Spinning Blues Into Gold
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This is not a book which is exclusively about soul music, it is a story about a record label, the Chess Label to be precise. There can be no doubt that the success of Chess was based around the Blues and therefore it is this genre which is the main focus of the book, but with artists like Etta James, Fontella Bass, Phil Upchurch, Gene Barge, Minnie Riperton and Irma Thomas having been on the rosta there is little doubt that the book contains much for the soul fan as well. It is a 'Black' label and therefore had its fingers in Jazz and Rock & Roll as well. The author, Nadine Cohondas has thoroughly researched her subject and she writes with a simplicity which is very reader friendly. Her analysis of the personalities involved is particularly incisive and there is no doubt that she is successful in bringing the main characters to life. She is also very astute in her examination of the relationship between the Negro and the Jew. I suspect that during her research she discovered many skeletons in the Chess Cupboard, but she is discrete in the way she alludes to them. It would have been so easy to stereotype Leonard Chess as a money grabbing Jew prepared to go to any lengths to exploit his Negro artists. Similarly it would have been easy to portray the Black artists as uneducated simpletons who gave away their talents all too cheaply. In point of fact she adopts neither stance and presents a very balanced view of the way the business operated. The conclusion, if their is one, is that each was wholly reliant on the other to make them successful. Both were successful despite having to overcome prejudice and bigotry in their own different ways. A wonderful book which is more than the story of a record label, it is an insightful examination of the personalities involved and is undoubtedly well worth reading. |
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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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