Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers
by John Broven
University of Illinois Press, 2009 Cloth: 978-0-252-03290-5 | eISBN: 978-0-252-09401-9 | Paper: 978-0-252-07727-2 Library of Congress Classification ML405.B76 2009 Dewey Decimal Classification 781.64092273
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
This volume is an engaging and exceptional history of the independent rock 'n' roll record industry from its raw regional beginnings in the 1940s with R & B and hillbilly music through its peak in the 1950s and decline in the 1960s. John Broven combines narrative history with extensive oral history material from numerous recording pioneers including Joe Bihari of Modern Records; Marshall Chess of Chess Records; Jerry Wexler, Ahmet Ertegun, and Miriam Bienstock of Atlantic Records; Sam Phillips of Sun Records; Art Rupe of Specialty Records; and many more.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
John Broven is a respected expert on the rock 'n' roll era and has served as a consultant at Ace Records in the United Kingdom. A one-time coeditor of Blues Unlimited and cofounder of Juke Blues Magazine, he is the author ofRhythm and Blues in New Orleans and South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. He lives on Long Island, New York.
REVIEWS
Awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) for Best Research in Recorded Rock and Popular Music, 2010.
— Association for Recorded Sound Collections
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Acknowledgments
Author¿s Note
Introduction
Part I: The Independent Revolution
1. We¿re Rolling--Take One!
2. The Super Indies
3. California Booming
4. New York: Big City and Little Tiffany
5. The Battle of the Speeds and Golden Seeds
Part II: Regional Sounds
6. Riding the Nashville Airwaves
7. The Chess Game
8. King of Them All
9. Behind the Southern Sun
10. Louisiana Gumbo
Part III: The Hustle Is On
11. Billboard and Cash Box: Stars and Bullets
12. A-Hustle and A-Scuffle at Old Town
13. Mercury Rising and the Roulette Wheel
14. Tin Pan Alley and Beyond
15. Hillbilly Boogie
16. West Coast Rockin¿ and Rollin¿
17. From Motown to Manhattan: In Almost Perfect Harmony
18. Harlem Hotshots and the Black Experience
19. On and Off Broadway
20. Gold Coast Platters and Stock Matters
Part IV: Rock 'n' Roll Is Here to Stay
21. The London American Group: Rockin¿ around the World
22. Teen Scene
23. Corporate Takeover and Talent Makeover
24. The Payola Scandal and Changing Times
25. End of Session: Art Rupe¿s New Rules at Specialty Records
Part V: Appendixes
Appendix A: U.S. Record Sales, 1921-69
Appendix B: Original Postwar Record Labels: How Did They Start
Up, and Where Are They Now?
Appendix C: Independent Record Distributors¿ Network: 1946-48,
1954, 1960
Appendix D: Pressing Plants, 1946
Appendix E: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Record Men Inductees,
1986-2006
Appendix F: Record Makers: Biographical Data (Selective)
Appendix G: Oral History
Notes
Bibliography
Photograph credits (to be done)
Index (to be done)
Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers
by John Broven
University of Illinois Press, 2009 Cloth: 978-0-252-03290-5 eISBN: 978-0-252-09401-9 Paper: 978-0-252-07727-2
This volume is an engaging and exceptional history of the independent rock 'n' roll record industry from its raw regional beginnings in the 1940s with R & B and hillbilly music through its peak in the 1950s and decline in the 1960s. John Broven combines narrative history with extensive oral history material from numerous recording pioneers including Joe Bihari of Modern Records; Marshall Chess of Chess Records; Jerry Wexler, Ahmet Ertegun, and Miriam Bienstock of Atlantic Records; Sam Phillips of Sun Records; Art Rupe of Specialty Records; and many more.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
John Broven is a respected expert on the rock 'n' roll era and has served as a consultant at Ace Records in the United Kingdom. A one-time coeditor of Blues Unlimited and cofounder of Juke Blues Magazine, he is the author ofRhythm and Blues in New Orleans and South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. He lives on Long Island, New York.
REVIEWS
Awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) for Best Research in Recorded Rock and Popular Music, 2010.
— Association for Recorded Sound Collections
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Acknowledgments
Author¿s Note
Introduction
Part I: The Independent Revolution
1. We¿re Rolling--Take One!
2. The Super Indies
3. California Booming
4. New York: Big City and Little Tiffany
5. The Battle of the Speeds and Golden Seeds
Part II: Regional Sounds
6. Riding the Nashville Airwaves
7. The Chess Game
8. King of Them All
9. Behind the Southern Sun
10. Louisiana Gumbo
Part III: The Hustle Is On
11. Billboard and Cash Box: Stars and Bullets
12. A-Hustle and A-Scuffle at Old Town
13. Mercury Rising and the Roulette Wheel
14. Tin Pan Alley and Beyond
15. Hillbilly Boogie
16. West Coast Rockin¿ and Rollin¿
17. From Motown to Manhattan: In Almost Perfect Harmony
18. Harlem Hotshots and the Black Experience
19. On and Off Broadway
20. Gold Coast Platters and Stock Matters
Part IV: Rock 'n' Roll Is Here to Stay
21. The London American Group: Rockin¿ around the World
22. Teen Scene
23. Corporate Takeover and Talent Makeover
24. The Payola Scandal and Changing Times
25. End of Session: Art Rupe¿s New Rules at Specialty Records
Part V: Appendixes
Appendix A: U.S. Record Sales, 1921-69
Appendix B: Original Postwar Record Labels: How Did They Start
Up, and Where Are They Now?
Appendix C: Independent Record Distributors¿ Network: 1946-48,
1954, 1960
Appendix D: Pressing Plants, 1946
Appendix E: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Record Men Inductees,
1986-2006
Appendix F: Record Makers: Biographical Data (Selective)
Appendix G: Oral History
Notes
Bibliography
Photograph credits (to be done)
Index (to be done)
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC