The Sound of the City

By Charlie Gillett,

Book cover of The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll

Book description

This comprehensive study of the rise of rock and roll from 1954 to 1971 has now been expanded with close to 100 illustrations as well as a new introduction, recommended listening section, and bibliography.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Sound of the City as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

When I started playing rock guitar in the ‘60s I had no idea that it was built on the innovations of African-American blues and Gospel artists. Sound of the City traces how those innovations evolved into the dominant strains of ‘50s rock & roll, including artists like Bill Haley, New Orleans dance music, Memphis rockabilly, Chicago R&B, and vocal (“doo-wop”) groups. 

Gillette creates an extraordinarily detailed and very readable account of the music and musicians as well as a booming, often corrupt, and highly segregated music industry within a turbulent American social landscape. If you want to learn about American…

From Keith's list on blues and playing the blues guitar.

If you love The Sound of the City...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Want books like The Sound of the City?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Sound of the City.

Browse books like The Sound of the City

Book cover of Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta
Book cover of The Praxis System Guitar Compendium: Technique / Improvisation / Musicianship / Theory Volume 1
Book cover of Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,897

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Sound of the City, you might also like...

Book cover of Radical Friend: Amy Kirby Post and Her Activist Worlds

Radical Friend by Nancy A. Hewitt,

Radical Friend highlights the remarkable life of Amy Kirby Post, a nineteenth-century abolitionist and women's rights activist who created deep friendships across the color line to promote social justice. Her relationships with Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Sojourner Truth, William C. Nell, and other Black activists from the 1840s to the…

Book cover of In This Together: Connecting with Your Community to Combat the Climate Crisis

In This Together by Marianne E. Krasny,

In This Together explores how we can harness our social networks to make a real impact fighting the climate crisis. Against notions of the lone environmental crusader, Marianne E. Krasny shows us the power of "network climate action"—the idea that our own ordinary acts can influence and inspire those close…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the blues, rock and roll, and guitar?

The Blues 48 books
Rock And Roll 80 books
Guitar 34 books