runs to more than thirty-five titles, including Get Happy, Imperial Bedroom, King of America, All This Useless Beauty, North, National Ransom, and Wise Up Ghost with The Roots. 2021 saw the release of a Spanish-language adaptation of his 1978 album This Year’s Model entitled Spanish Model.

He is a member of both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2020 was awarded an O.B.E. for his services to music. He holds two honorary doctorates in music, one from the University of Liverpool and another from the New England Conservatory. Despite this, he is known for playing the guitar with almost no regard for common sense.

About the Performer

With 50 years’ experience in music and entertainment, T Bone Burnett has earned an unparalleled reputation as an innovative artist, songwriter, producer, performer, film and concert producer, record company owner, and artists’ advocate. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Burnett grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, where he first began writing songs and making records as a teenager. In the mid-1970s, Burnett was traveling the country as a musician and record producer when he was asked by Bob Dylan to play guitar in his band on the now-legendary Rolling Thunder Revue tour. That experience led Burnett to form the Alpha Band with David Mansfield and Steven Soles, making three acclaimed albums with the trio before releasing a string of critically acclaimed solo records in the 1980s. Toward the end of that decade, Burnett displayed his unique abilities to effectively meld music with film, producing the groundbreaking all-star music special, Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night.

Burnett has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and 13 Grammy Awards. He’s worked and collaborated with musicians spanning many genres, such as the aforementioned Bob Dylan, Elton John, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, k.d. lang, Elvis Costello, The Civil Wars, Taylor Swift, Ryan Bingham, Counting Crows, Steve Earle, and Leon Russell. Burnett’s highly successful and acclaimed work in film throughout the past 30 years includes his collaboration with the Coen Brothers on The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Ladykillers, Inside Llewyn Davis, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, as well as Cold Mountain, The Hunger Games, Walk the Line, and Crazy Heart, for which he served as one of the film’s producers.

His work in television includes serving as the executive music producer and composer for the HBO series True Detective and the first season of the ABC television series Nashville. In 2014, T Bone handpicked a diverse group of artists to form a band and compose music for newly unearthed Bob Dylan lyrics written at the time of the artist’s historic Basement Tapes recordings. These sessions resulted in the Burnett-produced Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes album and the accompanying Lost Songs documentary on Showtime. Burnett was nominated for Emmy Awards for the scores of True Detective and for his work with Jack White and Robert Redford on American Epic, a multi-part, multimedia project that explores the history of music in America, as well as its global roots.

His work as a recording artist continues with an ambitious three-album series in collaboration with drummer Jay Bellerose and keyboardist Keefus Ciancia, The Invisible Light. The first volume, Acoustic Space, was released in 2019 and the second was released in early 2021.

A music mockumentary for the ages

Music obsessives and comedy fanatics will both find something to love in The True Story of the Coward Brothers, a wholly original audio mockumentary written by new-wave legend Elvis Costello and starring Costello and fellow music icon T Bone Burnett as the titular brothers. A rocking, rollicking listen, The True Story of the Coward Brothers opens on a dispatch from Your Name Here, a radio show hosted by Sterling Lockhart (an exquisitely stoic Harry Shearer), as Henry and Howard Coward regale listeners with the inside story of how their merciless band manager swindled their fortune and ruined their shot at fame. Madcap storytelling and catchy, brilliantly produced mock-pop earworms abound. And the cherry on top? This gem is directed by Christopher Guest, the filmmaker hailed for mockumentaries such as Best in Show and This Is Spinal Tap.

Alanna M.

Audible Editor

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