Just finished reading a few books for the third time and thought I'd pass on what they were for any likeminded folks who maybe haven't read them. Make great presents for people interested in this kinda stuff:

ROCKIN' DOWN THE DIAL - David Carson - Momentum Books

Records the history of the airwaves of Detroit from it's early all white beginnings of the Post War years through to the demise of AM and the FM revolution of the 70s. It's not really a book about soul music per se but rather a history of the medium of Radio but as you'd expect the soul music provides a large part of the material in the hey days of the medium. The art of the 'DJ' of the era is a great story of individuals with larger than life personalities and talent to match. Some great legendary DJs are featured along with a few nice pics and some interesting weekly charts. On on e chart The Human Beinz - Nobody But Me beat The Beatles to the #1 spot! Well worth reading if you like the history of music in general and the history of genuine radio DJs especially.

TEMPLES of SOUND - Jim Cogan and William Clark - Chronicle Books

Having spoken at length to a few record producers over the years I'm always fascinated by the art. Bringing all the components together and eventually creating a musical tapestry when guys turned up with their own instruments a lot of the time was a real art. In this book the guys investigate a few of the iconic studios that the US producers worked in. Once again, not a full blown 'soul' book but the book features many legendary locations that produced the music including of course Motown's Snakepit, Muscle Shoals, Sigma Sound, Stax etc. It's also an eyeopener to learn that, like Motown, nearly all the studios had people who were the houseband. The realk unsung heroes of the recoding industry in my opinion. Lots of great pictures of the artists and producers at their work too. Well worth the effort if you're into this type of historical information.

So, there you go. Couple of stocking-fillers for anyone with an anorak in the family and whose stuck for prezzie ideas.

Edited December 16, 200816 yr by Dave Moore

Just finished reading a few books for the third time and thought I'd pass on what they were for any likeminded folks who maybe haven't read them. Make great presents for people interested in this kinda stuff:

ROCKIN' DOWN THE DIAL - David Carson - Momentum Books

Records the history of the airwaves of Detroit from it's early all white beginnings of the Post War years through to the demise of AM and the FM revolution of the 70s. It's not really a book about soul music per se but rather a history of the medium of Radio but as you'd expect the soul music provides a large part of the material in the hey days of the medium. The art of the 'DJ' of the era is a great story of individuals with larger than life personalities and talent to match. Some great legendary DJs are featured along with a few nice pics and some interesting weekly charts. On on e chart The Human Beinz - Nobody But Me beat The Beatles to the #1 spot! Well worth reading if you like the history of music in general and the history of genuine radio DJs especially.

TEMPLES of SOUND - Jim Cogan and William Clark - Chronicle Books

Having spoken at length to a few record producers over the years I'm always fascinated by the art. Bringing all the components together and eventually creating a musical tapestry when guys turned up with their own instruments a lot of the time was a real art. In this book the guys investigate a few of the iconic studios that the US producers worked in. Once again, not a full blown 'soul' book but the book features many legendary locations that produced the music including of course Motown's Snakepit, Muscle Shoals, Sigma Sound, Stax etc. It's also an eyeopener to learn that, like Motown, nearly all the studios had people who were the houseband. The realk unsung heroes of the recoding industry in my opinion. Lots of great pictures of the artists and producers at their work too. Well worth the effort if you're into this type of historical information.

So, there you go. Couple of stocking-fillers for anyone with an anorak in the family and whose stuck for prezzie ideas.

Hey you have saved the day!... always looking for books of interest with regards to music.. will i find them on Amazon do you think?... cheers x

Just add onto what Dave recommended, I'd like to strongly recommend "Spinning Blues Into Gold" The story of Chess Records by Nadine Cohodas. Fantastic book that gives a blow-by-blow of the Chess setup starting as early as the Chess Brothers immigrating from Poland to the demise of the label and the aftermath. Lots of mentions of people like Roquel Billy Davis, Phil Wright and others. It also goes without saying that it includes loads of info on the likes of Howlin Wolf, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and so many more.

Not only do you get a feel for the music, but you get a more human side of things, not to mention what life was like in Chicago many decades ago. Chess treated his artists like family and they were often regular guests in his home. Chess was truly a family business in its heyday and after reading this book, I guarantee your love of the label will grow.

Much to my surprise, this book turned out to be an anorak's delight!

-J.

Just add onto what Dave recommended, I'd like to strongly recommend "Spinning Blues Into Gold" The story of Chess Records by Nadine Cohodas. Fantastic book that gives a blow-by-blow of the Chess setup starting as early as the Chess Brothers immigrating from Poland to the demise of the label and the aftermath. Lots of mentions of people like Roquel Billy Davis, Phil Wright and others. It also goes without saying that it includes loads of info on the likes of Howlin Wolf, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and so many more.

Not only do you get a feel for the music, but you get a more human side of things, not to mention what life was like in Chicago many decades ago. Chess treated his artists like family and they were often regular guests in his home. Chess was truly a family business in its heyday and after reading this book, I guarantee your love of the label will grow.

Much to my surprise, this book turned out to be an anorak's delight!

-J.

OK a further recommendation is a book called OLD, RARE, NEW. its available through JUNO.

Its a trawl of independent record shops in the U.S. and as I recall UK.... very crate digging orientated rather than music facts etc but a good book to keep re-visiting and dipping into, good pics, some interseting top 10's and best moments etc etc. Surprised its not been mentioned on here before actually, maybe it has ? (Think PHONICA in London also stock it).

And, whenver we talk books I mention this one..

TIM LAWRENCE-LOVE SAVES THE DAY. a brilliant history of black dance music in the 70;s. Best music book I have ever read, esp if the disco/dance/early house etc is of interest.

Best

Neil

https://www.phyllishymanstory.com/book.htm

cracking read