Sweet Soul Music

The best history of ‘60s soul music anyone has written … A classic * New York Times *
A stunning chronicle … one of the best books ever written on American popular music * Newsweek *
One of the ten books [I] couldn’t live without * Ta-Nehisi Coates *
One of my favourite authors * Chuck D *
A large-scale, near-epic treatment * Los Angeles Reader *
[Guralnick] ends up giving more than just history. He gives a feel for the places and circumstances that gave birth to the ‘60s most exciting music * Boston Globe *
Guralnick has written a vastly important book * New Musical Express *
His essays on these giants magically transform interview materials, historical scholarship, critical insight, and unabashed passion into living, breathing, and almost singing portraits * Washington Post Book World *
Page after page is simply filled with new revelations, ideas, and perspectives….Essential for anyone with even a passing interest in rhythm and blues in the sixties. It will stand * Memphis Star *
A masterpiece, as rich and strange as the life it seeks to comprehend … It should be treasured by all students of American music and culture … Such a book can only encourage and inspire us * Journal of American Folklore *
One of the liveliest examinations of popular music ever conducted * Philadelphia Examiner *
An] epic trajectory, complex and relatable characters, telling details, and sharp prose that emphasizes empathy and clarity over showy idiosyncrasies….The book is as much about tragedy as triumph….Ultimately, this is a book about what was and– just as crucially– what might have been * Pitchfork *

Peter Guralnick has written extensively on American music and musicians. His books include the prize-winning two-volume Elvis Presley biography, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love; the acclaimed trilogy on American roots music, Sweet Soul Music, Lost Highway and Feel Like Going Home; the biographical inquiry Searching for Robert Johnson; and the novel Nighthawk Blues.

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