Toast of the Town: The Life and Times of Sunnie Wilson (Great Lakes Books) [Hardcover]

Sunnie Wilson (Author), John F. Cohassey (Author)

Book Description

Series: Great Lakes Books | Publication Date: March 1998

Sunnie Wilson migrated to Detroit from South Carolina and quickly became an entertainment and business entrepreneur, best friends with the likes of Duke Ellington and Joe Louis. Based on taped interviews and extensive research, TOAST OF THE TOWN fills a void in the documented history of Detroit's black business and entertainment community from the 1920s to the present. 64 illustrations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Wayne State University Press (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814326951
• ISBN-13: 978-0814326954
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,378,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mayor's platform was "A porkchop in every fridge", November 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Toast of the Town: The Life and Times of Sunnie Wilson (Great Lakes Books) (Hardcover)

and Sunnie Wilson lived up to that motto by giving back generously to the black community. His motto might also have been "a bed and good meal for every musician" because he owned and operated the Mark Twain Hotel expressly for that purpose. BB King, Dizzy Gillespie,Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and many more stayed there. Sunnie also ran several show bars in Detroit's "northern" Paradise Valley. The book contains hundreds of stories having to do with musicians whose names are very common today. He was also very influencial in the political climate of the 1930 and 1940s in Detroit, and provides much insite into those times. Some of his greatest successes occured in the rich entertainment district that centered around John R, where today the Detroit Medical Center sits. To understand the history, you have to read the book, almost nothing remains of what was sometimes called the "near eastside ghetto".

A great read. It reads like a novel, but leaves you with hard facts that easily pop up in conversation, and give perspective into the future.

5.0 out of 5 stars I was there........., July 12, 2008

By 

Peter F. Walsh (Palm Springs, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toast of the Town: The Life and Times of Sunnie Wilson (Great Lakes Books) (Hardcover)

I was there. The stories are all true, Sunnie was exactly that: "sunnie", always a smile and ever dapper, he was the consumate host. The Mark Twain Hotel was a great place to meet the most famous jazz musicians in informal settings while they lounged or rehearsed. As a young, white broadcast engineer traveling with a national jazz radio program, I must say the Hotel was more like a home away from home than a Hotel. I stayed in room 38. Good times. Great book.