redandwhiterag 
One of the most important companies in R&B history, Stax represented one of the two main strands in American black music (Motown was the other). Ironically but not untypically, the label was founded by a white guy, Jim Stewart, whose musical background was actually in country music.
Perhaps Sun Records is an unusual label to profile in an R&B Primer, as any references to the studio usually focus on its rockabilly successes, the Presley phenomenon and the early careers of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison. Even in its rockabilly heyday however, the label was fusing the best of R&B and country, black and white, sowing the seeds of rock …
Not only the first black owned large independent record company but also one of the most successful prior to Motown. It’s recording and release policy was genuinely eclectic and provided us with a very fine legacy of blues, R&B, gospel, doo-wop and early soul recordings. It also released the first few years of the Beatles recordings in the US – but that’s another story! The …
Not at first glance the first book you’d pick up to learn a little more about blues, soul or R&B, but impressions can be deceiving. Emerson’s primary interest is in providing a portrait of a brilliant group of songwriters – all couples, all loosely tied to the famous Brill Building era but (nearly) all impacting significantly on the development of the music of black America.
Subtitled “Fats Domino and The Lost Dawn of Rock ‘n’ Roll” this is decidedly more than a biography of an R&B legend – it also puts Fats at the heart of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll as one of the greats of black American music. The book highlights just how little credit Fats has previously received for his role in the development of R&B and its rock ‘n’ roll sibling.
Arthur Alexander is a long time favourite of mine and I believe this is the first attempt to analyse at length the life and work of a complex and incredibly talented individual. Younger illustrates the highs, lows and inconsistencies of the man and his music and, in telling the story of this great performer and writer, he also provides the reader with the wider context.
Nager’s book (subtitled “The Lives and Times of America’s Musical Crossroads”) paints on a broader canvas than many books about southern music and is therefore an excellent introduction to the wider aspects of the Memphis sound. A cultural mixing board, where black and white folk have done musical business for two centuries or more.
He was around at the start of one of the great periods in American popular music. He had a direct and leading influence on some of the most exciting music ever recorded. He was a partner in Atlantic Records, which is possibly the greatest example of an independent record company that was run by music enthusiasts but managed to be commercially viable.
Grammy Award-winning historian Rob Bowman discloses the behind-the-scenes deals and business transactions that contributed to the rise and fall of Stax Records. It appears to tell the real inside story of the landmark label. Written with such authority that you feel you’re almost there in the studios which produced all that great music.
If you read one work about Rhythm and Blues (and rock and roll), this probably has to be it. The book has its origins in a Masters thesis as far back as 1966. This background probably accounts for the fact that it is structurally sound and possessed of proper depth which is often lacking in publications of this type – but don’t be put off, the book is immensely readable.
Peter Guralnick is a writer of some of the finest books on popular music – I could just as easily have recommended “Feel Like Going Home” and “Lost Highway”, profiles of some of the most interesting musicians in American popular music. This one is subtitled ‘Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom’, which aptly sums up the book’s heart.
Aretha is indisputably the ‘Queen Of Soul’ and the greatest vocalist of the soul genre! There have been very many fine soul vocalists over the years, and soul buffs will each have their favourite and no doubt many will disagree with my assessment. But there is no-one, male or female, who recorded so consistently with such passion, power, grace and finesse.