The snowbirds are slowly beginning to return and downtown Palm Springs is bustling with visitors again, so it's no surprise that event season is kicking back into gear.
One longtime downtown Palm Springs business, Just Fabulous, got its own season started Oct. 24 when it hosted the first of many book signings it has planned for the last quarter of 2026 — a stacked series of seasoned writers with memorable stories to share.
It all kicked off with David Friedman, a composer, lyricist, conductor and author living in the New York City area who's best known for his work on Broadway shows, Disney films and writing for stars like Diana Ross, Barry Manilow, Alison Krauss, and Nancy LaMott. His new memoir, "Stories of My Life," came out earlier this year,
and on Saturday, Oct. 24, he signed copies and took photos with friends and fans who came to support.
We spoke to Friedman before the event, and the below Q&A shares everything from his process to his favorite celebrity anecdote in the book. (Editor's note: This Q&A has been edited for clarity and shortened for brevity.)
What was your biggest concern — if any — writing this book, and how did you overcome it?
My biggest concern in writing the book was, “Would people who don’t know me read it?” I knew my stories were interesting, funny, inspiring. I knew my friends and people who knew me from show business or from the metaphysics world would be interested. But what would make someone who didn’t know me pick it up?
My editor was great. She really encouraged me to begin the book letting people know who I am, what I’ve done, who I’ve worked with, the various struggles I’ve overcome, so people might be inspired to pick up the book. So far it seems to have worked. I’ve gotten lots of emails from people I don’t know saying they’re really enjoying it.
What was the writing process like compared to your other six books? Did it take more or less time to write?
My first three were on The Thought Exchange, my metaphysics practice, then I wrote two books based on my songs 'We Can Be Kind' and 'Help is on the Way,' and then, after a breakup many years ago, in an effort to recover, I interviewed couples of long-standing to see how they met, and wrote a book called “How They Met.”
This writing process was quite different. A number of years ago, I was taking a walk with my friend Lucie Arnaz, and she said 'You tell more stories than anyone I know. No matter what the conversation, you’re always ready with a fascinating anecdote, a joke, a piece of inspiration, a healing aphorism, a story about a celebrity, your Jewish grandmother, or sometimes just a plain old piece of gossip. You should put all your stories into a book.'
The process of writing this was quite different from the others, because I just sat and as each story from my life came to mind, I wrote it down, in no particular order. So I would think of a story about my grandmother, then some show-business story would come to mind, then an aphorism, then a joke, and I would just write them as they came. The process took me two years, and then it took me another year to edit the stories in to categories and an organized form. Usually a book takes me six months to a year. This was much longer.
How did you choose what anecdotes to include in the book, and do you have a favorite? Any you were hesitant to include?
I actually decided to tell ALL of them. I wanted this book to be a legacy of my whole life, and also to make the point that we are all the sum of ALL our stories.
The main thing I left out were some of the heavier stories of abuse in my childhood because they didn’t fit the tone of the book. But I think I give a good picture of both the challenges and the joys of my early life. I did get into some stories that were upsetting, like some of my experiences on the 'Today' show, (which mostly were wonderful but which contained a particularly challenging relationship with one of the hosts — you’ll have to read the book to find out which one), and my experience with the girlfriend my father took up after my mother’s death who nearly destroyed our family. I also, of course, changed or left out names where it might 'out' someone in some way.
I would say that my favorite story is my experience with Angela Lansbury (who played Mrs. Potts) on the film 'Beauty and the Beast.' Angela had not wanted to do the film because she thought she couldn’t sing it, and they sent me to convince her to do it, which I did. (The entire story is in the book.) The most gratifying moment was when we recorded the song 'Beauty and the Beast.' We recorded the orchestra, they went home, and the recording of Angela singing in the film is her sitting about 2 feet from me and singing it to me! Every time I hear that song, I hear it as though it were just for me.
What’s your relationship to Palm Springs, and what do you love most about the city?
When our friends Lucie Arnaz and Larry Luckinbill moved to Palm Springs from Connecticut (where we lived) my husband and I bought a southwestern style picture frame, and in southwestern style letters, wrote "SU Casa e MI Casa" (Your house is my house) promising that we would visit. We generally visit at least once a year. We have a lot of New York friends here and have met many more. There is such a warm, welcoming group of people here and the weather is so beautiful. We keep threatening to move here, and some day we just might.
We hadn’t seen Lucie and Larry in a couple of years, and we made arrangements to come out here for a visit. Lucie suggested that since I’d recently come out with a new book I might want to do a signing out here, and hooked me up with Stephen Monkarsh at Just Fabulous.
What did you learn from working with Diana Ross?
I actually, believe it or not, never met Diana Ross. I just had a quadruple platinum hit song with her, But from the experience I definitely learned perseverance.
(After getting told it wasn't a hit) I gave her (Victoria Lang) the song, she gave it to her co-producer, Harriet Mauro, Harriet handed it to her husband, Scott Mauro, who was Diana Ross’ publicist, Scott sat down in Diana’s living room and played it for her, and I had a quadruple platinum hit. It taught me never to give up.
What’s your favorite piece you’ve ever composed and why? And can you share any fun facts about the creative process behind it?
The one song of mine I want the whole world to hear is “We Can Be Kind.” I think that’s what this world needs most. I used to do an annual benefit called “In Celebration of Life,” where they would pair composers with singers and ask us to write a new song about healing. Nancy and I would always close the benefit with whatever I had written for her. One year, I asked her what she wanted to sing about, and she said, “I was on the bus today, and this bitch was so nasty and rude! Can you write a song about how we should be nice to each other?” And this is what I wrote.
Limited autographed copies of Friedman's book remain at Just Fabulous. Visit bjustfabulous.com to snag a copy.
If you go
Other upcoming Just Fabulous (located at 515 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite A4, Palm Springs) book signings include:
-Book Signing with Lydia Kremer for "100 Things to Do in Palm Springs Before You Die": 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25.
-Book Signing with Mauricio Padilha for "Jean Louis: Hollywood's Bombshell Designer": 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7
-Book Signing with Frank DeCaro for "Disco": 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8
-Book Signing and Photo Opportunity with Charlie Nunn & Raymond Janis for "Hollywood Tails": Noon-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14
-Book Signing with Dave Karger for "50 Nights": 1-3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6
Visit bjustfabulous.com/pages/fabulous-events to see a full list of the store's upcoming events, and to RSVP.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Meet the writer behind Diana Ross hit 'Your Love' who never met her
