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30th out of 700 books
—
480 voters
Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom
This masterful exploration of American roots music--country, rockabilly, and the blues--spotlights the artists who created a distinctly American sound, including Ernest Tubb, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, and Sleepy LaBeef. In incisive portraits based on searching interviews with these legendary performers, Peter Guralnick captures the boundless passion...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
July 1st 1999
by Back Bay Books
(first published 1986)
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I really enjoyed this book. Quality history, interviews, plus interesting anecdotes and commentary on a uniquely American music form, without alot of star-eyed, fanzine, hagiographic drivel (if a writer gets a little carried away and waxes a bit overwrought in describing the talents of an artist like, say, Aretha Frankin, it seems to me unduly harsh to criticise). As for the author's choice to focus on "Southern Soul", the artists, studios, and labels that produced their work in Southern places...more
" 'Rick contacted me about the session, but he didn't know who in hell was coming in. I said, "Who you got?" He said, "Aretha Franklin." I said, "Boy, you better get your damn shoes on. You getting someone who can sing." Even the Memphis guys didn't really know who in the hell she was. I said, "Man, this woman gonna knock you out." They're all going, "Big deal!" When she come in there and sit down at the piano and hit that first chord, everybody was just like little bees just buzzing around the...more
He's not as pretentious as Greil Marcus or as energetic as Lester Bangs, but Peter Guralnick sure can write books. I've had this one on the shelf for seven years, and I'm surprised it took me this long to get around to reading it. It's a little different for a Guralnick book, in that it's not a biography or a gathering of shorter profiles, although that element is present in the Solomon Burke, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin chapters. Mostly it's a back-and-forth history with a huge, fascinatin...more
This is an excellent, highly readable history focusing on Memphis (home of Stax Records) and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, along with the executives, artists, writers and studio musicians who made the local labels and studios the creative forces they were.
I had read Guralnick's biographies of Elvis Presley and Sam Cooke. While both are excellent, the suffer from an excess reliance on pure chronology. At times, each of these biographies become day-to-day chronicles of their subjects. This book, because...more
I had read Guralnick's biographies of Elvis Presley and Sam Cooke. While both are excellent, the suffer from an excess reliance on pure chronology. At times, each of these biographies become day-to-day chronicles of their subjects. This book, because...more
Jul 27, 2011
Jean-denis Crouhy
added it
La référence absolue sur la Soul et du rythm 'n' Blues du sud des États-Unis !
L'auteur a interviewé tous les acteurs vivant de cette période (le livre est de 1985) et il raconte l'histoire des labels du sud :Stax, Fame, Hi Records...(avec aussi un apparté sur Atlantic qui distribua ces labels et eu plusieurs partenariats avec eux) ainsi que la vie de ses plus grands chanteurs : Otis Redding, James Brown, Solomon Burke, Joe Tex, Wilson Picket, Percy Sledge, Rufus Thomas, Aretha Franklin...
Ce livr...more
L'auteur a interviewé tous les acteurs vivant de cette période (le livre est de 1985) et il raconte l'histoire des labels du sud :Stax, Fame, Hi Records...(avec aussi un apparté sur Atlantic qui distribua ces labels et eu plusieurs partenariats avec eux) ainsi que la vie de ses plus grands chanteurs : Otis Redding, James Brown, Solomon Burke, Joe Tex, Wilson Picket, Percy Sledge, Rufus Thomas, Aretha Franklin...
Ce livr...more
Reading this book twenty-five years after its publication was probably a better experience than reading it in 1986 because of the advent of YouTube. What a wonderful experience to read the backstories about the creation of brilliant music as I listened to the old recordings Guralnick wrote about - sometimes accompanied by old footage of the singers and sometimes accompanied by a video of the original 45 spinning on the turntable! Just a delight.
an enjoyable history of the rise and fall of stax records and the music scene around memphis in the '60s, with meanders around the lives of sam cooke, solomon burke, james brown and arthea franklin. i thought more could have been made of the political backdrop to the glorious dream of black and white integration through 'soul music'. sadly no mention of new orleans and (my favorites) the meters.
I learned so much from this book! The story of Stax and its artists isn't as well known as that of Motown, but it's no less important to the subject of American musical history. Guralnick is an excellent biographer and researcher and it shows. If you're interested in this topic, do read this book and learn, learn, learn!
My favorite book about music and the artists that create it, evah! If reading this doesn't make you want to slap on Otis or Aretha or Solomon Burke, well, your groove bone is broken. The last page with the quote by Joe Tex darn near brought a tear to my jaded eyeball. Run, don't walk...
This is kind of my guide to the music I started loving in the 1950's listening to records with my older brother. It traces different studios, songwriters-key players that kept popping up in the music I kept returning to.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, not diminished by its age (first published 1985). I particular enjoyed the history of Stax and found out much I didn't know about it. Good read.
Great book on one of the great eras of music. I chose to reread this 1986 book with the new Music Documentary film "Muscle Shoals" coming out - this is music I grew up with.
Before there was James Brown, before Otis Reading, before Sam Cooke and Wilson Picket, Sam and Dave, Carla Thomas and Aretha, The Queen of Soul, there was Solomon Burke, The King of Soul. This in-depth chronicle of the times also offers sketches of the people, like Solomon Burke, whose amazing life defined both the sweet and the soul in the music. Do yourself a favor and listen to Cry To Me. This book is a tome and I had to skim some of it. The most riveting parts were the biographical sketches...more
An invaluable and fascinating resource that, like Guralnick's other musical surveys, has weathered the test of time well.
Again just a great book about one the most soulful
singers of all time,the book reveals little known facts
about his life. I love this book!
singers of all time,the book reveals little known facts
about his life. I love this book!
Picked this up used at Laurie's Planet of Sound. Surprised it took me this long to get to it.
UPDATED: Loved this book. Felt like a diary of someone's road trip crossed with sitting at the end of a bar while old cusses tried to one up each other with stories. Really impressed that Guralnick wove himself into the story w/o making it seem too "look at me!" which is what usually happens with books that include memoirish elements. I think it worked because soul music is about personal emotional react...more
UPDATED: Loved this book. Felt like a diary of someone's road trip crossed with sitting at the end of a bar while old cusses tried to one up each other with stories. Really impressed that Guralnick wove himself into the story w/o making it seem too "look at me!" which is what usually happens with books that include memoirish elements. I think it worked because soul music is about personal emotional react...more
absolutely indispensable, hard to imagine more passionate, enlightening writing about r&b
What can I say, I like Guralnick's writing, his command of the subject and his love of the music. As another reviewer noted, reading this stuff in the age of You Tube really slows the reading process down, which is a wonderful thing.
Fantastic exploration of the southern music scene, and Stax especially...
A fundamental study in American popular music, told with humor and passion.
Essential reading for anyone who has ever loved a soul song.
This book focuses on R&B in the South and is definitely one of the best written novels covering its history and realness by Guralnick. Not many books about music really cut it for me. This one did it. I recommend.
Hot damn! Read this—now—if you enjoy a modicum of soul music.
How did I forget this? I love Guralnick's writing/
Recommended for anyone with an above average appreciation for the golden era of soul music.
What do you think, Take-san?
Essential.
A fantastic read. Brilliantly captures the music, social and racial backdrops of the times and the emotional connections of both artist and listener. Its also good to see artists like Solomon Burke get equal time with traditional icons like JB and Sam Cooke
An exhaustive review of a fairly nebulous concept--soul music. All the major musicians (Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, etc.) and producers are given their due and their connections to producers and the ethos of a tenuous era in American history are skillfully illustrated.
wow!! i was burnt on music books and didn't really want to read this, but i was trapped in a van 8 hours a day and it was the only book lying around. lucky for me!! wow what a great inspiring book!! i could not put it down. i had no idea solomon burke was so hilarious. i loved reading about the muscle shoals guys, james brown, and the stax chapter made me cry.
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| Love of music? | 1 | 11 | May 12, 2009 08:23am |
Peter Guralnick is an American music critic, writer on music, and historian of US American popular music, who is also active as an author and screenwriter. He has been married for over 45 years to Alexandra. He has a son and daughter, Jacob and Nina.
Guralnick's first two books, Almost Grown (1964) and Mister Downchild (1967), were short story collections published by Larry Stark, whose small press...more
More about Peter Guralnick...
Guralnick's first two books, Almost Grown (1964) and Mister Downchild (1967), were short story collections published by Larry Stark, whose small press...more
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Jun 09, 2012 09:05pm