Tamara Saviano To Release Memoir

Tamara Saviano will release the memoir The Most Beautiful Girl: A True Story of a Dad, a Daughter and the Healing Power of Music, on Feb. 10, 2014 on American Roots Press.

Saviano has carved an impressive music industry career over the past several years. She works with songwriters Kris Kristofferson and Guy Clark. She was honored for her production work on Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster, which earned a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2005.

The Most Beautiful Girl delves into the Wisconsin native’s childhood, chronicling the strained relationship between father and daughter, and the lasting power of music. Kristofferson penned the book’s foreward.

The book begins at Johnny Cash’s funeral, where Saviano grieves the lost connection with her father. Saviano’s father, Robert Ruditys, died two years before Cash. Ruditys had not spoken to his only daughter for more than a decade before his death. She later finds comfort in her father’s favorite music.

“There was always music on the stereo in our house,” Saviano recalls. “It was part of the fabric of our day-to-day lives. As I was trying to figure out how to reconcile my Dad’s death, I listened to his music. He was into Cash and Sun Records and the Memphis Soul music that Stax issued in the 1960s. While I listened to Otis and Aretha and Cash, I went back and read my childhood diaries. My goal was to find peace and acceptance about my Dad, which I did, but it took writing this book to do it.”

Saviano, who moved to Nashville nearly two decades ago, also records her journey into the music industry. After working in radio, she decided to make the move to Nashville. “I was 34 and a single mom leaving the only home I ever knew. I was working in radio at a job I loved and had great friends,” Saviano says. “I cried while driving to Nashville asking myself ‘did I make a horrible mistake?’”

The chance paid off beautifully. Saviano launched a public relations company, signing Kris Kristofferson has a client. She later expanded into artist management, project management and consulting. Saviano also co-wrote the eBook From Art to Commerce: A Workbook for Independent Musicians.

Saviano is also a former music journalist (Country Music Magazine) and television producer (Great American Country). She is currently writing a biography of Guy Clark.