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.
It’s bulging with facts and incredibly well researched and is probably the definitive and most thorough history of American popular music. Passionately written but without overtly subjective partiality, it achieves the rare feat of coupling accuracy with a real enthusiasm for the subject. This is where to to go if you want to learn a little more about the production of popular music in the States from the 1940s onwards. It’s particularly strong on the emergence of the small independent labels that in reality were the real driving force for the musical sea change that took place in the 1950s and gave rise to the birth of rock and roll.
The book has the additional advantage of being consistently updated. Make sure you get the latest edition. In the latest version, it has an additional three sections containing 75 superb historic photos. An excellent bonus which makes the update of value for those of us who bought it when it first came out. It also contains an excellent list of recommended CD compilations – if you get even half of the Gillett recommendations, you will have one of the best collections of R&B around – and one which would be the envy of any blues or soul fan. That’s the other important point about Gillett – he had incredible musical taste.
And if it hadn’t been for this book, I’d probably never have been able to get away with writing a degree dissertation with a popular music theme (dressed up within a suitably academic context of course), so thanks Charlie!
I’d also recommend Gillet’s “Making Tracks – The Story Of Atlantic Records“. By taking you through the label’s story (and its subsidiaries), he also explains the commercialisation of blues and R&B, and the birth of rock and roll. A time when black music broke out of the segregated market and into the pop charts. And of course it goes beyond that to explore Atlantic’s forays into rock and pop music as well. It’s a great companion to Sound Of The City, I think.