Customer Reviews

The Death of Rhythm and Blues

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nelson George's arguments are clear, well-organized, and powerful. While reading, I was forced to look at things differently than I ever had before. The ideological vision of integration is an honorable one, but the simple fact demonstrated in The Death of Rhythm & Blues is that integration is forever indebted to black utility for white profit. It is likely that race relations in this country would be quite different if whites had not benefited from the talent and ingenuity of black athletes and performers in such a profitable fashion. This is ground that history teachers rarely, if ever, tread on. It is quite tragic to know that the unique and powerful black culture from which basically all popular music is derived, can be so easily forgotten or ignored. George's position is most intriguing in that it reminded me that history may belong to the teller, but there are many stories to be told. I consider myself fortunate to have heard this one.

I've read a lot of books on musical roots in the last 30 years...to understand what really happened in the history of black music in America you have to understand what went down for the African-American in a white controlled enviroment. Mr. George holds nothing back and lets true history smack us all in the face. I would like to comment on a couple of points relating to white men playing black-roots music. Nelson commented that although Elvis was totally involved in black music ( and hair styles, clothe,etc.) that he essentially became a "wimp". I feel his material got wimpy, because of the white-music-machine & Tom Parker..but,I beleive the inner Elvis had "soul" in it's truest form. Then Nelsons examples of white boys who actually could play the blues 1. Eric Clapton, who I find leaves me cold with the text-book perfect licks pumped out with computer accuracy & 2. Johnny Winter, who to my ear does the classic wanna-be style playing of "more- notes-faster"...typical of the white boy trying so hard to over compensate, that it loses what it was all about in the first place, FEELING! These are just small things that bugged me a bit...the book is not about white boys wanting to play black music...it has a much deeper and more important message...a very eye openning look at reality in the music buisness and the black experience...I will continue to read Nelson George, he is saying things I'd like my children to understand. People deserve to here the truth.

The thing that bothers me about books like this is,disco gets ALL the blame for the demise of "black music" but rap/hiphop always gets a free pass.
No I don't like it that disco seemed to take over & knock the superior Funk genre out of the way,but at least in disco,people were still playing INSTRUMENTS.
What is considered R&B,since the mid 90s is basically just beats & nothing more.
There is nothing in this book expressing dismay at the thought of DJs & sampling replacing LIVE BANDS,which is the true death of R&B.

Nelson George's best work, the book he was born to write. His most sincere and true book, everything else he has done seems experimental. I read somewhere that he was influenced by Leroi Jones. His admiration of Leroi Jones' Blues People shows through and through. If you enjoyed The Death of Rhythm and Blues, then you would enjoy Blues People: it reads like a prequel to the Death of Rhythm and Blues.

Sadly both writers were content in becoming 'black writers' and perhaps it couldn't have been avoided. One wishes that Nelson George and Leroi Jones (since calling himself Amiri Baraka) would have followed up with biographies of some of the great musicians.

Great and informative book on the pre and post world war I history of Black music. It is said that 'history repeats itself for those who refuse to study it'. Thus, this book actually gave me a historical understanding as to why Hip Hop is in the state it's currently in (dying). The only issue I had with it is that Nelson ends the book on the issue of Hip Hop when its obvious he hasn't quite done the proper homework. There was no mention of Kool Herc or Bambaata as the originators of the art form and instead the credit is given to DJ Hollywood declaring the "rap started in the discos" (it actually started in the STREETS of the bronx at least 10 years before it found it's way into the discos). HOWEVER, roughly 10 years later, Nelson authors 'Hip Hop America' (which I'm currently reading) and (so far) totally redeems himself. He has used the time wisely to reflect on his own historical relationship with the art form (having been one of the first, if not THE first, journalists to cover Hip Hop in 1979 - not to mention his monumental Source interview with 'the 3 Fathers of Hip Hop', Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaata and Grand Master Flash) and accurately depicts Hip Hop's organic and humble beginnings.

Still 'The Death of Rhythm and Blues' is a MUST-READ for anyone seriously concerned about the future of Black music as well as the the Black community for, as Nelson bluntly puts it, "it is clear that Black America's assimilationist obsession is heading it straight towards cultural suicide" .

the cross over dream and what it meant for R&B is still felt all of these years later. Nelson George did a fantastic job of explaining his stance and also enlighten so many on what happen to R&B and what the future of it just might be. this book goes through various eras and you can see the blueprint of the past which leads to now. this book is timeless and still speaks to today on so many levels with the technilogy and the attitude toward the cross over dream at all costs. a must read.

I gained knowledge from reading this book, and I could relate completely. I am giving this book a four star simply because there was a lot of jargon that made some sections hard to read, if you are not a musician. Then again, it is a book about music.

Here are some excerpts that moved me:

"Through the history of black music in the United States, it has been through the repetition and revision of texts, through the interplay of black language and black music in a long chain of Signifyin(g) tropes, that African American peasants became and continue to be the poets in a land that initially denied them the right to be called artists of any stripe. But poets they have become, as makers of the spirituals and the blues, as creators of R&B and rock `n` roll, and as composers of works for the concert hall. It is clear from the nature of their texts and their tunes that the makers of this music--the repeaters and revisers of the musical derivatives of the ring--have privileged and honored the spirit of Esu as, for example, that spirit is personified in the redoubtable Harriet Tubman, who bid many thousands to come ride her train.." The only thing I can say is "preach brotha, preach!" - Big Sistah Pat

"In the 1960s, gospel music became entertainment." Interesting! - Big Sistah Pat

"Sometimes when "new" sounds emerge in jazz they are perceived as foreign to the black-music tradition and, consequently, are unacceptable to many critics, mostly white, who reside on the margins of the culture. For example, John Coltrane's sound was strongly criticized as being inferior, but was applauded and appreciated by listeners from within the culture." Ain't that some bull! De folks ise all dat matters!" - Big Sistah Pat

Reviewer's Note:

This comment reminds me of how the mainstream critics hate Tyler Perry. Yet he is loved and supported by numerous regular folks in Black American society. The so-called critics have no value to the folks that support Tyler's productions. They determine what is worthy of their support, not self appointed outsiders. He speaks to them and aspects of Black American culture they can identify.

"In the late nineteenth century, the advertising of musical products became the primary means of developing, perpetuating, and communicating the negative images of black people in American society. The coon song was the vehicle for repeating these messages in American culture. The stereotypes perpetuated by these publications linger as both conscious and unconscious images of blacks in the memory of countless Americans." What fool said that images aren't powerful! -- Big Sistah Pat

"Essentially and most fundamentally, the African-American musical experience is largely self-criticizing and self-validating. As such experiences unfold, for example, listeners show approval, disapproval, or puzzlement with vocal and physical responses to, and interaction with, events as they occur. African Americans serve critical notice on inferior music making either by withholding their participation or, as in New York's tough Apollo Theatre in the 1940's and 1950's, by addressing criticism directly to the performers on stage. The culturally attuned are aware when the notes and the rhythms do not fit the context and when the idiomatic orientation is wrong; they know when an act is a Signifyin(g) one, when it is effective, and when it is not". You got that right. You know how well you are doing right then by the audience response. We are going to let you know. - Big Sistah Pat

I would recommend this book if you have a strong interest in learning about the origins and the evolution of African American music in the United States.

this book is very honest.10 years back the cross-over dreams achived by michael jackson,prince,lionel richie,whitney houston,janet jackson, and the rise of rap at the time put this book on point.cuz 10 years later rap has crossed over like the artist i mentioned and artists before them and though artists like michael jackson always had a cross over crowd many other artists have tried to hard to be pop accepted. and it's coast them careers and credibility.this book points out artists that have tried to hard to be accepted.also lack of black on black support as far as management,tour personnel,etcc.black radio and programmers.this is a must read very insightful and to the point.also it's my fave of his books cuz it predates everything that is happening in hip-hop and rap today not to mention the lameness that goes for r-n-b today.artist that tried to cross-over so bad have made it worse for todays r-n-b. this book shows that point and more.

My favorite singer of this era is Percy Sledge who recorded the song, "When A Man Loves A Woman'; my favorite of all of his songs was recorded at the studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, "Take Time to Know Her." He is represented at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Florence, Alabama, and gave a concert in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, a few years ago. The demise of this type of music, I think, was the antics of The King of Soul, James Brown, and his prison time; also Ike Turner beating up on Tina. I could not stand for my young son to watch Michael Jackson on t.v. as Michael was so vulgar, always cradling his privates with his hands. What message did that get to young children? We did not know then that he abused young boys at Neverland. We all loved rhythm and blues. But, like pop music, it had its time and space in the music world.

In February, 1969, a study titled "Black-White Contact in Schools: Its Social and Academic Effects" was published by Purdue University sociologist Martin Patchen. In it, he concludes "Available evidence indicates that interracial contact in schools does not have consistent positive effects on students' racial attitudes and behavior or on the academic prformance of minority students." In March, it was declared that the AIDS virus started in Africa and on the Caribbean island, Haita and spread to the United States via tourists. Get this! Susan Sontag decided in 1988 that "the virus was sent to Africa from the U.S. as an act of bacteriological warfare" as a conspiracy.

July, 1985, a survey conducted in New York City using the HIV antibody test finds that of frequent drug users, 87 percent carried the infection. The majority of the addicts were black and Hispanic. In August 1988, on Zachary's birthday, Jean-Michael Basquiat died in New York village of a heroin overdose at the age of 27 (Zach was 26 then). He was a graffiti artist whose pieces sold for $50,000 at the time of his death. There was a lot of debate about his artistic worth.

This book traverses the years 1979 to 1989 in America and is mostly about the singers and groups in the entertainment area but also writers which proliferated during that time. It is the time of affirmative action and Clarence Thomas who was married to a Causcasian woman but courted the office girls and almost lost his nomination. I watched it all on t.v. The girl took all the blame, and she was honest and above-board, blameless. The results of overcompensation has caused much turmoil for us all in America and some are deceitful by trying to pull the wool over the eyes of political figures to the detriment of everybody.