This is the first book in the author's trilogy of soul music. I'm looking forward to reading the next one Memphis 68: The Tragedy of Southern Soul followed by Harlem 69: The Future of Soul.
I finished this book today. I had borrowed the e-book from NYPL and it took me a couple of sessions to finish it. Not because it was a slow moving book but I just had several concurrent books that I was reading at the time. I started the book in June but probably took some time to get to it on my borrowed shelf. Once I got really started I moved through it quickly.
It was a fascinating book about a time period that I was really into soul music. I was 15 years old through most of 1967 and I was collecting a lot of soul music especially Motown records. A lot of this book reveals the inner workings of the Motown company and studios and their many troubled artists. Almost too much information as a biography of an African American company. I was a little shocked about how the company was run and all the personality and social conflicts among the people working there at every level including the superstars. A company of tension, resentments and crises coming apart.
The book is a very dramatic account of life in the Motor City month by month in 1967. It is a story about social unrest, rising crime rates, Vietnam was protests, violence, hippies, expanding drug culture, riots, police brutality and corruption, and growing social awareness. The book is full of conflicts both political and personal. It is about the breakup the most successful girl group The Supremes and the self-destructive decline of Florence Ballard and her relationship with Diana Ross.
It is also about Detroit rock and roll and in particular the guitar rock of the MC5 and their mentor John Sinclair. It is about The Dramatics getting caught up in the horrible police brutality incident and horrific events at the notorious Algiers Motel. This was a very fascinating social history of a time and place.
While reading this book I had the Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection (1959-1971) 4 CD box set on the stereo.
No comments:
Post a Comment