This book is an oral history of 45 songs that shaped R and B and Rock 'n' Roll over the course of 40 years. The songs selected are, in the opinion of the author, a subjective collection of milestones in music history. The first is 1952's 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' by Lloyd Price and the last is 1991's 'Losing My Religion' by R.E.M. As most of the technical aspects of rock are beyond me, I'll just point out some of the more interesting tidbits unearthed here: the Isley Brothers singing 'Shout' has some amazing dance moves for 1959; 'Please Mr. Postman by the Marveletttes was Motown's first number one; Grace Slick wrote 'White Rabbit' on an $80 fire red piano; the only Stones songs here are 'Street Fighting Man' and 'Moonlight Mile'; Elvis's 'Suspicious Minds' in 1969 was his first number one in seven years; 'Walk This Way' was inspired by Marty Feldman in 'Young Frankenstein'; Debbie Harry was absolutely stunning; and much to my surprise, I actually liked 'Losing My Religion."
This has been an enjoyable romp through music history. I'm not sure the author was thorough enough about what made these songs milestones, and I still can't get comprehend no Beatles, Paul Simon, Beach Boys or Bob Dylan. I'm sorry, but 'Rock The Boat' by the Hues Corporation and 'London Calling' by the Clash just do not seem that important to me. One of the really enjoyable aspects of reading this has been watching the videos on You Tube. And no matter how old the song - there's a video on You Tube
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