"Somebody has to pay the dues", says La Vern Baker. Here are the remarkable stories of six dazzlingly talented performers who blazed the R & B trail -- the story of the performers' music and also of their struggle against racism and financial exploitation: Ruth Brown and La Vern Baker, two of the most popular female black singers of the 1950s...Little Jimmy Scott, whom Madonna calls the only singer who ever really made her cry...Charles Brown, master of the "club blues" style...Floyd Dixon, a more rambunctious fellow-traveler...and the earthy, urbane Jimmy Witherspoon, who recorded some of the biggest R & B hits ever.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
A noted jazz critic for the New York Post, Deffaa turns his attention to the world of rhythm and blues in his latest work. He does an admirable job of providing social and historical context for the lives of six R&B pioneers?Ruth Brown, Little Jimmy Scott, Charles Brown, Floyd Dixon, LaVern Baker, and Jimmy Witherspoon. The author knows his subjects well and allows them to recount their part in the story, but he relates both their successes and their failures in his balanced text. The book includes extensive notes and a detailed selective discography. Readable and enjoyable, it will provide insights to both lay readers and scholars. Highly recommended for all libraries with an interest in rhythm and blues.?Ronald S. Russ, Brooklyn P.L.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Deffaa is a careful writer and an indefatigable researcher. His initial questions spark the memory, and revelations and observations spill out." -- San Francisco Examiner
"Delicious reading...compelling." -- Multicultural Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"Delicious reading...compelling." -- Multicultural Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
We're going to do 'St. Louis Blues.' Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
much jelly roll, unrecouped balances, pop charts, daughter mean, composer credits, chart hits, blues performers, independent record companies Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ruth Brown, Charles Brown, New York, Johnny Moore, Los Angeles, Floyd Dixon, Ray Charles, Jimmy Witherspoon, Bessie Smith, United States, Tweedlee Dee, Little Jimmy Scott, Nat King Cole, Amos Milburn, Drifting Blues, Ain't Nobody's Business, Atlantic Records, Joe Turner, Eddie Williams, Jim Dandy, Louis Jordan, Ahmet Ertegun, Eddie Mesner, Apollo Theatre, Billie Holiday New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
We're going to do 'St. Louis Blues.' Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
much jelly roll, unrecouped balances, pop charts, daughter mean, composer credits, chart hits, blues performers, independent record companies Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ruth Brown, Charles Brown, New York, Johnny Moore, Los Angeles, Floyd Dixon, Ray Charles, Jimmy Witherspoon, Bessie Smith, United States, Tweedlee Dee, Little Jimmy Scott, Nat King Cole, Amos Milburn, Drifting Blues, Ain't Nobody's Business, Atlantic Records, Joe Turner, Eddie Williams, Jim Dandy, Louis Jordan, Ahmet Ertegun, Eddie Mesner, Apollo Theatre, Billie Holiday New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
33
books
cite this book:
See all 33 books citing this book
- Rhino's Cruise Through the Blues by Barry Hansen on page 104, and Back Matter
- Theremin: ETHER MUSIC AND ESPIONAGE (Music in American Life) by Albert Glinsky in Back Matter
- "MAXIMUM CLARITY" AND OTHER WRITINGS ON MUSIC by Ben Johnston in Back Matter
- Henry Cowell, Bohemian (Music in American Life) by Michael Dustin Hicks in Back Matter
- Music in Lubavitcher Life (Music in American Life) by Ellen Koskoff in Back Matter
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