Record Makers and Breakers

by Broven, John

• ISBN13: 9780252077272
• ISBN10: 025207727X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-01-15
• Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr

Summary

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 of Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans and South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. He lives on Long Island, New York.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
The Independent Revolution
We're Rolling-Take One!	p. 9
The Super Indies	p. 21
California Booming	p. 33
New York: Big City and Little Tiffany	p. 53
The Battle of the Speeds and Golden Records' Seeds	p. 73
Regional Sounds
Riding the Nashville Airwaves	p. 93
The Chess Game	p. 116
King of Them All	p. 131
Behind the Southern Sun	p. 149
Louisiana Gumbo	p. 166
The Hustle Is On
Billboard and Cash Box: Stars and Bullets	p. 187
A-Hustle and A-Scuffle at Old Town	p. 208
Mercury Rising and the Roulette Wheel	p. 231
Tin Pan Alley and Beyond	p. 254
Hillbilly Boogie	p. 277
West Coast Rockin' and Rollin'	p. 297
From Motown to Manhattan: In Almost Perfect Harmony	p. 319
Harlem Hotshots and the Black Experience	p. 341
On and Off Broadway	p. 358
Gold Coast Platters and Stock Matters	p. 379
Rock 'n' Roll Is Here to Stay
The London American Group: Rockin' around the World	p. 397
Teen Scene	p. 415
Corporate Takeover and Talent Makeover	p. 439
The Payola Scandal and Changing Times	p. 454
End of Session: Art Rupe's New Rules at Specialty Records	p. 472
Appendixes
U.S. Record Sales, 1921-69	p. 483
Independent Record Distributors' Network: 1946-48, 1954, 1960	p. 487
Pressing Plants, 1946	p. 491
Original Postwar Record Labels: Locations, Launch Dates, and Current Owners	p. 493
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Record Men Inductees, 1986-2008	p. 496
Record Makers: Biographical Data (Selective)	p. 498
Oral History	p. 504
Notes	p. 509
Bibliography	p. 545
Index	p. 557
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