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The Death of Rhythm and Blues

Author Nelson George
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Paperback
$24.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Books
6"W x 9"H x 0.55"D  
On sale Aug 15, 2003 | 256 Pages | 9780142004081
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
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“[George’s] reading of history is not only interdisciplinary, it has a musical score...delightful.” —The Washington Post Book World

From Nelson George, supervising producer and writer of the hit Netflix series, "The Get Down," this passionate and provocative book tells the complete story of black music in the last fifty years, and in doing so outlines the perilous position of black culture within white American society. In a fast-paced narrative,  Nelson George’s book chronicles the rise and fall of “race music” and its transformation into the R&B that eventually dominated the airwaves only to find itself diluted and submerged as crossover music.
Nelson George is the author of eight books, including Elevating the Game, The Death of Rhythm and Blues, Where Did Our Love Go?, Seduced, and the highly praised Buppies, B-Boys, Baps & Bohos. A graduate of St. John's University, he was Billboard's black music editor for seven years before becoming a regular columnist for The Village Voice in 1989. He is a cowriter of the screenplays Strictly Business and CB4, as well as a Grammy Award winner for James Brown's album Startime. George was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. View titles by Nelson George
The Death Of Rhythm & BluesAcknowledgments
Introduction: A Meditation on the Meaning of "Death"

One
Philosophy, Money, and Music (1900-30)

Two
Dark Voices in the Night (1930-50)

Three
The New Negro (1950-65)

Four
Black Beauty, Black Confusion (1965-70)

Five
Redemption Songs in the Age of Corporations (1971-75)

Six
Crossover: The Death of Rhythm & Blues (1975-79)

Seven
Assimilation Triumphs, Retronuevo Rises (1980-87)

Epilogue
Notes
Index

Photographs follow pages 80 and 144

“George has uncovered a lot of fresh information, not just on the artists themselves, but on the booking agents, arrangers, and record men.” —Newsweek

“[George’s] reading of history is not only interdisciplin- ary, it has a musical score.... His accounts of the colorful characters who populate this uncharted realm are often informative and...delightful.” —The Washington Post Book World

About

“[George’s] reading of history is not only interdisciplinary, it has a musical score...delightful.” —The Washington Post Book World

From Nelson George, supervising producer and writer of the hit Netflix series, "The Get Down," this passionate and provocative book tells the complete story of black music in the last fifty years, and in doing so outlines the perilous position of black culture within white American society. In a fast-paced narrative,  Nelson George’s book chronicles the rise and fall of “race music” and its transformation into the R&B that eventually dominated the airwaves only to find itself diluted and submerged as crossover music.

Author

Nelson George is the author of eight books, including Elevating the Game, The Death of Rhythm and Blues, Where Did Our Love Go?, Seduced, and the highly praised Buppies, B-Boys, Baps & Bohos. A graduate of St. John's University, he was Billboard's black music editor for seven years before becoming a regular columnist for The Village Voice in 1989. He is a cowriter of the screenplays Strictly Business and CB4, as well as a Grammy Award winner for James Brown's album Startime. George was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. View titles by Nelson George

Table of Contents

The Death Of Rhythm & BluesAcknowledgments
Introduction: A Meditation on the Meaning of "Death"

One
Philosophy, Money, and Music (1900-30)

Two
Dark Voices in the Night (1930-50)

Three
The New Negro (1950-65)

Four
Black Beauty, Black Confusion (1965-70)

Five
Redemption Songs in the Age of Corporations (1971-75)

Six
Crossover: The Death of Rhythm & Blues (1975-79)

Seven
Assimilation Triumphs, Retronuevo Rises (1980-87)

Epilogue
Notes
Index

Photographs follow pages 80 and 144

Praise

“George has uncovered a lot of fresh information, not just on the artists themselves, but on the booking agents, arrangers, and record men.” —Newsweek

“[George’s] reading of history is not only interdisciplin- ary, it has a musical score.... His accounts of the colorful characters who populate this uncharted realm are often informative and...delightful.” —The Washington Post Book World

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