Guitars, Bars & Motown Superstars
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Dennis Coffey is a former session musician with Motown and many other Detroit labels which produced great soul music of the sixties and seventies. I was really looking forward to reading this book when I heard it was about to be published, and in all honesty it didn't disappoint. The fact that it is written by a session man rather than one of Motown's household names means that the whole perspective on the music industry is markedly different from that of a 'Superstar'. Coffey's music made him an affluent man, but not to the extent that his income became obscene. It was also just one high point in his career which for the most part involved grinding out a living just like the rest of us mere mortals. Therein lies the charm of this tome, that it was written by an ordinary guy just trying to get on with his daily routine and he never tries to present it as anything different. Readers of Coffey's autobiography will identify with him far more than they ever could with those of the whinging, washed up superstars. The fact Dennis comes across as an ordinary bloke does not mean he has not lived without adventure. In fact I suspect from reading this book the adventures of session musicians are vastly more interesting, and dangerous, than those of the cosseted superstars. The stories of bar room brawls and guns being shoved up his nose seem positively frightening. Dennis tells them as though they are just normal occurrences in his ordinary working day. What does become clear however is that whether Dennis is a superstar or not his contribution to soul music has been immense. The book ends with nine full pages of the Dennis Coffey discography and I doubt if any soul aficionado could help but be impressed with the sheer volume of soul records on which Dennis has played the guitar on. These include many Massive hits from both sides of the Atlantic. Edwin Starr, The Temptations, The Dramatics, Johnny Bristol, Darryl Banks, Carl Carleton, Freda Payne, the Miracles, The Originals, Chairmen of the Board, to name but a few artists on whose records he has worked. He even had time to play with people like Tom Jones and Ringo Starr, though these are irrelevant from a soul point of view. As Dennis was producing his music he was no doubt unaware of how highly valued his talents were on the 'Northern' Soul scene. With the book being published in Britain, he does try to relate his work to the scene, and these are the only times when he becomes unsure of his material. The strategy is understandable, but for me these were the only points at which he was un-convincing. I really didn't feel he needed to do it, He should just have told the stories of his own American experience and left his audience to make connections for themselves. Ignoring these trivial irritations this is a wonderful book which I couldn't put down once I had started. I only hope it sells well on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Why Not visit the Authors other Website, 'The Alternative Blackpool Website' at http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/bpool This Site Last Updated 18/05/05
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