Had Morrow attempted to give more than an overview of the groups involved, this weighty tome would have had to become a series of volumes, but he still does an excellent job of giving us the background, the first trendsetters, the proponents and the naysayers. He gives a brief snapshot of Alan Freed, the first of the DJs who had the nerve to buck the system and play black music on a white station, and helping many worthy groups to make the name that they deserved, rather than the one they were relegated to. He tells us about groups that many of us had forgotten and even some we never knew about. But he never lets us down throughout the book.
After I read the book - actually, while I was still reading the book - I went online and sought out and bought the three doo wop DVDs mentioned, which will get me started, at least, in my trip down Memory Lane. Cousin Brucie influenced my listening and buying habits 50 years ago when I grew up through doo wop, and he still has the power to do it now, by kick starting my memory banks.
Article comments
1 - Layla Baker
This book was awesome! Have you heard any news about the upcoming one in October? "Rock and Roll...and the beat goes on." by Cousin Brucie. Features over 300 photos, record labels, album covers and quotes of amazing artists from The Beach Boys, to Eric Clapton...the Allman Brothers and Bob Dylan. It's all about the music and culture. The time-changing era of the 1960s.