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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Massive documentation work available to every soul music fan,
By
This review is from: Chicago Soul (Music in American Life) (Paperback)
Robert Pruter has done an outstanding job researching and compiling, covering every aspect of the beautiful music that was produced by the african-americans in Chicago, the best part being created in the 60's. A must for every music enthusiast. He virtually left no stone unturned, and this book has become the source to turn to whenever you want to check out a particular fact about a band a singer or a label, or if you just want to go back to that era. Back then music wasn't standardized and didn't sound the same wherever you went. Every big town had it's own sound and Chicago's surely was one of the most important together with not far away Detroit.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yes there was other soul music than Motown & Stax,
By Music Lover "greatlandini" (Annapolis, MD) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Chicago Soul (Music in American Life) (Paperback)
I agree with all other reviewers. Of course, I love Motown, Stax-Volt, Philadelphia sound & others, but Chicago Soul often gets overlooked or lumped in with Motown.
How refreshing to read a book just about the music & not all of the tabloid trash of many Motown books. Sure, the Chicago artists had their problems, which the author mentions when they are relevant to the story, but he doesn't dwell on them. In one book you get to read about Curtis Mayfield/Impressions; Major Lance; Dells; Gene Chandler; Dee Clark; Chi-lites & countless others. Pruter is not afraid to criticise the music, especially stuff from the Disco era. He is meticulous in his details about recordings, etc. He spends a couple of pages discussing Soul Radio in the 60s which is much too brief. I only hope someone will write a book about that subject sometime. Also, he devotes a chapter to Dance records which is very interesting. My other favorite parts of the book are some of the stories about the artists, especially ones who aren't too well known like Jan Bradley who did "Mama Didn't Lie." Pruter tells a wonderful story about Bradley working with Robert Talty, an older white record producer who really believed in her talent. And sorry, there are no sleazy details about an affair or anything. Just two people working together on music that they loved! In fact, Talty worked mostly out of his home & involved his wife & daughters in his music endeavors. It is also fun to read the stories behind the songs, like how Fontella Bass' classic "Rescue Me" was produced or how guitarist Phil Upchurch & Dee Clark hashed out the details of Clark's big hit "Raindrops" while driving in a rainstorm. Probably the reason that Chicago Soul isn't better known is that there wasn't one label over all the music like Motown or Atlantic. Sure there were labels like Vee Jay & Chess, but there were a whole host of smaller labels too & well as distribution deals with larger labels. It is kind of sad to read about the demise of Chess records. I would have loved to have been in the storeroom & grabbed some of those leftover Chess albums that were thrown out when the label went out of business & a new owner took over the building. Anway, stories like that make this a wonderful read for any Soul Music fan.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All you ever wanted to know about Chicago soul music.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Chicago Soul (Music in American Life) (Paperback)
"Chicago Soul" is an excellent history of rhythm and blues in Chicago--the singers, songwriters, producers, record companies, and other major players. It is the definitive work on the subject by the author considered to be "the" authority on Chicago soul music. If you want to know Chicago soul music's antecedents, "Doowoop: The Chicago Scene" by the same author is a must.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The central downtown section of Chicago, popularly called the Loop for the elevated-train structure that circles through it, abuts Lake Michigan on the east. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
soul music industry, black popular dance, lasting eleven weeks, black singles chart, soul chart, soul era, hard soul, local hit, baritone lead, soul market, fad dances, national hit, dance fads, sizable hit, soft soul, subsidiary label, national charts, gospel field, position sixteen, second tenor, soul style, record row, dance records, recording center, rack jobbers Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Vee Jay, New York, Robert Pruter, Carl Davis, Cash Box, Gene Chandler, South Side, Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, Billy Butler, Duke of Earl, Chess Records, Tyrone Davis, South Michigan, Major Lance, Chicago Defender, Los Angeles, Billy Davis, Gerald Sims, Dee Clark, North Side, Jackie Wilson, Otis Clay, Otis Leavill, Five Du-Tones New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The central downtown section of Chicago, popularly called the Loop for the elevated-train structure that circles through it, abuts Lake Michigan on the east. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
soul music industry, black popular dance, lasting eleven weeks, black singles chart, soul chart, soul era, hard soul, local hit, baritone lead, soul market, fad dances, national hit, dance fads, sizable hit, soft soul, subsidiary label, national charts, gospel field, position sixteen, second tenor, soul style, record row, dance records, recording center, rack jobbers Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Vee Jay, New York, Robert Pruter, Carl Davis, Cash Box, Gene Chandler, South Side, Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, Billy Butler, Duke of Earl, Chess Records, Tyrone Davis, South Michigan, Major Lance, Chicago Defender, Los Angeles, Billy Davis, Gerald Sims, Dee Clark, North Side, Jackie Wilson, Otis Clay, Otis Leavill, Five Du-Tones New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
58
books
cite this book:
See all 58 books citing this book
- Higher Ground: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rise and Fall of American Soul by Craig Werner on 5 pages
- What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture by Mark Anthony Neal on 4 pages
- Jackie Wilson: Lonely Teardrops by Tony Douglas on page 250, page 262, and Back Matter
- What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture by Mark Anthony Neal on page 52, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Story of Chess Records by John Collis on page 182, page 184, and Back Matter
See all 58 books citing this book
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