Beth Fowler examines the connection between rock and roll and the civil rights movement.
Drawing on scholarly studies, newspaper and television reports, speeches, and oral histories, Fowler presents about as thorough a study as possible in one volume. The research is thorough and compelling.
It may not always be an easy read, but it is an important book, especially as its closing chapters deal with present times and America’s struggle to fulfill its promise of equality for all. Fowler gives us a new perspective on the power of music.
The rock and roll music that dominated airwaves across the country during the 1950s and early 1960s is often described as a triumph for integration. Black and white musicians alike, including Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis, scored hit records with young audiences from different racial groups, blending sonic traditions from R&B, country, and pop. This so-called "desegregation of the charts" seemed particularly resonant since major civil rights groups were waging major battles for desegregation in public places at the same time. And yet the centering of integration, as well as the supposition that democratic rights…
Pete Quaife, co-founder and original bass player of the Kinks, based this novel on his experiences growing up in post World War 2 England and on forming a rock band in the early 1960s.
Veritas first appeared in 2011 but was released in this collector’s edition in 2023. (Full disclosure: I was friends with the author and wrote the foreword for this latest edition.)
If you are interested in the music scene in the 1960s you will thoroughly enjoy Veritas. Quaife tells the story of the fictional Elmores, a fledging band struggling to learn their instruments, to stabilize group membership, to gain parental approval and support, and to arrange gigs. Anyone who has tried to form a band will relate to the Elmores.
This is not your typical “as-told-to” autobiography. Instead, Volman and Cody rely on quotations from over 200 interviews with over 100 people close, or once close, to Volman.
The quotations run from a few lines to almost two pages with an average length of a full paragraph. They follow one after another with no intervening narrative and with only an occasional comment from Volman. This organizational strategy proves very effective.
As the title indicates, the book charts Volman’s career from his earliest days until today, where he organizes and performs in the Happy Anniversary Tour, which collects five or six musical acts from the 1960s. Happy Forever offers a wonderfully warm and often humorous portrait of Volman, providing insight into music-making, the music industry, and a rock-and-roll survivor.
Mark is one of the most indomitable yet gentle spirits I ve ever met. He will always be one of my favorite artists I ve ever worked with. And someday when I grow up, I want to be just like him. Alice Cooper. This book is a puzzle. The outside frame pieces are about me, but the picture wouldn t be complete without the perspectives of all the people telling you about me. Mark Volman. Mark Volman has led a storied life, and many of those stories are contained in Happy Forever. A true son of southern California, he has…
My book gives an intimate look into the life and career of Richie Furay, whom I interviewed for more than 30 hours.
Furay, who grew up in Yellow Springs, Ohio, began his career in Greenwich Village in the mid-1960s, but made his mark on music in Southern California, first with Neil Young and Stephen Stills in Buffalo Springfield and then in Poco. Through these bands he earned his place as perhaps the foremost pioneer of country rock.
In 1983, Furay left the music world for the ministry. He returned to the studio in 1997, and over the next twenty-five years released two Christian and five secular albums. Keep on Believin’ tells a very American story of an individual’s quest to fulfill dreams.
