The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers Between Music and Technology

In his engaging memoir, British New Wave icon Dolby retraces his journey from London stock clerk to pop star to unlikely success as a Silicon Valley pioneer. A tech savant, Dolby ditched school at 16 and tried for a career in punk-rock London. In short order, he was cowriting, playing, and producing for groups such as Whodini, Prefab Sprout, and Foreigner. He then became a celebrity when “She Blinded Me with Science” flew up the charts in the U.S. Disillusioned with the music business after the commercial failures of his following albums, Dolby turned to an odd new phenomenon known as the Internet and relocated to the Bay Area. Intuition informed him that consumers wanted more than bleeps and blats on their cell phones, and after a decade-long struggle piloting a startup, he hit the jackpot with his RetroFolio ringtone software. Soon afterward, he returned to England and composing. Dolby’s style—understated but acute—and wealth of anecdotes make for an enjoyable narrative, even if he soft-pedals the ambition and talent that drove his success. His winding career crosses the paths of a celebrity ensemble—including Eddie Van Halen, Bill Gates, David Bowie, and George Clinton—under very odd circumstances, including close encounters of the disturbing kind with Michael Jackson. To those who know Dolby only from his 1980s bug-eyed mad-scientist persona, his punk roots and windsurfing chops will come as shock, but the bespectacled Brit is more Renaissance man than one-hit wonder. Agents: Merrilee Heifetz and Lisa DiMona, Writers House. (Oct.) This review has been edited to reflect the correct agent information for the book.